Model-Based Investigation of Recombination Interlayers in PEM Water Electrolysis

Concentration Profiles, Efficiency, and Operational Limits

verfasst von

Steffen Brundiers, Patrick Trinke, Boris Bensmann, Richard Hanke-Rauschenbach

Abstract

Platinum-based recombination interlayers (ILs) are a promising approach to mitigate hydrogen and oxygen crossover during proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Until now, there are only experimental investigations on this topic, which demonstrate the integral behavior of a PEM electrolysis cell with an IL but do not resolve local effects. This paper addresses these issues by proposing a first model-based approach to investigate the effects of ILs in PEM water electrolysis cells. We focus on local concentration profiles, crossover fluxes, Faraday efficiency, operational limits, and heat generation. The experimentally validated model shows that the IL substantially affects the local concentrations of dissolved hydrogen and oxygen. Depending on pressure condition and current density, different species can limit the recombination reaction in the IL. The results show that ILs can extend the operational window even for high cathode pressures and thin membranes if enough oxygen is present in the IL to recombine the permeating hydrogen. Additionally, we demonstrate that ILs do not influence the Faraday efficiency of the cell due to two counteracting loss mechanisms. Finally, our simulations indicate that the heat generation from the recombination reaction in the IL has almost no effect on the temperature distribution in the cell.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Fachgebiet Elektrische Energiespeichersysteme
Institut für Elektrische Energiesysteme

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Band

171

Anzahl der Seiten

17

ISSN

0013-4651

Publikationsdatum

26.07.2024

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Elektronische, optische und magnetische Materialien, Erneuerbare Energien, Nachhaltigkeit und Umwelt, Physik der kondensierten Materie, Oberflächen, Beschichtungen und Folien, Elektrochemie, Werkstoffchemie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ad6212 (Zugang: Offen)