Evaluation of Anode Electrode Materials for Cu-Cl/HCl Electrolyzers for Hydrogen Production

Ranganathan, Santhanam; Edge, Patrick; Easton, E. Bradley

doi:10.1149/1.3702861

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…They also quantified the kinetic parameters through electrochemical methods of characterization including linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), membrane conductivity and permeability measurements, durability testing of the membrane and preparation procedures for a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Also, past studies were reported for CuCl/HCl(aq) electrolyzer performance at UOIT, including electrochemical analysis of the anolyte, 3 chemical exergy of the anolyte, 2 anode material improvement 6,7 and sensitivity analysis of different operating parameters on the MEA performance in actual operating conditions. 7 This paper develops a comprehensive model for a CuCl/HCl(aq) electrolyzer cell and stack.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Also, past studies were reported for CuCl/HCl(aq) electrolyzer performance at UOIT, including electrochemical analysis of the anolyte, 3 chemical exergy of the anolyte, 2 anode material improvement 6,7 and sensitivity analysis of different operating parameters on the MEA performance in actual operating conditions. 7 This paper develops a comprehensive model for a CuCl/HCl(aq) electrolyzer cell and stack. Previous theoretical and experimental studies for the CuCl/HCl (aq) electrolyzer focused on an individual cell performance in the absence of other existing cells in the stack.…”

Section: Symbolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electrochemical Transport in CuCl/HCl(aq) Electrolyzer Cells and Stack of the Cu–Cl Cycle

Farsi

Zamfirescu

Dinçer

et al. 2020

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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This paper develops a comprehensive predictive model for the CuCl/HCl(aq) electrolyzer stack in the electrochemical unit of the Cu–Cl cycle of hydrogen production. A strong aqueous anolyte is fed into the stack and forms complex speciation. The unit single cell is modeled to predict the decomposition voltage by applying the Gibbs energy minimization method (GEM). The kinetic correlations are incorporated to take into account the overpotential losses during the hydrogen generation process under a non-equilibrium condition with the stack under potential. To evaluate the single-cell contribution to the average performance of stack, a hydrodynamic analysis reveals the anolyte and catholyte flow distribution using a finite element method for solutions of the equation of mass and momentum conservation equations of the flow field. Using the simulated stack, the voltage spread across the individual cells in the stack, cell and stack voltage efficiency, and the sensitivity of stack performance under the operating conditions, are investigated. It is shown that the speciation model has good agreement with data in past literature. With an increase in the stack operating temperature from 25 °C to 65 °C, the average stack efficiency improves from 68% to 72%. Cells close to the anolyte or catholyte input ports possess a higher voltage efficiency than other cells. This is mainly due to less electrolyte received by the cells placed in the middle of the stack for the X-shape bipolar modules, resulting in less decomposition potential.

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Section: Symbolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Symbolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemical Transport in CuCl/HCl(aq) Electrolyzer Cells and Stack of the Cu–Cl Cycle

Farsi

Zamfirescu

Dinçer

et al. 2020

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…Overall reaction : The electrolysers that have been operated in earlier studies have mostly employed commercially available Pt/C electrocatalyst in the MEA at both cathode and anode. [28][29][30][31][32][33] The MEA production and its functioning are critical from the standpoint of CuCl/HCl electrolysis efficiency. Besides Pt/C, another Pt-based electrocatalyst that has also found promise in MEA is directly bonded Pt on membrane or platinized membranes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations on a platinum catalyzed membrane for electrolysis step of copper‐chlorine thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production

Banerjee

Antony

Pai

et al. 2020

Intl J of Energy Research

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Considering the low temperature demand (550 C maximum) and high efficiency (43%), Cu-Cl thermochemical water splitting cycle has immense potential as a futuristic scalable hydrogen generation process. CuCl/HCl electrolysis is the crucial hydrogen generation step in the Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle. The efficiency of this electrolysis process is highly dependent on the performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) employed. To explore the suitability of the platinized membrane for this step, in this study, we have investigated a Pt/Nafion-117 MEA prepared by in-situ impregnation-reduction method for CuCl/HCl electrolysis. A single-cell PEM-type electrolyser (4 cm 2 active area) consisting of serpentine channels (2 cm × 2 cm) grooved in graphite flow field plates was designed and fabricated to carry out the CuCl/HCl electrolysis. Platinum electrocatalyst was deposited on Nafion-117 membrane on the cathodic side by reduction of hexachloroplatinic acid (H 2 PtCl 6) with sodium borohydride (NaBH 4) by the impregnation-reduction method which served as the MEA. Monodispersed nanocrystalline Pt particles formed a 30 μm thick electrocatalyst layer on the membrane. Pt/Nafion-117 MEA was found to be effective for CuCl /HCl electrolysis. In a PEM-type electrolyser with Ar-purged 0.2 M CuCl in 2 M HCl solution as anolyte flowing at 8.8 mLmin −1 , a current density of 100 mA cm −2 was achieved at a cell voltage of 1 V. However, undesired Cu-crossover could be noticed from anode to cathode side during operation.

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“…Commercial MEA's based on Pt/C electrocatalyst has been generally employed in reported literature. 43,47,[49][50][51][52][53][54] In our earlier study, we had employed a platinized Nafion membrane as MEA with electrocatalyst coated only on the cathode side. 48 In this study we prepare Pt/C electrocatalyst with varied Pt loadings and compare their electrochemical surface area (ECSA).…”

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Investigations on CuCl/HCl Electrolysis Using a Pt/C Electrocatalyst-based Membrane Electrode Assembly

Banerjee,

Antony,

Nadar

et al. 2023

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The study reports the fabrication and performance evaluation of a Pt/C(Electrocatalyst) (20 wt% Pt)/Nafion MEA as cathode for CuCl/HCl electrolysis in a PEM-based electrolyser with an active area of ∼4 cm2. The electrolyser is indigenously developed consisting of graphite plates with serpentine fluid flow channels grooved. The anode half-cell reaction i.e. Cu+ oxidation is investigated by electrochemical (LSV, CV, EIS) methods, and I-V characteristics. An oxidation peak for Cu+ to Cu2+ is observed at a cell voltage of ∼0.55 V in the LSV curve recorded at 20 mVs−1 in the electrolyser with an anolyte of 0.2 M CuCl in ∼2 M HCl flowing at 2.2 ml min−1. The effect of the concentration of CuCl in the anolyte and its flow rate is also studied. A current density of ∼128 mAcm−2 is attained for CuCl/HCl electrolysis at a cell voltage of 1 V with an anolyte of 0.4 M CuCl in ∼4 M HCl flowing at 8.8 ml min−1. Further, a model showing the working of the above electrolyser is generated using COMSOL 6.0. Higher concentration of CuCl in the anolyte and higher anolyte flow rates favoring the electrolysis is evident from electrochemical characterizations.

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Evaluation of Anode Electrode Materials for Cu-Cl/HCl Electrolyzers for Hydrogen Production

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Electrochemical Transport in CuCl/HCl(aq) Electrolyzer Cells and Stack of the Cu–Cl Cycle

Electrochemical Transport in CuCl/HCl(aq) Electrolyzer Cells and Stack of the Cu–Cl Cycle

Investigations on a platinum catalyzed membrane for electrolysis step of copper‐chlorine thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production

Investigations on CuCl/HCl Electrolysis Using a Pt/C Electrocatalyst-based Membrane Electrode Assembly

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