Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of water electrolysis of proton exchange membranes, in particular to a water electrolysis cell of a proton exchange membrane.
Background
Hydrogen energy is considered as the most ideal energy carrier because of its advantages of cleanliness, no pollution, high efficiency, storage and transportation. The hydrogen production by water electrolysis is the simplest method for obtaining pure hydrogen at present, and if the method is combined with a renewable resource power generation technology, the water electrolysis can be used as a large-scale hydrogen production technology, has small pollution to the environment, less greenhouse gas emission and better economy, and has good application prospect.
The proton exchange membrane water electrolysis technology is that oxygen and hydrogen are generated by electrolyzing water, deionized water flows into a channel through the deionized water and diffuses to the anode side of the proton exchange membrane through a diffusion layer, oxygen and hydrogen ions are generated by electrolysis under the action of a catalyst, the oxygen flows out of an electrolysis cell through an oxygen-containing deionized water channel along with the deionized water which does not participate in the electrolysis, and the hydrogen ions pass through the proton exchange membrane to the cathode side, then hydrogen is generated, flow into a hydrogen discharge channel through a cathode diffusion layer, and then flow out of the electrolysis cell.
The proton exchange membrane water electrolysis technology is the best effect among several water electrolysis technologies at present, and the technology based on pure water electrolysis researched and developed by the U.S. general company in the 70 th century is still in the research and development stage at present. The proton exchange membrane has the advantages of good mechanical strength and chemical stability, high proton conductivity, good gas separation performance and the like as an electrolyte, and can enable the PEM electrolyzer to work under higher current without reducing the electrolysis efficiency. The pure water electrolysis is adopted to avoid the corrosion of the electrolyte to the cell body, and the method is a water electrolysis technology with high safety. However, in the proton exchange membrane water electrolysis cell in the prior art, flow field plates with various flow channels need to be designed, the structure is complex, the volume is large, the processing is difficult, and the manufacturing cost is high.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer with compact structure, which can improve the electrolytic efficiency, reduce the current loss, reduce the quality and the volume of the water electrolyzer, reduce the assembly difficulty and prolong the service life of the water electrolyzer.
The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows: a water electrolyzer with proton exchange membrane is composed of proton exchange membrane, cathode catalytic layer, anode catalytic layer, cathode diffusion layer and anode diffusion layer, the cathode catalyst layer and the anode catalyst layer are respectively sprayed on both sides of the proton exchange membrane to form a membrane electrode with a three-in-one structure, the membrane electrode is arranged in the middle of the middle base plate, both sides of the middle base plate are respectively provided with a cathode flow field plate and an anode flow field plate, the cathode diffusion layer is embedded in the middle of the cathode flow field plate, the anode diffusion layer is embedded in the middle of the anode flow field plate, the left end of the cathode flow field plate is provided with a left epoxy resin plate, the right end of the anode flow field plate is provided with a right epoxy resin plate, the middle parts of the left epoxy resin plate and the right epoxy resin plate are embedded with current collecting plates, the left side of the left epoxy resin plate is provided with a left end plate, and the right side of the right epoxy resin plate is provided with a right end plate; the left end plate, the left epoxy resin plate, the cathode flow field plate, the middle substrate, the anode flow field plate, the right epoxy resin plate and the right end plate are fixedly connected and are provided with gas-liquid pore passages communicated with each other.
In the above scheme, the anode diffusion layer adopts a multilayer titanium mesh and titanium felt structure, the aperture of the titanium mesh gradually decreases from the cathode flow field plate side to the membrane electrode side, and the aperture of the titanium mesh gradually decreases from the anode flow field plate side to the membrane electrode side.
In the above scheme, the cathode diffusion layer adopts a multi-layer carbon paper structure.
In the scheme, the cathode diffusion layer is in interference fit with the flow field plate.
In the scheme, the surfaces of the cathode flow field plate and the anode flow field plate are slightly convex.
In the above scheme, the edge of the current collecting plate is provided with a connecting lug plate for connecting a power supply.
In the above scheme, the contact surfaces of the left end plate, the left epoxy resin plate, the cathode flow field plate, the middle substrate, the anode flow field plate, the right epoxy resin plate and the right end plate are all provided with sealing grooves, and sealing rings are installed in the sealing grooves.
In the scheme, the gas-liquid pore passage comprises a passage which is positioned below and used for allowing deionized water to enter the electrolytic cell, a passage which is positioned above and used for allowing oxygen-containing deionized water to flow out of the electrolytic cell, and a passage which is positioned on the left side and the right side and used for discharging hydrogen.
In the scheme, bolt holes are formed in the edges of the cathode flow field plate, the anode flow field plate, the left epoxy resin plate, the right epoxy resin plate, the left end plate and the right end plate.
In the scheme, the edges of the cathode flow field plate, the anode flow field plate, the left epoxy resin plate, the right epoxy resin plate, the left end plate and the right end plate are provided with positioning holes.
The proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer has the following beneficial effects:
1. the invention realizes the circulation of gas and liquid through the corresponding gas-liquid pore passages among the plates, does not need to arrange a complex flow passage, and can reduce the processing difficulty and cost by adopting a flow field plate without the flow passage.
2. The non-flow channel design is adopted, the anode and cathode gas diffusion layers are embedded in the flow field plate, and the cathode diffusion layer is in interference fit with the flow field plate, so that certain compression rate of the carbon paper is ensured, and the contact between the diffusion layer and the membrane electrode and the gas discharge are facilitated.
3. The flow field plate adopts a slightly convex design, so that the contact effect of the proton exchange membrane and the diffusion layer can be improved when the electrolytic cell is assembled, and the swelling deformation of the proton exchange membrane is prevented, thereby improving the electrolytic efficiency.
4. The anode diffusion layer adopts a structure of multilayer titanium mesh and titanium felt, the aperture of the titanium mesh is gradually reduced from the flow field plate side to the membrane electrode side, and the titanium felt is arranged between the titanium mesh and the membrane electrode. The cathode diffusion layer adopts a multi-layer carbon paper structure, which is beneficial to water vapor transmission and the contact between the diffusion layer and the membrane electrode, reduces the contact resistance, improves the water electrolysis performance, and can also prevent the corrosion of the diffusion layer.
Drawings
The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of the part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a proton exchange membrane;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of a cathode flow field plate;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of an anode flow field plate;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of a current collecting plate;
FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a left or right end plate;
fig. 8 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a flow field plate. .
Detailed Description
For a more clear understanding of the technical features, objects and effects of the present invention, embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in fig. 1-7, the water electrolyzer with proton exchange membrane 1 of the present invention comprises a proton exchange membrane 1, a cathode catalyst layer, an anode catalyst layer, a cathode diffusion layer 2, an anode diffusion layer 3, a cathode flow field plate 4, an anode flow field plate 5, a left epoxy resin plate 6, a right epoxy resin plate 7, a left end plate 8 and a right end plate 9. The left end plate 8, the left epoxy resin plate 6, the cathode flow field plate 4, the middle base plate 10, the anode flow field plate, the right epoxy resin plate 7 and the right end plate 9 are fixedly connected and are provided with communicated gas-liquid pore passages.
The cathode catalyst layer and the anode catalyst layer are respectively sprayed on two sides of the proton exchange membrane 1 to form a membrane electrode with a three-in-one structure, so that the assembly is convenient, and the membrane electrode is arranged in the middle of the middle substrate 10. The electrolyte is a proton exchange membrane 1, which is a mature proton exchange membrane 1 in the prior art, and has the advantages of high proton conductivity, good electrochemical stability, certain mechanical strength and high gas barrier property. The cathode catalyst layer and the anode catalyst layer are respectively sprayed on two sides of the proton exchange membrane 1 to form a three-in-one structure, the catalyst loading capacity can be reduced, the active surface area and the chemical stability of the catalyst can be remarkably improved, and the proton conduction resistance is reduced.
The two sides of the middle substrate 10 are respectively provided with a cathode flow field plate 4 and an anode flow field plate 5, the cathode diffusion layer 2 is embedded in the middle of the cathode flow field plate 4, and the anode diffusion layer 3 is embedded in the middle of the anode flow field plate 5. The anode diffusion layer 3 adopts a structure of a plurality of layers of titanium meshes and titanium felts, the aperture of the titanium meshes is gradually reduced from the flow field plate side to the membrane electrode side, and in addition, the titanium felts are arranged between the titanium meshes and the membrane electrode, so that the water-gas transmission and the contact between the diffusion layer and the membrane electrode are facilitated, the contact resistance is reduced, and the water electrolysis performance is improved. The cathode diffusion layer 2 adopts a multi-layer carbon paper structure, which is beneficial to water vapor transmission and the contact between the diffusion layer and the membrane electrode, reduces the contact resistance and improves the water electrolysis performance. The number of layers of the carbon paper is determined according to the matching of the carbon paper and the flow field plate, the carbon paper is adhered together, the diffusion performance is not influenced, and the assembly difficulty is reduced.
The cathode flow field plate 4 and the anode flow field plate 5 are made of pure titanium and have surface coatings, and the cathode flow field plate and the anode flow field plate have the advantages of capability of reducing direct current loss, corrosion resistance and long service life. The cathode flow field plate 4 and the anode flow field plate 5 adopt a micro-convex design, so that the whole stress balance is ensured, the irregular deformation of the proton exchange membrane 1 is prevented, and the water electrolysis performance is improved. Cathode flow field plate 4 and anode flow field plate 5 adopt no runner design, and cathode gas diffusion layer, anode gas diffusion layer inlay in flow field plate, and cathode diffusion layer 2 and 4 interference fit of cathode flow field plate guarantee that carbon paper has certain compression ratio, are favorable to the contact of cathode diffusion layer 2 and membrane electrode and gas outgoing.
The water electrolysis bath structure of the proton exchange membrane 1 in this embodiment is a single-sheet proton exchange membrane 1 electrolysis bath structure, but the water electrolysis bath structure is also applicable to an electrolysis bath with a plurality of proton exchange membranes 1 connected in series, and the multi-sheet structure is mainly characterized in that the two sides of the flow field plate are used as the cathode and anode flow field plates 5 of two adjacent single electrolysis bath structures, i.e. the cathode side flow field and the anode side flow field are integrated into one flow field plate, as shown in fig. 8.
The left end of the cathode flow field plate 4 is provided with a left epoxy resin plate 6, the right end of the anode flow field plate 5 is provided with a right epoxy resin plate 7, and the middle parts of the left epoxy resin plate 6 and the right epoxy resin plate 7 are respectively embedded with a current collecting plate 11. The collector plate 11 is a copper plate, and the surface of the collector plate is plated with gold, so that the resistance can be reduced, the energy consumption can be reduced, and the corrosion can be prevented. The collector plate 11 is embedded in the epoxy resin plate, so that the insulating property can be enhanced, and the reduction of the whole volume of the electrolytic cell is facilitated. And the current collecting plate 11 is designed with an extended connection lug plate 12 for connecting a direct current power supply.
The left side of left epoxy 6 is equipped with left end board 8, and the right side of right epoxy 7 is equipped with right end board 9. The left end plate 8 and the right end plate 9 are made of aluminum alloy materials, and pipeline joints are installed on the outer sides of the end plates and used for transmitting gas and liquid.
The contact surfaces of the left end plate 8, the left epoxy resin plate 6, the cathode flow field plate 4, the middle substrate 10, the anode flow field plate, the right epoxy resin plate 7 and the right end plate 9 are all provided with sealing grooves, and sealing rings are arranged in the sealing grooves.
The gas-liquid pore passage comprises a deionized water inlet electrolytic cell passage 15 positioned below, an oxygen-containing deionized water outlet electrolytic cell passage 14 positioned above and electrolytic cell passages 13 positioned at the left side and the right side and used for discharging hydrogen. The edges of the cathode flow field plate 4, the anode flow field plate 5, the left epoxy resin plate 6, the right epoxy resin plate 7, the left end plate 8 and the right end plate 9 are all provided with bolt holes 16 for mounting fastening bolts. The edges of the cathode flow field plate 4, the anode flow field plate 5, the left epoxy resin plate 6, the right epoxy resin plate 7, the left end plate 8 and the right end plate 9 are provided with positioning holes 17, so that accurate positioning can be provided when the electrolytic cell is assembled.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, which are illustrative and not restrictive, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.