Integrated sealing structure of electrolytic cell

Abstract

The electrolytic cell integrated sealing structure disclosed by the embodiment of the present application comprises a first frame plate, a first injection plastic strip, a bipolar plate, a second injection plastic strip and a second frame plate; the bipolar plate is arranged between the first frame plate and the second frame plate; the first injection plastic strip is injection molded between the first frame plate and the bipolar plate; the second injection plastic strip is injection molded between the second frame plate and the bipolar plate; and the first injection plastic strip is connected with the second injection plastic strip. Through the structure of the present application, the number of tooling during assembly of the electrolytic cell is reduced, the production time is shortened, the sealing advantages of the plastic strip and the plastic polar frame are combined, and the assembly process of the electrolytic cell is more convenient. In the case of ensuring the sealing performance, the sealing failure probability of the structure of the present application can be reduced by 50%. The structure of the present application is simple, convenient to disassemble and assemble, can be used for large-scale production application, and can well meet the needs of actual use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of water electrolysis hydrogen production technology, and particularly relates to an integrated sealing structure for an electrolyzer. Background Technology

[0002] PEM electrolyzers are a highly efficient water electrolysis technology. Hydrogen is widely used in industries such as chemical and metallurgy; in hydrogen energy infrastructure, it can also provide high-pressure hydrogen supply for hydrogen-powered vehicles and other hydrogen energy applications. Existing commercial electrolyzer sealing structures generally use bipolar plates with rubber strips for sealing, where the pressure between the two bipolar plates compresses the rubber strip to form a seal; or they use bipolar plates, a plastic frame, and PTFE filler for sealing, where the pressure between the bipolar plates causes the ribs on the plastic frame to sink into the PTFE, forming a seal. Both of these sealing methods require the repeated stacking of several components to form a complete seal, resulting in a lengthy assembly process. Manual operation is prone to errors, thus affecting the overall reliability of the equipment.

[0003] Furthermore, the interlayer compression distance of plastic electrode frame sealing is small, and the compression stroke is difficult to control, which places high demands on the overall precision of the electrolytic cell stack. It is also susceptible to performance issues caused by processing or incoming material errors. Additionally, due to the poor adhesion of the rubber strips and the poor structural rigidity after compression, some electrolytic cells using injection-molded rubber strips are prone to seal failure. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides an integrated sealing structure for electrolytic cells, which aims to solve the problems of excessive stacking of sealing surfaces, long assembly time, and easy sealing failure in existing PEM electrolytic cells, thus affecting equipment reliability.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides an integrated sealing structure for an electrolytic cell, comprising a first frame plate, a first injection molding strip, a bipolar plate, a second injection molding strip, and a second frame plate; the bipolar plate is disposed between the first frame plate and the second frame plate; the first injection molding strip is injection molded between the first frame plate and the bipolar plate; the second injection molding strip is injection molded between the second frame plate and the bipolar plate; and the first injection molding strip and the second injection molding strip are connected.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the first injection molding strip and the second injection molding strip are integrally formed by injection molding. In this embodiment, the first and second injection molding strips are integrally formed by injection molding, which is easy to implement, simplifies the assembly process, shortens the assembly time, and provides a good sealing effect.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of first glue injection port groups are uniformly arranged on the first frame plate; a plurality of second glue injection port groups are uniformly arranged on the second frame plate; the first glue injection port groups and the second glue injection port groups are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of first glue injection port groups are circumferentially disposed on the edge of the first frame plate; a plurality of second glue injection port groups are circumferentially disposed on the edge of the second frame plate.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, a first adhesive strip groove for accommodating the first injection molding strip is provided on the side of the first frame plate near the bipolar plate, and the first adhesive strip groove is respectively connected to each of the first injection port groups. In this application, the first adhesive strip groove is adapted to the first injection molding strip, and the first injection port is adapted to the first adhesive strip groove.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, each of the first glue injection port groups includes two first glue injection ports, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first glue strip groove, and each of the first glue injection ports is connected to the first glue strip groove.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, a second adhesive strip groove for accommodating the second injection molding strip is provided on the side of the second frame plate near the bipolar plate, and the second adhesive strip groove is respectively connected to each of the second injection port groups. In this application, the second adhesive strip groove is adapted to the second injection molding strip, and the second injection port is adapted to the second adhesive strip groove.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, each of the second glue inlet groups includes two second glue inlets, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second glue strip groove, and each of the second glue inlets is connected to the second glue strip groove.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of connecting hole groups are uniformly arranged on the bipolar plate; the connecting hole groups are respectively arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the first glue injection port group and the second glue injection port group; and the connecting hole groups are respectively connected to the first glue injection port group and the second glue injection port group.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, each of the connecting hole groups includes two connecting holes, which are symmetrically arranged; the connecting holes correspond one-to-one with the first injection port and the second injection port and are connected to each other.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the connecting holes are respectively adapted to the first glue injection port and the second glue injection port.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the integrated sealing structure of the electrolytic cell further includes a first diffusion layer and a second diffusion layer; the first frame plate is sleeved on the outside of the first diffusion layer, and the first diffusion layer abuts against the bipolar plate; the second frame plate is sleeved on the outside of the second diffusion layer, and the second diffusion layer abuts against the bipolar plate.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, both the first frame plate and the second frame plate are plastic frame plates.

[0018] In this embodiment, the bipolar plate is placed between the first and second frame plates, pressed together, and then placed in a glue injection machine for glue injection through the first injection port (second injection port). The bipolar plate and the frame plates are connected by a connecting hole. During glue injection, rubber is injected through the connecting hole between the inner surface of the frame plate and the bipolar plate, and accommodated in the first and second glue strip grooves. After cooling, it becomes a whole and can be directly used for electrolytic cell assembly.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects: This application achieves rapid injection molding sealing of the stacked first frame plate, bipolar plate, and second frame plate by structurally coupling the bipolar plate, first frame plate, and second frame plate. This effectively reduces the number of sealing surfaces during the electrolytic cell stacking assembly process and significantly increases the sealing reliability of the PEM electrolytic cell under high pressure. The structure of this application reduces the number of tooling fixtures during electrolytic cell assembly, shortens production time, and combines the sealing advantages of adhesive strips and plastic electrode frames, making the electrolytic cell assembly process more convenient. While ensuring sealing performance, the structure of this application reduces two sealing surfaces compared to conventional plastic electrode frame sealing methods, reducing the probability of seal failure by 50%. This application has a simple structure, is easy to disassemble and assemble, convenient to maintain, has good stability, and is economical, safe, and practical. It can be implemented without major modifications to the electrolytic cell structure, can be used for large-scale production applications, and can well meet the needs of practical use. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an integrated sealing structure for an electrolytic cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 An exploded structural diagram of the integrated sealing structure of the electrolytic cell;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the integrated sealing structure of the electrolytic cell;

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first frame plate.

[0025] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but only if they are feasible for those skilled in the art. If the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0028] Specifically, such as Figures 1 to 4 As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides an integrated sealing structure for an electrolytic cell, including a first frame plate 10, a first injection molding strip 20, a bipolar plate 30, a second injection molding strip 40, and a second frame plate 50; the bipolar plate 30 is disposed between the first frame plate 10 and the second frame plate 50; the first injection molding strip 20 is injection molded between the first frame plate 10 and the bipolar plate 30; the second injection molding strip 40 is injection molded between the second frame plate 50 and the bipolar plate 30; the first injection molding strip 20 and the second injection molding strip 40 are connected.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the first injection molding strip 20 and the second injection molding strip 40 are integrally formed by injection molding. In this embodiment, the first injection molding strip 20 and the second injection molding strip 40 are integrally formed by injection molding, which is easy to implement, simplifies the assembly process, shortens the assembly time, and provides a good sealing effect.

[0030] As a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 1As shown, a plurality of first glue injection port groups 11 are evenly arranged on the first frame plate 10; a plurality of second glue injection port groups 51 are evenly arranged on the second frame plate 50; the first glue injection port group 11 and the second glue injection port group 51 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of first glue injection port groups 11 are circumferentially disposed on the edge of the first frame plate 10; a plurality of second glue injection port groups 51 are circumferentially disposed on the edge of the second frame plate 50.

[0032] As a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 4 As shown, the first frame plate 10 has a first adhesive strip groove 12 on its side near the bipolar plate 30 to accommodate the first injection molding strip 20. The first adhesive strip groove 12 is respectively connected to each of the first injection port groups 11. In this application, the first adhesive strip groove 12 is adapted to the first injection molding strip 20, and the first injection port is adapted to the first adhesive strip groove 12.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, each of the first glue injection port groups 11 includes two first glue injection ports 111, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first glue strip groove 12, and each of the first glue injection ports 111 is connected to the first glue strip groove 12.

[0034] Specifically, a set of first injection ports 11 is provided at the center of the edges of the four sides of the first frame plate 10. This ensures the uniformity of injection and the uniformity of the first injection molding strips, thus ensuring the uniformity of the seal.

[0035] As a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, the second frame plate 50 has a second adhesive strip groove 52 on its side near the bipolar plate 30 to accommodate the second injection molding strip 40. The second adhesive strip groove 52 is respectively connected to each of the second injection port groups 51. In this application, the second adhesive strip groove 52 is adapted to the second injection molding strip 40, and the second injection port is adapted to the second adhesive strip groove 52.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment, each of the second glue inlet groups 51 includes two second glue inlets 511, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second glue strip groove 52, and each of the second glue inlets 511 is connected to the second glue strip groove 52.

[0037] Specifically, a set of second injection ports 51 is provided at the center of the edges of the four sides of the second frame plate 50. This ensures the uniformity of injection and the uniformity of the second injection molding strips, thus ensuring the uniformity of the seal.

[0038] In a preferred embodiment, the bipolar plate 30 is uniformly provided with a plurality of connecting hole groups 31; the connecting hole groups 31 are respectively provided in one-to-one correspondence with the first glue injection port group 11 and the second glue injection port group 51; and the connecting hole groups 31 are respectively connected to the first glue injection port group 11 and the second glue injection port group 51.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment, each of the connecting hole groups 31 includes two connecting holes 311, which are symmetrically arranged; the connecting holes 311 correspond one-to-one with the first glue injection port 111 and the second glue injection port 511 and are connected to each other.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment, the connecting hole 311 is adapted to the first glue injection port 111 and the second glue injection port 511 respectively.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, the integrated sealing structure of the electrolytic cell further includes a first diffusion layer 60 and a second diffusion layer 70; the first frame plate 10 is sleeved on the outside of the first diffusion layer 60, and the first diffusion layer 60 abuts against the bipolar plate 30; the second frame plate 50 is sleeved on the outside of the second diffusion layer 70, and the second diffusion layer 70 abuts against the bipolar plate 30.

[0042] In this application, the first diffusion layer 60 is adapted to the first frame plate 10, and the second diffusion layer 70 is adapted to the second frame plate 50. This effectively ensures the stability and sealing of the structural connection.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, both the first frame plate 10 and the second frame plate 50 are plastic frame plates.

[0044] In this application, the first frame plate 10 is an anode frame plate, the second frame plate 50 is a cathode frame plate, the first diffusion layer 60 is an anode diffusion layer, and the second diffusion layer is a cathode diffusion layer; or, the first frame plate 10 is a cathode frame plate, the second frame plate 50 is an anode frame plate, the first diffusion layer 60 is a cathode diffusion layer, and the second diffusion layer is an anode diffusion layer. Specifically, in this embodiment, the first frame plate 10 is an anode frame plate, the second frame plate 50 is a cathode frame plate, the first diffusion layer 60 is an anode diffusion layer, and the second diffusion layer is a cathode diffusion layer.

[0045] In this embodiment, the bipolar plate is placed between the first and second frame plates, pressed together, and then placed in a dispensing machine for dispensing through the first dispensing port (second dispensing port). The bipolar plate and the frame plates are connected by a connecting hole. During dispensing, rubber is injected through the connecting hole between the inner surface of the frame plate and the bipolar plate, and accommodated in the first and second adhesive strip grooves. After cooling, it becomes a whole and can be directly used for electrolytic cell assembly. When multiple bipolar plates are repeatedly stacked, the sealing of the other large surface of the frame plate can be achieved by using protruding ribs that directly contact the membrane electrode, forming a seal through compression.

[0046] This application achieves rapid injection molding sealing of the stacked first and second frame plates by structurally coupling the bipolar plates, first frame plate, and second frame plate. This effectively reduces the number of sealing surfaces during electrolytic cell stacking and assembly, while significantly increasing the sealing reliability of the PEM electrolytic cell under high pressure. The structure reduces the number of tooling components required for electrolytic cell assembly, shortens production time, and combines the sealing advantages of adhesive strips and plastic electrode frames, making the electrolytic cell assembly process more convenient. While maintaining sealing performance, this structure reduces two sealing surfaces compared to conventional plastic electrode frame sealing methods, decreasing the probability of seal failure by 50%. The structure is simple, easy to assemble and disassemble, convenient to maintain, has good stability, and is economical, safe, and practical. It can be implemented without major modifications to the electrolytic cell structure, making it suitable for large-scale production applications and well meeting practical needs.

[0047] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An integrated sealing structure for an electrolytic cell, characterized in that, It includes a first frame plate, a first injection molding strip, a bipolar plate, a second injection molding strip, and a second frame plate; the bipolar plate is disposed between the first frame plate and the second frame plate; the first injection molding strip is injection molded between the first frame plate and the bipolar plate; the second injection molding strip is injection molded between the second frame plate and the bipolar plate; the first injection molding strip and the second injection molding strip are connected. The first injection molding strip and the second injection molding strip are integrally formed by injection molding; The first frame plate is evenly provided with a plurality of first glue injection port groups; the second frame plate is evenly provided with a plurality of second glue injection port groups; the first glue injection port groups and the second glue injection port groups are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence; The first frame plate is provided with a first glue strip groove on the side near the bipolar plate to accommodate the first injection molding glue strip, and the first glue strip groove is respectively connected to each of the first glue injection port groups; The second frame plate is provided with a second glue strip groove on the side near the bipolar plate to accommodate the second injection molding glue strip, and the second glue strip groove is respectively connected to each of the second injection port groups; The bipolar plate is uniformly provided with a plurality of connecting hole groups; the connecting hole groups are respectively configured to correspond one-to-one with the first glue injection port group and the second glue injection port group; and the connecting hole groups are respectively connected to the first glue injection port group and the second glue injection port group.

2. The integrated sealing structure for the electrolytic cell according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple first glue injection port groups are circumferentially arranged on the edge of the first frame plate; Multiple second glue injection ports are circumferentially disposed on the edge of the second frame plate.

3. The integrated sealing structure for the electrolytic cell according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the first glue injection port groups includes two first glue injection ports, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first glue strip groove, and each first glue injection port is connected to the first glue strip groove.

4. The integrated sealing structure for the electrolytic cell according to claim 3, characterized in that, Each of the second glue injection port groups includes two second glue injection ports, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second glue strip groove, and each of the second glue injection ports is connected to the second glue strip groove.

5. The integrated sealing structure for the electrolytic cell according to claim 4, characterized in that, Each group of connecting holes includes two connecting holes, which are symmetrically arranged; the connecting holes correspond one-to-one with the first injection port and the second injection port and are connected to each other. The connecting holes are respectively adapted to the first glue injection port and the second glue injection port; The integrated sealing structure of the electrolytic cell further includes a first diffusion layer and a second diffusion layer; the first frame plate is sleeved on the outside of the first diffusion layer, and the first diffusion layer abuts against the bipolar plate; the second frame plate is sleeved on the outside of the second diffusion layer, and the second diffusion layer abuts against the bipolar plate.

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