STUDY ON MASS TRANSFER AND PERFORMANCE OF GRADUAL FLOW FIELD STRUCTURE IN PEM ELECTROLYSIS CELLS

Sun Cong; Shi Huan'gang; Qu Jifa; Yu Yang; Xiong Yongheng; Tan Wenyi

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2023-0891

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Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (10) : 22-29. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2023-0891

STUDY ON MASS TRANSFER AND PERFORMANCE OF GRADUAL FLOW FIELD STRUCTURE IN PEM ELECTROLYSIS CELLS

Sun Cong^1,2, Shi Huan'gang², Qu Jifa², Yu Yang², Xiong Yongheng², Tan Wenyi²

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Abstract

The parallel and serpentine flow fields of the traditional proton exchange membrane （PEM） electrolysis cells have poor electrical performance, due to weak mass transfer. In view of this, this paper proposed a gradually-varied flow field. The changes of flow velocity, pressure, gas distribution and current density distribution in the flow field under different inflow directions （denoted as gradual Ⅰ-type and gradual Ⅱ-type, respectively） were compared by numerical simulation. The results show that the pressure drop of the gradual Ⅰ-type flow field is second only to the parallel flow field, which has a higher flow velocity and can also effectively and rapidly discharge gas. The average current density achieved by gradual Ⅰ-type flow field is 8% higher than that of the serpentine and 4% higher than that of the parallel. The PEM electrolysis cells with gradual Ⅰ-type flow field has better electrical performance.

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hydrogen production / electrolytic cells / numerical simulation / flow fields / mass transfer

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Sun Cong, Shi Huan'gang, Qu Jifa, Yu Yang, Xiong Yongheng, Tan Wenyi. STUDY ON MASS TRANSFER AND PERFORMANCE OF GRADUAL FLOW FIELD STRUCTURE IN PEM ELECTROLYSIS CELLS[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2024, 45(10): 22-29 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2023-0891

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