Packaging device for electrolytic cell stack

Abstract

The utility model discloses a packaging device for an electrolytic cell electric pile, which relates to the technical field of electrolytic cell electric piles and comprises a packaging frame and a fixing plate. A containing groove is formed in the middle of the packaging frame, fixing plates are arranged on the upper end face and the lower end face of the packaging frame, and a closed cavity is formed in the containing groove and used for packaging the membrane electrode, the porous transportation layer, the carbon paper and the polar plate opening; the packaging frame is provided with at least one accommodating groove. The membrane electrode, the porous transport layer, the carbon paper and the polar plate are packaged by the packaging frame, and each single battery can be independently produced and manufactured, so that modularized production and packaging are facilitated. By adopting the packaging frame, the materials of the porous transport layer and the polar plate can be saved, the material cost of the galvanic pile is reduced, and the thickness of the whole single cell can be obviously reduced. And if a plurality of accommodating grooves are formed in the packaging frame, a plurality of single batteries can be expanded and packaged in the same packaging frame, so that the technical problem that a large-area single membrane electrode or a porous transport layer or a polar plate cannot be manufactured is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of PEM and AEM electrolyzers, in particular to a packaging device for a PEM or AEM electrolyzer stack. Background Art

[0002] The packaging technology currently used for PEM or AEM electrolyzer stacks is simply called stacking, which is the origin of the term "stack." Stacking involves stacking the cells layer by layer, with each cell component—such as the plates, porous transport layer, and membrane electrode—also stacked layer by layer before the cells are stacked one on top of the other. This seemingly simple stacking process is actually a significant waste of materials because the actual electrochemical reaction area of ​​each cell only occupies 1 / 2 to 3 / 4 of the stacked area. The remaining area, which does not participate in the electrochemical reaction, does not require the use of expensive materials.

[0003] Traditional electrolyzer stacks are stacked layer by layer, making it impossible to assemble individual cells and form a modular system. Consequently, the required number of layers must be stacked together at the same workstation. It's impossible to separate individual cells and process them at different workstations, producing individual cells and then stacking them as needed.

[0004] At the same time, due to the limitations of the existing stacking method of single cells in the electrolyzer, the thickness of each single cell is very thick. The overall thickness is simply the sum of the thickness of the bipolar plate, porous transport layer, seal, frame, carbon paper, and membrane electrode. As a result, once the number of single cells in the stack increases, its height is very scary.

[0005] For example, the Chinese utility model patent with patent number CN216838209U discloses an electrolytic cell unit and an electrolytic cell stack. The electrolytic cell unit includes: a positive terminal, an ion exchange membrane, and a negative terminal in the order of stacking. The positive terminal includes, from the outside to the inside, a positive electrode side end plate, a positive electrode insulation layer, a positive electrode plate, and a positive electrode guide plate. The negative terminal includes, from the outside to the inside, a negative electrode side end plate, a negative electrode insulation layer, a negative electrode plate, and a negative electrode guide plate. In the electrolytic cell stack, N electrolytic cell units are stacked horizontally. The electrolytic cell units and electrolytic cell stack of this patent are both stacked.

[0006] In addition, due to the limitations of the membrane electrode coating process, the current state of the art cannot achieve ultra-large areas such as 3000 cm 2 The above is to achieve uniformity and consistency of the catalyst electrode on the proton exchange membrane, which greatly affects the increase in the area and power of the single cell of the PEM or AEM electrolyzer.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need to invent a device that can enable modular production of fuel cell stacks, reduce fuel cell stack material costs, and reduce fuel cell stack thickness. Utility Model Content

[0008] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a packaging device that can reduce the thickness of the battery stack, reduce material costs, and facilitate modular production to address the above technical problems.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0010] A packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack is used to package a membrane electrode, a porous transport layer, carbon paper and a pole plate to form a single cell and a stack.

[0011] It includes a packaging frame and a fixing plate. The middle part of the packaging frame is a receiving groove, which penetrates the packaging frame along the thickness direction of the packaging frame. The upper and lower end surfaces of the packaging frame are both provided with fixing plates. The packaging frame and the fixing plates are sealed and connected. The fixing plates fit the end surfaces of the packaging frame to form a closed cavity in the receiving groove. The membrane electrode, porous transport layer and electrode plate can be stacked in the receiving groove.

[0012] The packaging frame is provided with a plurality of manifold inlets and outlets, and the plurality of manifold inlets and outlets all penetrate the packaging frame along the thickness direction of the packaging frame and serve as the inlets and outlets of gas and liquid;

[0013] The packaging frame is provided with at least one accommodating groove.

[0014] By adopting this technical solution, the packaging frame can be made of low-cost stainless steel. The membrane electrode, porous transport layer, carbon paper, sealant, and plates are stacked in the packaging frame's receiving slots. Each cell can be produced and manufactured individually, facilitating modular production and packaging.

[0015] The use of an encapsulation frame reduces the area of ​​the porous transport layer and plates that would otherwise be used to secure them to the manifold, thus saving material. The areas of the porous transport layer and plates are now consistent or close to the effective reaction area of ​​the membrane electrode. Furthermore, since the entire cell is encapsulated within the encapsulation frame, rather than stacked layers, the overall thickness of the cell can be significantly reduced.

[0016] The overall size of the packaging frame can be increased, and multiple accommodating slots can be provided on the packaging frame, so that multiple single cells can be packaged together through the same packaging frame. This solves the problem that a single membrane electrode or porous transport layer or plate cannot be made into a large area.

[0017] Preferably, an annular boss is formed along the inner wall of the middle portion of the packaging frame, and the membrane electrode is mounted in the annular boss.

[0018] Preferably, an annular groove is provided along the inner wall of the middle portion of the packaging frame, and the outer edge of the membrane electrode is mounted in the annular groove.

[0019] Preferably, the fixed plate is a pole plate, and the membrane electrode and the porous transport layer are stacked in the receiving tank.

[0020] Preferably, positioning holes are provided at the four corners of the packaging frame, and the positioning holes penetrate the packaging frame along the thickness direction of the packaging frame.

[0021] Compared with related technologies, the packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] 1. The utility model adopts a packaging frame to package the membrane electrode, porous transport layer, carbon paper and plate, etc. Each single cell can be produced and manufactured separately, which is convenient for modular production and packaging.

[0023] 2. The use of an encapsulation frame can save material for the porous transport layer and the plate. Since the materials for the porous transport layer and the plate are relatively expensive, this can reduce the material cost of the battery stack. At the same time, the thickness of the entire single cell can be significantly reduced because it is no longer stacked layer by layer but is encapsulated as a whole within the encapsulation frame.

[0024] 3. The utility model can provide multiple accommodating slots on a larger packaging frame, and each accommodating slot forms a single battery. Therefore, it can be expanded to multiple single batteries packaged together through the same packaging frame. This solves the technical problem of being unable to make a large-area single membrane electrode or porous transport layer or plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 The three-dimensional packaging frame of the first embodiment Figure 1 ;

[0026] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the first single cell of Example 1;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a front view of the first single battery in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Cross-section at AA;

[0029] Figure 5 The three-dimensional packaging frame of the first embodiment Figure 2 ;

[0030] Figure 6 This is a front view of the second cell of Example 1;

[0031] Figure 7 for Figure 6Cross-section at the middle BB;

[0032] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Enlarged view of point D in the middle;

[0033] Figure 9 The three-dimensional packaging frame of the first embodiment Figure 3 ;

[0034] Figure 10 This is a front view of the third battery cell of Example 1;

[0035] Figure 11 for Figure 10 Cross-section at the middle CC;

[0036] Figure 12 for Figure 11 Enlarged view of point E in the middle;

[0037] Figure 13 is a three-dimensional diagram of the battery stack of Example 1;

[0038] Figure 14 A top view of the parallel packaging frame of the first embodiment;

[0039] Figure 15 A top view of the quadruple packaging frame of Example 1;

[0040] Figure 16 This is a front view of the fourth cell of Example 2;

[0041] Figure 17 for Figure 16 Cross-sectional view at FF in the middle.

[0042] Figure numerals: 10, packaging frame; 101, receiving groove; 102, manifold inlet and outlet; 103, annular boss; 104, annular groove; 105, positioning hole; 20, fixing plate; 201, sealing strip; 30, membrane electrode; 40, porous transport layer; 50, seal; 60, electrode plate; 70, first single cell; 80, second single cell; 90, third single cell; 100, fuel cell stack; 110, fourth single cell; 120, parallel packaging frame; 130, quadruple packaging frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0044] It should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, terms such as "up", "down", "left", and "right" indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. This is merely for the convenience of description and does not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0045] Example 1

[0046] See also Figures 1 to 4 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack, which is used to package a membrane electrode 30, a porous transport layer 40, carbon paper (not shown in the figure) and an electrode plate 60, and the electrode plate 60 includes an anode plate and a cathode plate.

[0047] The packaging device includes a packaging frame 10 and a fixed plate 20. The packaging frame 10 is a rectangular or circular plate structure. A receiving groove 101 is opened in the middle of the packaging frame 10, and the receiving groove 101 penetrates the packaging frame 10 along the thickness direction of the packaging frame 10, that is, the upper and lower ends of the receiving groove 101 are open. A fixed plate 20 is provided on the upper and lower end surfaces of the packaging frame 10. The packaging frame 10 and the fixed plate 20 are sealed and connected by a sealing strip 201, so that a closed cavity is formed inside the receiving groove 101. The membrane electrode 30, porous transport layer 40, carbon paper, seal 50 and electrode plate 60 components can be stacked in the receiving groove 101. The packaging frame 10, the fixed plate 20, the membrane electrode 30, the porous transport layer 40, the carbon paper, the seal 50 and the electrode plate 60 together form a first single cell 70.

[0048] like Figure 13 As shown, multiple first cells 70 are assembled together to form a stack 100. Positioning holes 105 are provided at the four corners of the packaging frame 10. The positioning holes 105 penetrate the packaging frame 10 along the thickness direction of the packaging frame 10 and play an auxiliary positioning role during the assembly process of the stack 100.

[0049] like Figure 1 As shown, the packaging frame 10 is provided with multiple manifold inlets and outlets 102, which are distributed around the receiving groove 101. The multiple manifold inlets and outlets 102 all penetrate the packaging frame 10 along the thickness direction of the packaging frame 10 and serve as the inlet and outlet of gas and liquid. The fixing plate 20 can be provided with multiple openings (not shown in the figure) corresponding to the positions of the multiple manifold inlets and outlets 102.

[0050] Compared with the traditional electrolytic cell stacking method of stacking single cells layer by layer, the present application uses a packaging frame 10 to package the membrane electrode 30, porous transport layer 40, carbon paper and electrode plate 60, etc. Each single cell can be produced and manufactured separately, which is convenient for modular production and packaging; Figure 4 、 Figure 7 and Figure 11 As shown, the areas of the porous transport layer 40 and the electrode plate 60 are consistent with or close to the effective reaction area of ​​the membrane electrode 30, thereby greatly saving the material usage of the porous transport layer 40 and the electrode plate 60.

[0051] Furthermore, the packaging frame 10 has at least one receiving groove 101. For example, to increase the overall size of the packaging frame 10, two, three, four or more receiving grooves 101 are provided on the packaging frame 10, such as Figure 14 As shown, the packaging frame 10 has two receiving grooves 101, forming a parallel packaging frame 120; Figure 15 As shown, the packaging frame 10 has four receiving slots 101 to form a quadruple packaging frame 130 .

[0052] Each receiving groove 101 encapsulates the membrane electrode 30, the porous transport layer 40, the carbon paper and the electrode plate 60, and multiple single cells can be formed in the same packaging frame 10, and multiple single cells can be expanded. This solves the technical problem that a single membrane electrode 30 or porous transport layer 40 or electrode plate 60 cannot be made into a large area.

[0053] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the implementation and protection scope of the present invention.

[0054] The present invention also has the following implementation methods based on the above:

[0055] As a preferred embodiment, Figures 5 to 8 As shown, an annular boss 103 is formed along the inner wall of the middle of the packaging frame 10 , and the membrane electrode 30 is installed in the annular boss 103 . The porous transport layer 40 and the electrode plate 60 are stacked in sequence on both sides of the membrane electrode 30 to form a second single cell 80 .

[0056] Another preferred embodiment, as Figures 9 to 12 As shown, an annular groove 104 is opened along the inner wall of the middle part of the packaging frame 10, and the outer edge of the membrane electrode 30 is installed in the annular groove 104. Similarly, the porous transport layer 40 and the electrode plate 60 are stacked in sequence on both sides of the membrane electrode 30 to form a third single cell 90.

[0057] Furthermore, the fixing plate 20 and the packaging frame 10 are fastened together by a plurality of bolts (not shown in the figures).

[0058] Example 2

[0059] like Figure 16 and Figure 17As shown, this embodiment provides a packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack, including a packaging frame 10. The difference from the first embodiment is that the thickness of the packaging frame 10 is smaller, and the electrode 60 is used instead of the fixed plate 20. Only membrane electrode 30, porous transport layer 40, seal 50 and other materials are stacked inside the receiving groove 101 in the packaging frame 10. The electrode plates 60 are set on the upper and lower end surfaces of the packaging frame 10, and the flow channel is opened in the area corresponding to the position of the receiving groove 101 on the electrode plate 60.

[0060] The electrode plate 60 and the packaging frame 10 are fastened together by bolts, and the electrode plate 60 , the packaging frame 10 , the membrane electrode 30 , the porous transport layer 40 , and the seal 50 are assembled together to form a fourth single cell 110 .

[0061] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprises", "includes" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or apparatus that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements that are inherent to such process, method, article or apparatus.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack, used for packaging a membrane electrode (30), a porous transport layer (40) and an electrode plate (60), characterized in that: It comprises a packaging frame (10) and a fixing plate (20); The middle part of the packaging frame (10) is a receiving groove (101), the receiving groove (101) penetrates the packaging frame (10) along the thickness direction of the packaging frame (10), the upper and lower end surfaces of the packaging frame (10) are both provided with fixing plates (20), the packaging frame (10) and the fixing plates (20) are sealed and connected, and a closed cavity is formed in the receiving groove (101); The packaging frame (10) is provided with a plurality of manifold inlets and outlets (102), and the plurality of manifold inlets and outlets (102) all penetrate the packaging frame (10) along the thickness direction of the packaging frame (10); The packaging frame (10) is provided with at least one accommodating groove (101).

2. The packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack according to claim 1, characterized in that: An annular boss (103) is formed on the inner wall along the middle of the packaging frame (10), and a membrane electrode (30) is installed inside the annular boss (103).

3. The packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack according to claim 1, characterized in that: An annular groove (104) is provided on the inner wall of the middle part of the packaging frame (10), and the outer edge of the membrane electrode (30) is installed in the annular groove (104).

4. The packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixing plate (20) is a pole plate (60), and a membrane electrode (30) and a porous transport layer (40) are stacked in the containing tank (101).

5. The packaging device for an electrolytic cell stack according to claim 1, characterized in that: Positioning holes (105) are provided at the four corners of the packaging frame (10), and the positioning holes (105) penetrate the packaging frame (10) along the thickness direction of the packaging frame (10).

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