The influence of manufacturing parameters on the properties of macroporous Zirfon® separators

Vermeiren, Ph.; Leysen, R.; Beckers, Herman; Moreels, J. P.; Claes, A.

doi:10.1007/s10934-006-9084-0

Cited by 64 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…14,15 This type of separator combines the flexibility of the polymer with the stiffness and wettability of the ceramic zirconia. 16 Agfa provides a commercially available product of this type of separator, denoted as 'Zirfon PERL UTP 500'. In the datasheet of the manufacturer 17 a thickness of approximately 500 ± 50 μm, a porosity of 50 ± 10% and pores of approximately 0.15 ± 0.05 μm diameter were reported.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The manufacturing procedure and resulting physical properties, such as the wettability and porosity, are reported in the literature. 14,16,18 However, a detailed quantitative study of the hydrogen diffusivity and electrolyte permeability of the Zirfon PERL separator or other types of separators has thus far not been presented in the literature, despite these properties have a decisive impact on the overall efficiency. 9 Given this lack of knowledge, in this study these properties are characterized as a function of pressure, temperature and the composition of aqueous KOH filling.…”

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Hydrogen Diffusivity and Electrolyte Permeability of the Zirfon PERL Separator for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Schalenbach

Lueke

Stolten

2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

119

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The hydrogen and oxygen evolved during alkaline water electrolysis with liquid KOH electrolytes are typically separated using porous separators such as Zirfon PERL (Agfa), a commercially available composite of zirconium oxide and polysulfone. In this study, the hydrogen diffusivity (driven by concentration differences) and electrolyte permeability (driven by differential pressures) of the Zirfon PERL separator were characterized as a function of the temperature and molarity of the KOH filling. The diffusivity of hydrogen in the separator was found to be approximately 16% of that of the electrolyte filling inside its pores. With respect to water electrolysis conditions, the extent of hydrogen cross-permeation caused by the convection of the cross-permeating electrolyte was estimated and compared to that caused by diffusion. On the basis of the physically characterized mechanisms, smaller pores were predicted to reduce the differential pressure driven gas cross-permeation. In a water electrolyzer, hydrogen is evolved at the cathode (the negative pole) while oxygen is evolved at the anode (the positive pole). When both electrodes are connected by an alkaline electrolyte, hydroxide ions must permeate from the cathode to the anode in order to bring about the electrochemical reactions at the electrodes. In such alkaline water electrolyzers, typically aqueous KOH electrolytes (which provide higher conductivity than other lyes 1 ) and porous separators between both electrodes are used to provide the ionic conductivity between the electrodes and to separate the evolved gases. 2,3Alternatively, alkaline polymer electrolyte membranes can be used as the electrolyte.4-6 However, these membranes typically show low durability. 7,8 The thickness of the separator, its ionic conductivity and its gas permeability constitute a decisive property for the efficiency of water electrolysis, as these properties determine the ohmic drop and cross-permeation of the produced gases.9-11 A recent comparison of acidic and alkaline water electrolysis showed, that the lower hydrogen and oxygen diffusivities in alkaline electrolytes than in acidic electrolytes may be a decisive advantage of alkaline electrolyzers. 9Higher pressures at the gas outlets during water electrolysis means reducing the mass fraction of water in the produced gases and thus lower thermoneutral voltages. 9,12 In addition, applied pressures during water electrolysis enable efficient isothermal compression. 13 However, higher pressures increase the amount of hydrogen and oxygen diffusing through the separator, 9,10 so that porous separators that enable low gas crossover are required for efficient alkaline water electrolyzers.Composite materials of Zirconium oxide (zirconia) and polysulfone are high-performing and stable separators for alkaline water electrolysis.14,15 This type of separator combines the flexibility of the polymer with the stiffness and wettability of the ceramic zirconia. 16Agfa provides a commercially available product of this type of separator, denoted as '...

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confidence: 99%

Hydrogen Diffusivity and Electrolyte Permeability of the Zirfon PERL Separator for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Schalenbach

Lueke

Stolten

2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

119

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“…MFCs with a 15% Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticle/PES composite membrane generates 29% higher power than Nafion (Rahimnejad et al, 2012). MFCs with Zirfon, a macro-porous organo-mineral material containing 85 wt% of hydrophilic ZrO 2 powder and 15 wt% polysulphone (Vermeiren et al, 2008) has a much lower specific resistance than Nafion, but its higher oxygen permeability is detrimental to anodic reactions (Pant et al, 2010a,b).…”

Section: Composite Membranementioning

confidence: 99%

Separators used in microbial electrochemical technologies: Current status and future prospects

Daud¹,

Kim

Ghasemi³

et al. 2015

Bioresource Technology

139

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“…It contains 85 wt% of hydrophilic ZrO 2 powder with a high specific surface area of 22 m 2 g −1 as hydrophobic agent and 15 wt% polysulphone, which gives the material its mechanical strength [31]; 0.5 mm thick Zirfon ® separators present excellent chemical stability and a low ionic resistance, leading to a significant improvement in the water electrolysers performance [31,32] • the Zirfon PERL ® LT (low temperature) uses a polypropylene (PP)-based mesh and its maximum recommended operating temperature is limited to 80 ∘ C;…”

Section: Diaphragm/separatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Guillet

Millet

2015

Hydrogen Production

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The influence of manufacturing parameters on the properties of macroporous Zirfon® separators

Cited by 64 publications

References 7 publications

Hydrogen Diffusivity and Electrolyte Permeability of the Zirfon PERL Separator for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Hydrogen Diffusivity and Electrolyte Permeability of the Zirfon PERL Separator for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Separators used in microbial electrochemical technologies: Current status and future prospects

Alkaline Water Electrolysis

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