Multi-Dimensional Modelling of Bioinspired Flow Channels Based on Plant Leaves for PEM Electrolyser

Mohammad Alobeid, Selahattin Çelik, Hasan Ozcan and Bahman Amini Horri ()
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Mohammad Alobeid: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazit University, Ankara 06010, Türkiye
Selahattin Çelik: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazit University, Ankara 06010, Türkiye
Hasan Ozcan: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazit University, Ankara 06010, Türkiye
Bahman Amini Horri: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyser (PEMWE) has gained significant interest among various electrolysis methods due to its ability to produce highly purified, compressed hydrogen. The spatial configuration of bipolar plates and their flow channel patterns play a critical role in the efficiency and longevity of the PEM water electrolyser. Optimally designed flow channels ensure uniform pressure and velocity distribution across the stack, enabling high-pressure operation and facilitating high current densities. This study uses flow channel geometry inspired by authentic vine leaf patterns found in biomass, based on various plant leaves, including Soybean, Victoria Amazonica, Water Lily, Nelumbo Nucifera, Kiwi, and Acalypha Hispida leaves, as a novel channel pattern to design a PEM bipolar plate with a circular cross-section area of 13.85 c m 2 . The proposed bipolar design is further analysed with COMSOL Multiphysics to integrate the conservation of mass and momentum, molecular diffusion (Maxwell–Stefan), charge transfer equations, and other fabrication factors into a cohesive single-domain model. The simulation results showed that the novel designs have the most uniform velocity profile, lower pressure drop, superior pressure distribution, and heightened mixture homogeneity compared to the traditional serpentine models.

Keywords: bio-inspired; plant leaves; bipolar plates; PEM water electrolysis; flow channel design; numerical analysis; 3D modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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