Issue 6, 2024

Organized macro-scale membrane size reduction in vanadium redox flow batteries: part 2. Flow-field-informed membrane coverage distribution

Abstract

Membranes are a critical component in flowing-electrolyte electrochemical systems like redox flow batteries (RFB), and as such, they contribute significantly to overall RFB stack cost which affects technology adoption. We explore flow-field-informed membrane coverage distribution in this part of the series. Where membrane coverage distribution is specifically informed by the relative positions of the ‘channel’ and ‘land’ in the adopted flow-field design – towards cell/stack cost reduction with minimal compromise in power and efficiency. Simulated performance comparison of a Vanadium RFB cell in 3D with membrane-electrode assemblies (MEA) having full membrane coverage and channel/land-adjacent membrane coverage reductions showed the promise of channel-adjacent membrane coverage reduction across all evaluated flow-field designs. We found that the membrane coverage can be reduced by up to 20% (adjacent to the flow-field channel), with simulations showing less than 1% compromise in power compared to full membrane coverage MEA. We also observed that the prevalent flow-field-informed membrane coverage distribution further influences the spatial variation of electrochemical activity within the cell, consequently being a potential tool to inform cell thermal management.

Graphical abstract: Organized macro-scale membrane size reduction in vanadium redox flow batteries: part 2. Flow-field-informed membrane coverage distribution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Feb 2024
Accepted
06 May 2024
First published
07 May 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Energy Adv., 2024,3, 1307-1313

Organized macro-scale membrane size reduction in vanadium redox flow batteries: part 2. Flow-field-informed membrane coverage distribution

B. P. Benetho, A. Fetyan and M. O. Bamgbopa, Energy Adv., 2024, 3, 1307 DOI: 10.1039/D4YA00118D

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