LAPSE:2021.0197
Published Article
LAPSE:2021.0197
Computational Optimization of Porous Structures for Electrochemical Processes
Nicole Vorhauer-Huget, Haashir Altaf, Robert Dürr, Evangelos Tsotsas, Tanja Vidaković-Koch
April 16, 2021
Porous structures are naturally involved in electrochemical processes. The specific architectures of the available porous materials, as well as their physical properties, crucially affect their applications, e.g., their use in fuel cells, batteries, or electrolysers. A key point is the correlation of transport properties (mass, heat, and charges) in the spatially—and in certain cases also temporally—distributed pore structure. In this paper, we use mathematical modeling to investigate the impact of the pore structure on the distribution of wetting and non-wetting phases in porous transport layers used in water electrolysis. We present and discuss the potential of pore network models and an upscaling strategy for the simulation of the saturation of the pore space with liquid and gas, as well as the computation of the relative permeabilities and oxygen dissolution and diffusion. It is studied how a change of structure, i.e., the spatial grading of the pore size distribution and porosity, change the transport properties. Several situations are investigated, including a vertical gradient ranging from small to large pore sizes and vice versa, as well as a dual-porosity network. The simulation results indicate that the specific porous structure has a significant impact on the spatial distribution of species and their respective relative permeabilities. In more detail, it is found that the continuous increase of pore sizes from the catalyst layer side towards the water inlet interface yields the best transport properties among the investigated pore networks. This outcome could be useful for the development of grading strategies, specifically for material optimization for improved transport kinetics in water electrolyser applications and for electrochemical processes in general.
Keywords
drainage invasion, model upscaling, permeability, pore network model, pore size distribution, porosity gradient, porous media, porous transport layer, water electrolysis
Subject
Suggested Citation
Vorhauer-Huget N, Altaf H, Dürr R, Tsotsas E, Vidaković-Koch T. Computational Optimization of Porous Structures for Electrochemical Processes. (2021). LAPSE:2021.0197
Author Affiliations
Vorhauer-Huget N: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Altaf H: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany [ORCID]
Dürr R: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany [ORCID]
Tsotsas E: Institute of Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Vidaković-Koch T: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany [ORCID]
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
10
Article Number
E1205
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-09-23
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: pr8101205, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2021.0197
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doi:10.3390/pr8101205
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Apr 16, 2021
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CC BY 4.0
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Apr 16, 2021
 
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Calvin Tsay
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