Definition of Critical Metrics for Performance Evaluation and Multiphase Flow Modeling in an Alkaline Electrolyzer Using CFD

Marco Dreoni, Francesco Balduzzi (), Syed Sahil Hossain, Matthias Neben, Francesco Maria Ferro, Giovanni Ferrara and Alessandro Bianchini
Additional contact information
Marco Dreoni: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy
Francesco Balduzzi: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy
Syed Sahil Hossain: McPhy Energy Deutschland GmbH, Schwartzkopffstraße 1, 15745 Wildau, Germany
Matthias Neben: McPhy Energy Deutschland GmbH, Schwartzkopffstraße 1, 15745 Wildau, Germany
Francesco Maria Ferro: McPhy Energy Italia Srl, Via Ayrton Senna 22, 56028 San Miniato, Italy
Giovanni Ferrara: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy
Alessandro Bianchini: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via di Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Gas evolution and flow patterns inside an alkaline electrolyzer cell strongly affect efficiency, although such effects have not been explored in detail to date. The present study aims to critically analyze the dependence of cell performance on the multiphase flow phenomena, defining some key metrics for its assessment using CFD. Six performance indicators, involving gas accumulation, bubble coverage, and flow uniformity, are applied to a 3D CFD model of an alkaline cathodic cell, and possible optimizations of the cell geometry are evaluated. The results demonstrate the complexity of defining the optimal indicator, which strictly depends on the case study and on the analysis at hand. For the cell analyzed herein, the parameters linked to the electrode volume fraction were indicated as the most influential on the cell efficiency, allowing us to define the best geometry case during the optimization. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted, which showed that higher mass flow rates are generally preferable as they are linked to higher bubble removal. Higher current densities, allowing enhanced gas production, are instead associated with slightly lower efficiencies and stronger nonuniformity of the electrolyte flow inside the cell.

Keywords: alkaline water electrolyzers; computational fluid dynamics; CFD; optimization; green hydrogen (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
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/21/5317/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/21/5317/ (text/html)

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:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:21:p:5317-:d:1506683

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().