Three-Dimensional CFD Simulation of a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Cell

Abstract

The energy shift towards carbon-free solutions is creating an ever-growing engineering interest in electrolytic cells, i.e., devices to produce hydrogen from water-splitting reactions. Among the available technologies, Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis is the most promising candidate for coping with the intermittency of renewable energy sources, thanks to the short transient period granted by the solid thin electrolyte. The well-known principle of PEM electrolysers is still unsupported by advanced engineering practices, such as the use of multidimensional simulations able to elucidate the interacting fluid dynamics, electrochemistry, and heat transport. A methodology for PEM electrolysis simulation is therefore needed. In this study, a model for the multidimensional simulation of PEM electrolysers is presented and validated against a recent literature case. The study analyses the impact of temperature and gas phase distribution on the cell performance, providing valuable insights into the understanding of the physical phenomena occurring inside the cell at the basis of the formation rate of hydrogen and oxygen. The simulations regard two temperature levels (333 K and 353 K) and the complete polarization curve is numerically predicted, allowing the analysis of the overpotentials break-up and the multi-phase flow in the PEM cell. An in-house developed model for macro-homogeneous catalyst layers is applied to PEM electrolysis, allowing independent analysis of overpotentials, investigation into their dependency on temperature and analysis of the cathodic gas–liquid stratification. The study validates a comprehensive multi-dimensional model for PEM electrolysis, relevantly proposing a methodology for the ever-growing urgency for engineering optimization of such devices.