Solid polymer electrolyzer

A concern for alkaline as well as solid polymer electrolysers should be the sensitivity of the electrolysers to contaminants in the feed water. The minimum required water quality of an industrial solid polymer electrolyzer is ASTM type II water [48], which contains at maximum 5 pg L 1 of sodium and chlorine, and 3 pg L 1 Si02 [52], It should have a maximum conductivity of 0.25 pS cm 1. Clean drinking water meeting Dutch standards contains around 60 mg L 1 of... 

Lawrence, R. J., and Wood, L. D. Method of making solid polymer electrolyte catalytic electrodes and electrode made thereby. U.S. Patent 4,272,353,1981. Fedkiw, P. S., and Her, W. H. An impregnation-reduction method to prepare electrodes on Naifon SPE. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 1989 136 899-900. Aldebert, P, Novel-Cattin, R, Pineri, M., Millet, P, Doumain, G., and Durand, R. Preparation and characterization of SPE composites for electrolyzers and fuel cells. Solid State Ionics 1989 35 3-9. 

Ion-exchanger resins as solid polymer electrolytes, impregnated with the cations of the chosen anode metal, may prove applicable. Their use in the fuel-cell/electrolyzer single module concept is already under investigation as to complexity and operability (115). Doubtless better SPE s will be discovered. 

Millet P, Andolfatto F, Durand R (1996) Design and performance of a solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer. Int J Hydrogen Energy 21 87-93... 

Fig. 15.7. Design of a multicell for a solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer. (Reprinted from B. V. Tilak et al., Electrolytic Production of Hydrogen, in Comprehensive Treatise of Electrochemistry, J. O M. Bockris, B. E. Conway, E. Yeager, and R. White, eds., Vol. 2, Fig. 6, p. 9, Plenum, 1981.)...

Two cases were examined for the production of water electrolysis. Data were taken from Reference (1) and adjusted to mid-1979 levels in accordance with Table 1. The costs of "current technology" electrolysis were averaged in Reference (1) from information provided by Lurgi, Electrolyser Corp., General Electric, and Teledyne Isotopes. An advanced electrolyzer design, based upon the General Electric Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) design, was also addressed as the second case. 

A second commercially available electrolyzer technology is the solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). PEM electrolysis (PEME) is also referred to as solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) or polymer electrolyte membrane (also, PEM), but all represent a system that incorporates a solid proton-conducting membrane which is not electrically conductive. The membrane serves a dual purpose, as the gas separation device and ion (proton) conductor. High-purity deionized (DI) water is required in PEM-based electrolysis, and PEM electrolyzer manufacturer regularly recommend a minimum of 1 MQ-cm resistive water to extend stack life. 

Figure 1 Structure of solid polymer electrolyte electrolyzer (SPE).

H. Takenaka, Technology of water electrolysis using solid polymer electrolyte and its application, Soda Enso (Soda Chlorine) 1986, 37, 323-337 S. Stucki, G.G. Scherer, S. Schlagowski and E. Fischer, PEM water electrolyzers evidence for membrane failure in 100 kW demonstration plants, J. Appl. Electrochem., 1998, 28, 1041-1049. 

Mobile plant installed on the trailer chassis. Collapsible solar array. Electrolyzer with a solid polymer electrolyte. There are water storage tanks and a water purification (deionization) unit. 

Major tasks of the hydrogen energy program in the Russian Federation in which about 20 scientific organisations are involved include research on fuel cells and electrolyzers both with solid polymer electrolyte, on H2 / O2 steam generator (experiments with 20- 100 kW and 10-20 MW thermal power), and on catalytic combustion [83]. 

Other approaches have focused upon using non-precious metals and their oxides as alternatives to the platinum catalysts. For example, the mixed oxide catalysts of the binary and ternary alloys of noble metals and transition metals have been investigated for the oxygen evolution reaction in solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers. Binary, ternary, and quaternary platinum alloys with base metals of Cu, Ni, and Co have been used as electrocatalysts in liquid acid electrolyte cells. It was also reported that a R-Cu-Cr alloy displayed better activity to oxygen reduction than R and Pt-Cr in liquid electrolyte.The enhanced electrocatalytic activity of these types of alloys has been attributed to various factors, including the decrease of the nearest neighbor distance of platinum,the formation of Raney type... 

Solid polymer acid electrolytes were first developed for fuel cell applications in the late 1950 s by the General Electric Company (GE), which initiated a program to develop membrane cells and electrolyzers. The first membranes developed by GE for fuel cell applications were made by the condensation of phenolsulfonic acid and formaldehyde. These membranes were found to be brittle, prone to cracking when dried, and rapidly hydrolyzed... 

In the 1960s, the use of solid-state polymer electrolytes instead of the liquid electrolytes normally used in alkaline electrolysis led to the development of novel concepts for water electrolysis. The US company General Electric was the first to realize solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis (SPE) with the aid of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane (Nafion ) developed by DuPont [16]. At the same time, ABB [17, 18] in Switzerland and Fuji Electric [19] in Japan also developed PEM electrolyzers with single electrode areas of up to 2500 cm. These... 

---