Optimizing membrane thickness for vanadium redox flow batteries

Chen, Dongyang; Hickner, Michael A.; Ağar, Ertan; Kumbur, E. Caglan

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2013.02.007

Cited by 85 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…One of the best performing felt-VRFBs was reported by Chen et al, who achieved 311 mW cm −2 with a GFA5 electrode at a compression of 33% (Table 2, row 5) [20]. Despite the much lower relative flow rate, the peak power density of 429 mW cm −2 obtained with Cell 1 is noticeably higher (a 38% increase) than the result of Chen et al Furthermore, the discharge voltage efficiency at 0.5 A cm −2 is almost 20% higher for Cell 1.…”

Section: Vrfb Cell Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

High-Performance Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Graphite Felt Electrodes

Davies

Tummino

2018

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A key objective in the development of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) is the improvement of cell power density. At present, most commercially available VRFBs use graphite felt electrodes under relatively low compression. This results in a large cell ohmic resistance and limits the maximum power density. To date, the best performing VRFBs have used carbon paper electrodes, with high active area compression pressures, similar to that used in fuel cells. This article investigates the use of felt electrodes at similar compression pressures. Single cells are assembled using compression pressures of 0.2-7.5 bar and tested in a VRFB system. The highest cell compression pressure, combined with a thin Nafion membrane, achieved a peak power density of 669 mW cm −2 at a flow rate of 3.2 mL min −1 per cm 2 of active area, more than double the previous best performance from a felt-VRFB. The results suggest that felt electrodes can compete with paper electrodes in terms of performance when under similar compression pressures, which should help guide electrode development and cell optimization in this important energy storage technology.

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Section: Vrfb Cell Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

High-Performance Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Graphite Felt Electrodes

Davies

Tummino

2018

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“…1,2 Among these advantages, the most important ones are their ability to decouple power and energy rating due to their unique system architecture, and their flexible design. [3][4][5][6] Despite these advantages, one major challenge which hinders their commercial viability is the relatively higher capital cost of these systems. 5 According to a recent study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the current capital cost of a VRFB system is about $350 per kWh for 4-h application, 7 which is much higher than the capital cost target set by government agencies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of Ion Crossover in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: A Computationally-Efficient Lumped Parameter Approach for Extended Cycling

Boettcher

Ağar

Dennison

et al. 2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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In this work, we have developed a zero-dimensional vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) model which accounts for all modes of vanadium crossover and enables prediction of long-term performance of the system in a computationally-efficient manner. Using this model, the effects of membrane thickness on a 1000-cycle operation of a VRFB system have been investigated. It was observed that utilizing a thicker membrane significantly reduces the rate of capacity fade over time (up to ∼15%) at the expense of reducing the energy efficiency (up to ∼2%) due to increased ohmic losses. During extended cycling, the capacity of each simulated case was observed to approach an asymptote of ∼60% relative capacity, as the concentrations in each half-cell reach a quasi-equilibrium state. Simulations also indicated that peak power density and limiting current density exhibit a similar asymptotic trend during extended cycling (i.e., an ∼10-15% decrease in the peak power density and an ∼20-25% decrease in the limiting current density is observed as quasi-equilibrium state is reached Recently, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have gained significant interest as one of the most promising electrochemical systems for grid-scale energy storage due to their several advantages over conventional batteries.1,2 Among these advantages, the most important ones are their ability to decouple power and energy rating due to their unique system architecture, and their flexible design.3-6 Despite these advantages, one major challenge which hinders their commercial viability is the relatively higher capital cost of these systems.5 According to a recent study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the current capital cost of a VRFB system is about $350 per kWh for 4-h application, 7 which is much higher than the capital cost target set by government agencies. The current capital cost target of The Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability is $250 per kWh, falling to $150 per kWh in the future for a 4-hour energy storage system. 8 One possible approach to reduce the capital cost is to improve the performance of these systems for less material use. To date, the majority of research has focused on improving the performance of individual components, such as developing high power density electrodes 4,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and exploring high energy capacity electrolytes. [17][18][19][20][21] In line with these studies, another approach to reduce the capital cost is to increase the lifetime of VRFB systems. Currently, the lifetime of these systems is limited by the capacity fade during cycling, which is primarily governed by unwanted active species transport across the membrane (i.e., species crossover). 22 Developing sophisticated mathematical models to mimic the VRFB operation is imperative to investigate the capacity fade and related performance losses in these systems due to lengthy time requirements and practical limitations of experimental cycling analysis. So far, there are several studies reported that ha...

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“…As a result, some PEMs for methanol fuel cells and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) or their modifications can be directly used for VRBs [17][18][19][20]. In other words, the cation exchange membranes (CEMs) are the mainstream for VRB applications, especially the Nafion series with high proton conductivity and good chemical stability in the harsh acid and high oxidizing electrolyte surrounding (concentration of vanadium ions: 1-3 M, concentration of sulfuric acid: 1-3 M) [8,12,[21][22][23][24]. However, because of the high vanadium ion permeability and large volume water transference during the charge-discharge processes and high cost, Nafion is not the ideal material for large-scale commercial applications of VRBs [20,25].…”

Section: Ion Exchange Membranes For Vrbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ion exchange membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries

Li³

et al. 2014

Pure and Applied Chemistry

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In recent years, much attention has been paid to vanadium redox flow batteries (VRBs) because of their excellent performance as a new and efficient energy storage system, especially for large-scale energy storage. As one core component of a VRB, ion exchange membrane prevents cross-over of positive and negative electrolytes, while it enables the transportation of charge-balancing ions such as H + , 2 4 SO , − and 4 HSO − to complete the current circuit. To a large extent, its structure and property affect the performance of VRBs. This review focuses on the latest work on the ion exchange membranes for VRBs such as perfluorinated, partially fluorinated, and nonfluorinated membranes. The prospective for future development on membranes for VRBs is also proposed.

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Optimizing membrane thickness for vanadium redox flow batteries

Cited by 85 publications

References 29 publications

High-Performance Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Graphite Felt Electrodes

High-Performance Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Graphite Felt Electrodes

Modeling of Ion Crossover in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: A Computationally-Efficient Lumped Parameter Approach for Extended Cycling

Ion exchange membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries

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