The effect of inlet design and developing flow on local mass transfer in electrolyzers

Stéphane J.C. Weusten; Luc C.E.M. Murrer; John van der Schaaf; Matheus T. de Groot

doi:10.1016/J.IJOES.2023.100370

The effect of inlet design and developing flow on local mass transfer in electrolyzers

Stéphane J.C. Weusten, Luc C.E.M. Murrer, John van der Schaaf, Matheus T. de Groot (Corresponding author)

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Abstract

The mass transfer performance of electrolyzers can vary significantly depending on the type of inlet that is used. Furthermore, significant local effects can occur if the flow is not distributed well by the inlet. In this work, these effects are investigated using segmented electrodes. With a tube inlet, the formation of a jet results in regions of low and high mass transfer. With a conic inlet, significant flow channeling to the sides of the electrolyzer is observed. These local effects were reduced by using a divider inlet, the addition of a calming section, or a turbulence promoter. The type of inlet also determines the flow regime: with the extended conic configuration the flow is developed laminar, whereas with the tube inlet the flow is developing turbulent. The cross-sectional area ratio of the inlet to the channel was found to be an important parameter in predicting the local mass transfer behavior.

Original language	English
Article number	100370
Number of pages	13
Journal	International Journal of Electrochemical Science
Volume	18
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJOES.2023.100370
Publication status	Published - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of ESG.This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Keywords

3D printing
Electrochemistry
Inlet effects
Local mass transfer
Mass transfer

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title = "The effect of inlet design and developing flow on local mass transfer in electrolyzers",

abstract = "The mass transfer performance of electrolyzers can vary significantly depending on the type of inlet that is used. Furthermore, significant local effects can occur if the flow is not distributed well by the inlet. In this work, these effects are investigated using segmented electrodes. With a tube inlet, the formation of a jet results in regions of low and high mass transfer. With a conic inlet, significant flow channeling to the sides of the electrolyzer is observed. These local effects were reduced by using a divider inlet, the addition of a calming section, or a turbulence promoter. The type of inlet also determines the flow regime: with the extended conic configuration the flow is developed laminar, whereas with the tube inlet the flow is developing turbulent. The cross-sectional area ratio of the inlet to the channel was found to be an important parameter in predicting the local mass transfer behavior.",

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AU - Weusten, Stéphane J.C.

AU - Murrer, Luc C.E.M.

AU - van der Schaaf, John

AU - de Groot, Matheus T.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - The mass transfer performance of electrolyzers can vary significantly depending on the type of inlet that is used. Furthermore, significant local effects can occur if the flow is not distributed well by the inlet. In this work, these effects are investigated using segmented electrodes. With a tube inlet, the formation of a jet results in regions of low and high mass transfer. With a conic inlet, significant flow channeling to the sides of the electrolyzer is observed. These local effects were reduced by using a divider inlet, the addition of a calming section, or a turbulence promoter. The type of inlet also determines the flow regime: with the extended conic configuration the flow is developed laminar, whereas with the tube inlet the flow is developing turbulent. The cross-sectional area ratio of the inlet to the channel was found to be an important parameter in predicting the local mass transfer behavior.

AB - The mass transfer performance of electrolyzers can vary significantly depending on the type of inlet that is used. Furthermore, significant local effects can occur if the flow is not distributed well by the inlet. In this work, these effects are investigated using segmented electrodes. With a tube inlet, the formation of a jet results in regions of low and high mass transfer. With a conic inlet, significant flow channeling to the sides of the electrolyzer is observed. These local effects were reduced by using a divider inlet, the addition of a calming section, or a turbulence promoter. The type of inlet also determines the flow regime: with the extended conic configuration the flow is developed laminar, whereas with the tube inlet the flow is developing turbulent. The cross-sectional area ratio of the inlet to the channel was found to be an important parameter in predicting the local mass transfer behavior.

KW - 3D printing

KW - Electrochemistry

KW - Inlet effects

KW - Local mass transfer

KW - Mass transfer

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The effect of inlet design and developing flow on local mass transfer in electrolyzers

Abstract

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