Research on performance of electrolyzer coupled with electrochemical and multiphase flow model

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20250161

Abstract

Abstract:

In order to improve the uniformity of gas-liquid two-phase distribution in alkaline electrolyzers and improve the efficiency of hydrogen production, considering the coupling effect of electrochemistry and gas-liquid two-phase flow, a three-dimensional numerical model of the electrolyzer was established. The study shows that the interaction between the gas and liquid phases causes big differences between the real flow state and the ideal single-phase flow state in the electrolyzer. The difference between the average flow rate of the electrolyte in the simulated flow channel by the two models is more than 20%. Additionally, the effects of the structural parameters of the elliptical mastoid on electrolyzer performance were investigated. As major axis length of the mastoid increases, the area of the low-speed vortex region formed downstream of the mastoid first increases and then decreases. Compared to the circular mastoid, the elliptical mastoid improves the gas-phase distribution uniformity on the electrode surface by 12.28% and increases hydrogen production by 142.77%.

Key words: electrolysis, hydrogen, electrochemical, multiphase flow, mastoid

摘要：

为了改善碱性电解槽内气液两相分布均匀性，并提高制氢效率，考虑电化学与气液两相流的耦合作用，建立了电解槽的三维数值模型。研究表明，气液两相相互作用使电解槽内实际流动状态与理想单相流动状态存在明显差异，两种模型模拟流道内的电解液平均流速相差超过20%。此外，还探究了椭圆柱形乳突的结构参数对于电解槽性能的影响，随着乳突长轴尺寸逐渐增加，乳突下游形成的低速旋流区域面积先升高后降低。相比圆形乳突，椭圆形乳突可使电极表面的气相分布均匀性提高12.28%，氢气产量提高142.77%。

关键词: 电解, 氢气, 电化学, 多相流, 乳突

CLC Number:

TQ 116.2

Jianhai LIU, Lei WANG, Zhaojin LU, Zhishan BAI, Pingyu ZHANG. Research on performance of electrolyzer coupled with electrochemical and multiphase flow model[J]. CIESC Journal, 2025, 76(8): 3885-3893.

刘建海, 王磊, 鲁朝金, 白志山, 张平雨. 耦合电化学与多相流模型的电解槽性能研究[J]. 化工学报, 2025, 76(8): 3885-3893.

Figures/Tables 12

Fig.1 Structure diagram

Fig.2 Model dimension

Fig.3 Experimental setup and model validation

Fig.4 Streamline diagram (x=0.0018 m)

Fig.5 Contour of vorticity distribution (x=0.0018 m)

Fig.6 Contour of velocity distribution (z=0.0025 m)

Fig.7 Contour of liquid phase distribution

Fig.8 Contour of velocity distribution

Fig.9 Curve of velocity

Fig.10 Curve of the liquid phase volume fraction

Fig.11 Contour of velocity distribution (x=0.0018 m)

Fig.12 Curve of phase distribution uniformity and hydrogen production

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