A component-level model of polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cells for hydrogen production

Daniela Fernanda Ruiz Diaz, Edgar Valenzuela and Yun Wang

Applied Energy, 2022, vol. 321, issue C, No S030626192200736X

Abstract: Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Cells (PEMEC) are a promising technology for high-purity hydrogen production with a low impact on the environment. This paper developed a component-level PEMEC model, which considers the water exchange between the anode and cathode, two-phase transport in the porous transport layer (PTL), flow resistance at the PTL/Channel interface, gas coverage at the catalyst surface, proton conductance in the membrane, and electrochemical reaction kinetics. An interfacial resistance for oxygen removal at the anode Channel/PTL interface is proposed for the first time, which is based on the well-known mass convective transport theory. A gas coverage sub-model on the catalyst surface and 1-D liquid transport sub-model in the anode PTL are incorporated into the PEMEC model. The model is validated against various sets of experimental data reported in the literature. Results show that the ohmic overpotential contributes to a major voltage loss (about 52%) and the activation overpotential contributes approximately 38% at 5 A/cm2. The mass transport loss increases with the current density, accounting for about 10% at 5 A/cm2 to 18% at 7 A/cm2 under a gas coverage coefficient of 2.0, and about 25% at 7 A/cm2 under a larger gas coverage coefficient of 3.0. Additionally, at a high current density of 5 A/cm2 the oxygen fraction at the PTL may occupy as large as 55% in the pore space, hampering liquid water supply to the catalyst layer and increasing the transport loss. The model is suitable for rapid design and optimization of PEMEC components and operation conditions and integration with renewable resources such as solar or wind energy.

Keywords: PEM; Electrolysis; Model; Gas coverage; Interfacial resistance; Liquid water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626192200736X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:321:y:2022:i:c:s030626192200736x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119398

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().