3D CFD model of a multi-cell high-temperature electrolysis stack

Hawkes, Grant L.; O’Brien, James E.; Stoots, C. M.; Hawkes, Brian D.

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.11.068

Cited by 76 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Various materials have been developed to fabricate SOEC for hydrogen production by steam electrolysis [21][22][23]. Several mathematical models have been developed to predict the SOEC performance at various levels [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An electrochemical model for syngas production by co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2

2012

Journal of Power Sources

165

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Co-electrolysis of CO 2 and H 2 O in a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) offers a promising way for syngas production. In this study, an electrochemical model is developed to simulate the performance of an SOEC used for CO 2 /H 2 O co-electrolysis, considering the reversible water gas shift reaction (WGSR) in the cathode. The dusty gas model (DGM) is used to characterize the multi-component mass transport in the electrodes. The modeling results are compared with experimental data from the literature and good agreement is observed. Parametric simulations are performed to analyze the distributions of WGSR and gas composition in the electrode. A new method is proposed to quantify the contribution of WGSR to CO production by comparing the CO fluxes at the cathode-electrolyte interface and at the cathode surface. It is found that the reversible WGSR could contribute to CO production at a low operating potential but consume CO at a high operating potential. In addition, the contribution of WGSR to CO production also depends on the operating temperature and inlet gas composition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An electrochemical model for syngas production by co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2

2012

Journal of Power Sources

165

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“…Because of its good ionic conductivity at high temperatures (873 -1273K), yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has been widely used as an electrolyte material in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for electricity generation and solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) for H 2 generation through steam electrolysis [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In addition to steam electrolysis, SOECs can also be used for CO 2 electrolysis to generate O 2 [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are some valuable modeling studies on steam electrolysis for H 2 production using SOECs [5][6][7][8], a pertinent modeling or reliable analysis on CO 2 electrolysis is needed to understand the physical-chemical processes in an SOEC used for CO 2 electrolysis. Chan et al [13] developed an electrolyte model for CO 2 electrolysis, however, the important gas transport phenomenon in porous electrodes was not considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of a solid oxide electrolysis cell for carbon dioxide electrolysis

2010

Chemical Engineering Journal

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In this study, 2 models are developed to investigate the performance of a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) for CO 2 electrolysis at different levels. The first model is a one-dimensional model which is basing on a previously developed electrochemical model for steam electrolysis and considered all overpotentials in the SOEC. The second model is a two-dimensional thermal-fluid model consisting of the 1D model and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. It is found that the mean electrolyte temperature initially decreases with increasing operating potential, reaches the minimum at about 1.1V and increases considerably with a further increase in potential. At the thermal-neutral voltage (1.463V at 1173K), the calculated mean electrolyte temperature matches the inlet gas temperature. Increasing the operating potential increases both the local current density and the electrolyte Nernst potential. The electrochemical performance can be improved by increasing the inlet gas velocity from 0.2ms -1 to 1.0ms -1 but further increasing the inlet gas velocity will not considerably enhance the SOEC performance. It is also found that a change of electrode permeability in the order of 10 -16 -10 -13 m 2 does not noticeably influence the SOEC performance in the present study, due to negligible convection effect in the porous electrodes.

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“…The research program includes both experimental work and CFD modeling aimed at performance characterization of electrolysis cells and stacks. Various stack configurations of electrolysis cells [3] have been analyzed showing the importance of flow distribution through large planar stacks. Previous models [4] also included consideration of externally manifolded planar cross flow designs.…”

Section: D Cfd Electrochemical and Heat Transfer Model Of An Internamentioning

confidence: 99%

3D CFD Electrochemical and Heat Transfer Model of an Internally Manifolded Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell

Hawkes

O’Brien

Tao

2011

Volume 4: Energy Systems Analysis, Thermodynamics and Sustainability; Combustion Science and Engineering; Nanoengineering for E

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A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and electrochemical model has been created to model hightemperature electrolysis cell performance and steam electrolysis in an internally manifolded planar solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) stack. This design is being evaluated experimentally at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for hydrogen production from nuclear power and process heat. Mass, momentum, energy, and species conservation are numerically solved by means of the commercial CFD code FLUENT. A solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) model adds the electrochemical reactions and loss mechanisms and computation of the electric field throughout the cell. The FLUENT SOFC user-defined subroutine was modified for this work to allow for operation in the SOEC mode. Model results provide detailed profiles of temperature, operating potential, steam-electrode gas composition, oxygen-electrode gas composition, current density and hydrogen production over a range of stack operating conditions. Results will be presented for a five-cell stack configuration that simulates the geometry of five-cell stack tests performed at the INL and at Materials and System Research, Inc. (MSRI). Results will also be presented for a single cell that simulates conditions in the middle of a large stack. Flow enters the stack from the bottom, distributes through the inlet plenum, flows across the cells, gathers in the outlet plenum and flows downward making an upside-down "U" shaped flow pattern. Flow and concentration variations exist downstream of the inlet holes. Predicted mean outlet hydrogen and steam concentrations vary linearly with current density, as expected. Contour plots of local electrolyte temperature, current density, and Nernst potential indicate the effects of heat transfer, reaction cooling/heating, and change in local gas composition.Results are discussed for using this design in the electrolysis mode. Discussion of thermal neutral voltage, enthalpy of reaction, hydrogen production, cell thermal efficiency, cell electrical efficiency, and Gibbs free energy are discussed and reported herein. INTRODUCTIONA research program is under way at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to simultaneously address the research and scale-up issues associated with the implementation of hightemperature electrolysis for large-scale hydrogen production from nuclear energy

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3D CFD model of a multi-cell high-temperature electrolysis stack

Cited by 76 publications

References 10 publications

An electrochemical model for syngas production by co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2

An electrochemical model for syngas production by co-electrolysis of H2O and CO2

Modeling of a solid oxide electrolysis cell for carbon dioxide electrolysis

3D CFD Electrochemical and Heat Transfer Model of an Internally Manifolded Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell

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