Practical Development of a ZnBr2 Flow Battery with a Fluidized Bed Anode Zinc-Electrode

Abstract

The penetration of renewable sources (solar and wind power) into the power system network has been increasing in the recent years. As a result of this, there have been serious concerns over reliable and satisfactory operation of the power systems. One of the solutions being proposed to improve the reliability and performance of these systems is to integrate energy storage devices into the power system network. Zinc-bromine batteries systems among other energy storage technologies has appeared as one of the best options. This paper presents the performance of three different electrodes feeder materials (carbon, nickel and a titanium) coupled and investigated within a fabricated ZnBr2 cell system via numerical modelling, DDPM+DEM model in ANSYS Fluent to simulate an incorporated anode zinc-electrode and COMSOL Multiphysics for the electrochemical behavior of the cell. After introducing briefly other alternatives to store energy, ZnBr2 cell systems, and its mode of operation were then discussed, before focusing on the numerical modelling and simulation and the laboratory experiments. Several extensive electrochemical experiments were implemented on the cell to achieve fast deposition of zinc onto the electrode surface during charge and fast dissolution during discharge for high performance. The mechanical action of the fluidised design of electrode is intended to improve deposit morphology, obviate the risk of dendrite growth and provide high transport rates of reactant to and from the active electrode surface. In conclusion, this paper has analyzed electrochemical techniques like chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that were used to understand the behavior of the zinc bromide cells at a particular flow rate of 166.7cm 3 min −1 required to give good fluidization of the anode.

Manufacturing flow batteries using advanced 3D printing technology—A review

“…Sun et al built a miniature VRFB prototype with a 3D-printed flow frame and complex internal flow channels (Rajarathnam et al, 2016;Sun et al, 2018;Sun et al, 2019;Adelusi et al, 2020). The Frontiers in Chemical Engineering frontiersin.org frame (Figure 2) was designed, and a numerical model was built using SolidWorks 3D modeling software and then fabricated with a professional-grade high-resolution stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer (Objet30 Pro).…”

“…Therefore, Zn-Br is also called a hybrid RFB as it differs from the classical liquid-liquid vanadium RFB. During the discharging process, the solid Zn metal is stripped and liquid Br 2 is reduced to Br − , as shown as follows (Adelusi et al, 2020):…”

Multiphysics simulation of added carbon particles within fluidized bed anode zinc-electrode

“…The anode fluidized bed reactor was capable for fast electron transfer and properly mixed the injected carbon particles before the fabricating the anode reactor and incorporating it to the fabricated ZnBr2 cell system for the laboratory experiment [20,23,24]. The fabrication and investigation of the anode reactor has been presented in literature [20], with details the practical development of a ZnBr2 flow battery using a fluidized bed anode zincelectrode.…”

Practical Approach for Elements within Incorporated Charged Zinc Particles in an Anode Zinc Reactor of a Fabricated Zinc Bromine Battery Cell System (ZnBr2) with Fitting Materials

“…As previously presented in a journal titled (Practical Development of a ZnBr2 Flow Battery with a Fluidized Bed Anode Zinc-Electrode), Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Volume 167, Number 5, various categories of anode reactors designed in solidwork were numerically examined before choosing the best candidate reactor and later passed different coulombs of charges and discharges to the fabricated ZnBr 2 battery cell after the incorporated chosen reactor to the cell anode side and later explored the presented SEM analysis carried out in this paper on some particles collected from the anode reactor [1].…”

“…Such as dendrites problems within the cell; puncturing membranes of these cells systems and thereby resulting to cut off voltages, short circuits that also reduces their life span. Introducing and modelling a fluidized bed zinc electrode has demonstrated fast deposition of zinc ions within the battery system zinc electrode and serve as an incorporated alternative electrode to prevent depositing zinc ions onto a solid electrode previously making ZnBr 2 cells to encounter mechanical abrasion and deteriorating the electrodes as zinc ions stays longer on them than the expected time [1][2][3]. See the presented schematic diagram in Figure 1.…”