A new analysis of two phase flow on hydrogen production from water electrolysis

It is clear that the entire world have to research, develop, demonstrate and plan for alternative energy systems for shorter term and also longer term. As a clean energy carrier, hydrogen has become increasingly important. It owes its prestige to the increase within the energy costs as a result of the equivocalness in the future availability. Two phase flow and hydrogen gas flow dynamics effect on performance of water electrolysis. Hydrogen bubbles are recognized to influence energy and mass transfer in gas-evolving electrodes. The movement of hydrogen bubbles on the electrodes in alkaline electrolysis is known to affect the reaction efficiency. Within the scope of this research, a physical modeling for the alkaline electrolysis is determined and the studies about the two-phase flow model are carried out for this model. Internal and external forces acting on the resulting bubbles are also determined. In this research, the analytical solution of two-phase flow analysis of hydrogen in the electrolysis is analyzed.     

The dynamic effect of Micro-MHD convection on bubble grown at a horizontal microelectrode

Relatively low efficiency is the biggest obstacle to the popularization of water electrolysis, which is a particularly feasible way to produce super-pure hydrogen. Imposing a magnetic field can increase the hydrogen production efficiency of water electrolysis. However, the enhancement's detailed mechanism still lacks an insightful understanding of the bubbles' micro vicinity. Our recent work aims to understand why the micro-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) convection hinders single bubbles' detachment on the microelectrode. A water electrolysis experiment by microelectrode is performed under an electrode-normal magnetic field, and dynamic analysis of the single bubble growing on microelectrodes is performed. The variation of bubble diameter with time in the presence or absence of the magnetic field was measured, and the forces acting on the bubble were quantified. The result shows that the micro-MHD convection, induced by Lorentz force, can give rise to a downward hydrodynamic pressure force that will not appear in large-scale MHD convection. This force can be of the same magnitude as the surface tension, so it dramatically hinders bubbles' detachment. Besides, the Kelvin force provides a new potential way for further improving the efficiency of water electrolysis.     

浅谈不同给液方式在铜电解车间的应用

不同给液方式对铜电解过程中有重要的影响,不同的循环方式会影响槽内温度分布、电解液成分及阳极泥沉降等,因此,根据铜电解生产不同情况的需要,分析对比了多种给液方式在贵冶电解车间的应用,总结了这几种给液方式的优缺点和适用条件。     

Additive manufacturing of bipolar plates for hydrogen production in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis cells

Water electrolysis is a process that can produce hydrogen in a clean way when renewable energy sources are used. This allows managing large renewable surpluses and transferring this energy to other sectors, such as industry or transport. Among the electrolytic technologies to produce hydrogen, proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is a promising alternative. One of the main components of PEM electrolysis cells are the bipolar plates, which are machined with a series of flow distribution channels, largely responsible for their performance and durability. In this work, AISI 316L stainless steel bipolar plates have been built by additive manufacturing (AM), using laser powder bed fusion (PBF-L) technology. These bipolar plates were subjected to ex-situ corrosion tests and assembled in an electrolysis cell to evaluate the polarization curve. Furthermore, the obtained results were compared with bipolar plates manufactured by conventional machining processes (MEC). The obtained experimental results are very similar for both manufacturing methods. This demonstrates the viability of the PBF-L technology to produce metal bipolar plates for PEM electrolyzers and opens the possibilities to design new and more complex flow distribution channels and to test these designs in initial phases before scaling them to larger surfaces.     

Hydrogen from wet air and sunlight in a tandem photoelectrochemical cell

A solid-state photoelectrochemical (SSPEC) cell is an attractive approach for solar water splitting, especially when it comes to monolithic device design. In a SSPEC cell the electrodes distance is minimized, while the use of polymer-based membranes alleviates the need for liquid electrolytes, and at the same time they can separate the anode from the cathode. In this work, we have made and tested, firstly, a SSPEC cell with a Pt/C electrocatalyst as the cathode electrode, under purely gaseous conditions. The anode was supplied with air of 80% relative humidity (RH) and the cathode with argon. Secondly, we replaced the Pt/C cathode with a photocathode consisting of 2D photocatalytic g-C₃N₄, which was placed in tandem with the photoanode (tandem-SSPEC). The tandem configuration showed a three-fold enhancement in the obtained photovoltage and a steady-state photocurrent density. The mechanism of operation is discussed in view of recent advances in surface proton conduction in absorbed water layers. The presented SSPEC cell is based on earth-abundant materials and provides a way towards systems of artificial photosynthesis, especially for areas where water sources are scarce and electrical grid infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. The only requirements to make hydrogen are humidity and sunlight.     

FeOOH–CoS composite catalyst with high catalytic performances for oxygen evolution reaction at high current density

Water electrolysis is an efficient approach for high-purity hydrogen production. However, the anodic sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) always needs high overpotential and thus brings about superfluous electricity cost of water electrolysis. Therefore, exploiting highly efficient OER electrocatalysts with small overpotential especially at high current density will undoubtedly boost the development of industrial water electrolysis. Herein, we used a simple hydrothermal method to prepare a novel FeOOH–CoS nanocomposite on nickel foam (NF). The as-prepared FeOOH–CoS/NF catalyst displays an excellent OER performance with extremely low overpotentials of 306 and 329 mV at 500 and 1000 mA cm⁻² in 1.0 M KOH, respectively. In addition, the FeOOH–CoS/NF catalyst can maintain excellent catalytic stability for more than 50 h, and the OER catalytic activity shows almost no attenuation no matter after 1000 repeated CV cycles or 50 h of stability test. The high catalytic activity and stability have exceeded most non-noble metal electrocatalysts reported in literature, which makes the FeOOH–CoS/NF composite catalyst have promising applications in the industrial water electrolysis.     

硫化氢吸收液的电化学分解条件研究

理想的脱硫工艺应满足体积小、费用低、净化度高、无二次污染等要求。在碱性溶液吸收微量硫化氢时同步进行电解，可有效减小设备体积，并将硫化氢转变为氢气和硫磺，不产生恶性气味。为此，实验研究了温度、浓度、电流密度、pH值等因素对电解阳极过程的影响，确定了适宜的电解条件，并在该条件下进行了吸收实验。结果表明，在最佳电解条件下，硫化钠溶液能充分吸收天然气中经变压吸附提浓的硫化氢（800 mg/m³），吸收率大于99.9％。     

Electro-organic synthesis without supporting electrolyte: Possibilities of solid polymer electrolyte technology

The application of ion exchange membranes as solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) in fuel cells is state-of-the-art. This technology needs no supporting electrolyte; consequently it can be applied for electro-organic syntheses in order to save process steps. In this case the process is not predetermined to a maximized energy efficiency so that the selection of the cell design, of the electrode materials and of the operating conditions can be focused on a high selectivity of the electrode reactions. The electro-osmotic stream, which is caused by the solvation shells of the ions during their migration through the membrane, and hence is a typical property of SPE technology, has a significant effect on the electrode reactions. It generates enhanced mass transfer at the electrodes, which is beneficial for reaction selectivity. It can be influenced by the choice of, and possibly by the preparation of, the membrane. An additional remarkable advantage of SPE technology is the exceptional long durability of oxide coated electrodes. By combination of several process engineering methods stable operation of SPE cells has been realized, even for examples of non-aqueous reaction systems. Experiments up to 6000 h duration and in cells of up to 250 cm² membrane area show the potential for industrial application.     

Laboratory study of property-modified prebaked carbon anode and application in large aluminum electrolysis cells

A kind of complex additive mainly containing Al, Mg, F, and O was prepared. The synthetical performances of the property-modified prebaked anodes containing additives were tested in laboratory. On the basis of ideal testing results obtained, a large number of industrial prebaked property-modified anodes are prepared in a large-scale aluminum company. Further more, they are all used in 160 kA prebaked anode aluminum electrolysis cells. The statistic result show that, compared with common anodes, the property-modified ones enhance current by 11.6 kg per ton aluminum averagely.     

Hydrogen production in solid electrolyte membrane reactors (SEMRs)

In the present work, the prospects and trends of solid electrolyte membrane reactors (SEMRs) towards hydrogen production, are discussed. Initially, an overview of the principles, the properties and the techniques related to the usage of the SEMRs, are presented. In the following, a literature survey covering earlier and recent developments of the various methods (e.g. reforming or partial oxidation or dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons, steam electrolysis) employed in the SEMRs for the production of hydrogen, is performed. Finally, the current status of this research field is analyzed and future research topics are proposed.