Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e202300197 |
| Journal | CHEMPHYSCHEM |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| Early online date | 4 Jul 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Sept 2023 |
Abstract
The porous transport layer (PTL) plays an integral role for the mass transport in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. In this work, a stochastic reconstruction method of titanium felt-based PTLs is applied and combined with the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The aim is to parametrically investigate the impact of different PTL structures on the transport of oxygen. The structural characteristics of a reconstructed PTL agree well with experimental investigations. Moreover, the impact of PTL porosity, fiber radius, and anisotropy parameter on the structural characteristics of PTLs are analyzed, and their impact on oxygen transport are elucidated by LBM. Eventually, a customized graded PTL is reconstructed, exhibiting almost optimal mass transport performance for the removal of oxygen. The results show that a higher porosity, larger fiber radius, and smaller anisotropy parameter facilitate the formation of oxygen propagation pathways. By tailoring the fiber characteristics and thus optimizing the PTLs, guidelines for the optimal design and manufacturing can be obtained for large-scale PTLs for electrolyzers.
Keywords
- mass transport, microporous materials, pore size distribution, two phase flow, water electrolysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Chemistry(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: CHEMPHYSCHEM, Vol. 24, No. 18, e202300197, 15.09.2023.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Tailored Porous Transport Layers for Optimal Oxygen Transport in Water Electrolyzers
T2 - Combined Stochastic Reconstruction and Lattice Boltzmann Method
AU - Liu, Jiang
AU - Li, Min
AU - Yang, Yingying
AU - Schlüter, Nicolas
AU - Mimic, Dajan
AU - Schröder, Daniel
N1 - Funding Information: . This work is supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC No. 202108080162). M. L. and D. M. acknowledge the funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC 2163/1 – Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation – Project‐ID 390881007. D. S. acknowledges funding by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) within project 01DR22006 A. The authors also wish to acknowledge Felix Kerner for providing valuable discussions and suggestions. This work used the supercomputer Phoenix and was supported by the Gauß‐IT‐Zentrum of the Technische Universität Braunschweig (GITZ). We are grateful to the GITZ supercomputer staff. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL
PY - 2023/9/15
Y1 - 2023/9/15
N2 - The porous transport layer (PTL) plays an integral role for the mass transport in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. In this work, a stochastic reconstruction method of titanium felt-based PTLs is applied and combined with the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The aim is to parametrically investigate the impact of different PTL structures on the transport of oxygen. The structural characteristics of a reconstructed PTL agree well with experimental investigations. Moreover, the impact of PTL porosity, fiber radius, and anisotropy parameter on the structural characteristics of PTLs are analyzed, and their impact on oxygen transport are elucidated by LBM. Eventually, a customized graded PTL is reconstructed, exhibiting almost optimal mass transport performance for the removal of oxygen. The results show that a higher porosity, larger fiber radius, and smaller anisotropy parameter facilitate the formation of oxygen propagation pathways. By tailoring the fiber characteristics and thus optimizing the PTLs, guidelines for the optimal design and manufacturing can be obtained for large-scale PTLs for electrolyzers.
AB - The porous transport layer (PTL) plays an integral role for the mass transport in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. In this work, a stochastic reconstruction method of titanium felt-based PTLs is applied and combined with the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The aim is to parametrically investigate the impact of different PTL structures on the transport of oxygen. The structural characteristics of a reconstructed PTL agree well with experimental investigations. Moreover, the impact of PTL porosity, fiber radius, and anisotropy parameter on the structural characteristics of PTLs are analyzed, and their impact on oxygen transport are elucidated by LBM. Eventually, a customized graded PTL is reconstructed, exhibiting almost optimal mass transport performance for the removal of oxygen. The results show that a higher porosity, larger fiber radius, and smaller anisotropy parameter facilitate the formation of oxygen propagation pathways. By tailoring the fiber characteristics and thus optimizing the PTLs, guidelines for the optimal design and manufacturing can be obtained for large-scale PTLs for electrolyzers.
KW - mass transport
KW - microporous materials
KW - pore size distribution
KW - two phase flow
KW - water electrolysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165275555&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/cphc.202300197
DO - 10.1002/cphc.202300197
M3 - Article
C2 - 37402703
AN - SCOPUS:85165275555
VL - 24
JO - CHEMPHYSCHEM
JF - CHEMPHYSCHEM
SN - 1439-4235
IS - 18
M1 - e202300197
ER -