Pressure Analysis Investigation of PEM Electrolyzer Cell Used for Green Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Increasing environmental concerns with climate change have led many people around the world to demand urgent action, forcing national governments to seek alternatives to carbon-based fuels. In the light of all this, it is of critical importance for our civilization that carbon-based energy sources are rapidly replaced by renewable and sustainable sources without carbon emissions. For this reason, the use of these clean energy sources and the efficiency of the processes in their production is a very important issue. In this study, 3-dimensional, two-phase (hydrogen and water) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed in a polymer electrolysis membrane cell (PEM). Analysis took place for 30 seconds. The water flow rate was kept constant at 260 ml/min. As a result of the analysis, pressure, gas volume fraction and velocity data in the manifolds and in the electrolysis channels where the electrolysis process takes place were interpreted. While the pressure change in the cell was quite high in the range of 0-1.8 seconds from the beginning of the flow, it was observed that a balance was formed in the pressure distribution after 1.8 seconds. It is understood that the number of channels in the model is a factor for the pressure inside the manifold and the cell. However, it was observed that the unit gas production amount in the cell also changed along the channels.