Analysis of the mass transport in corrugated membraneless flow batteries

Abstract

A novel strategy to improve the mass transport performance in membraneless redox flow batteries (MRFB) is proposed, based on a symmetrical sinusoidal wall corrugation of the solid electrodes. The continuity, Navier–Stokes, and mass transport equations are solved with a hybrid analytical-numerical method known as the Generalized Integral Transform Technique (GITT). The effects of the Reynolds number and the amplitude of the corrugation are analyzed. The corrugated MRFBs are shown to be more suitable for higher Reynolds number applications, still within the laminar flow regime, when crossover is a less limiting factor. For smaller Reynolds numbers, the crossover is shown to offset the gains in reactant conversion with the introduction of the corrugation. In addition, the benefits in terms of limiting current density with corrugated RFBs are mainly associated with the increase in reactive area with its use.