Vanadium electrolyte storage tank and flow battery

Abstract

The utility model relates to a vanadium electrolyte storage tank and a flow battery. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank comprises a tank body, a main pipeline and a plurality of straight pipelines. In the use process of the redox flow battery, vanadium electrolyte flows into the main pipeline through the liquid inlet under the action of power provided by the reflux pump after being discharged or charged by the electric pile device, the vanadium electrolyte in the main pipeline is shunted into the branch pipelines, and the vanadium electrolyte in each branch pipeline is sprayed into the tank body through the first mixed flow nozzles, so that the vanadium electrolyte in the tank body is sprayed into the tank body through the second mixed flow nozzles. And the backflow of the vanadium electrolyte is realized. Therefore, in the backflow process of the vanadium electrolyte, the vanadium electrolyte is divided into a plurality of strands, and then each strand of vanadium electrolyte is fed into the tank body in a spraying manner, so that a plurality of surging mixing areas are formed in the tank body, and the purpose of fully and uniformly mixing high-order vanadium liquid and low-order vanadium liquid while the vanadium electrolyte flows back is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of flow battery technology, and in particular to a vanadium electrolyte storage tank and a flow battery. Background Technology

[0002] In vanadium electrolyte batteries, after the vanadium electrolyte is discharged or charged by the stack device, it flows back into the storage tank for storage. During the charging or discharging process, the vanadium electrolyte will produce corresponding high-order vanadium liquid and low-order vanadium liquid due to chemical reactions. In order to ensure the stability of ions in the vanadium electrolyte during charging or discharging, the high-order vanadium liquid and low-order vanadium liquid in the storage tank need to be fully mixed and homogeneous. At present, there is no effective mixing design in the industry. Utility Model Content

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a vanadium electrolyte storage tank and flow battery that can fully mix high-order vanadium liquid and low-order vanadium liquid.

[0004] A vanadium electrolyte storage tank, comprising:

[0005] The tank body has an inlet and an outlet at the top and bottom, respectively.

[0006] The main pipeline is located at the upper end of the tank body and is fixedly connected to the side wall of the tank body; the main pipeline is connected to the liquid inlet.

[0007] Multiple branch pipes are fixed at intervals to the main pipe and connected to the main pipe; each branch pipe is vertically arranged and located below the main pipe; each branch pipe is provided with multiple first mixing nozzles at intervals along its extension direction.

[0008] In one embodiment, the main pipeline is an annular tubular structure arranged circumferentially along the tank body; a plurality of branch pipelines are arranged at intervals circumferentially along the tank body.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first mixing nozzle is disposed inside the corresponding branch pipe, and the nozzle orifice of the first mixing nozzle faces the central axis of the tank.

[0010] In one embodiment, each branch pipe is spaced apart from the side wall of the tank; a plurality of second mixing nozzles are spaced apart along the extension direction of the branch pipe; the second mixing nozzles are located on the side of the corresponding branch pipe away from the central axis of the tank, and their nozzles are arranged in a direction away from the central axis of the tank.

[0011] In one embodiment, the main pipeline includes multiple straight pipe sections; the multiple straight pipe sections are connected end to end in sequence to form the main pipeline; the liquid inlet is connected to one of the straight pipe sections.

[0012] In one embodiment, a connecting pipe is also included; one end of the connecting pipe is connected to the main pipeline via a tee connector, and the other end is connected to the liquid inlet via a flange.

[0013] In one embodiment, a plurality of spray nozzles communicating with the main pipeline are provided at intervals on the upper side of the main pipeline.

[0014] In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the branch pipe is smaller than the inner diameter of the main pipe.

[0015] A flow battery includes a vanadium electrolyte storage tank, a stack assembly, and a reflux pump as described above; the discharge port and the filling port of the stack assembly are respectively connected to the inlet port and the outlet port; the reflux pump is disposed in the communication passage between the stack assembly and the inlet port.

[0016] In the aforementioned vanadium electrolyte storage tank and flow battery, during the use of the flow battery, after the vanadium electrolyte is discharged or charged by the stack device, it flows into the main pipeline through the inlet under the power provided by the reflux pump. The vanadium electrolyte in the main pipeline is then diverted into multiple branch pipelines. The vanadium electrolyte in each branch pipeline is then sprayed into the tank through multiple first mixing nozzles, realizing the vanadium electrolyte reflux. Thus, during the vanadium electrolyte reflux process, by first diverting the vanadium electrolyte into multiple streams, and then sending each stream of vanadium electrolyte into the tank in a spray manner, multiple surging mixing zones are formed in the tank, thereby achieving the purpose of fully mixing the high-order vanadium solution and the low-order vanadium solution while the vanadium electrolyte is refluxing. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the vanadium electrolyte storage tank in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The diagram shows the installation status of the main pipeline and branch pipelines in the vanadium electrolyte storage tank.

[0020] The reference numerals in the attached drawings are as follows: 100, vanadium electrolyte storage tank; 110, tank body; 120, main pipeline; 121, straight pipe section; 130, branch pipeline; 140, first mixing nozzle; 150, second mixing nozzle; 160, connecting pipe; 170, tee joint; 180, flange; 190, spray nozzle. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To facilitate understanding of this utility model, a more complete description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of this utility model are shown in the drawings. However, this utility model can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of this utility model.

[0022] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0023] When describing positional relationships, unless otherwise specified, when an element is referred to as being "on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be intermediate elements. It is also understood that when an element is referred to as being "between" two elements, it may be the only one between the two elements, or there may be one or more intermediate elements.

[0024] When using the terms “including,” “having,” and “comprising” as described herein, another component may be added unless explicitly qualifying terms such as “only,” “consisting of,” etc. are used. Unless otherwise stated, singular terms may include plural forms and should not be construed as having a quantity of one.

[0025] This invention provides a vanadium electrolyte storage tank and a flow battery. The flow battery includes a vanadium electrolyte storage tank, a fuel cell stack, and a reflux pump. An electric propulsion device is connected to the vanadium electrolyte storage tank. The reflux pump is located in the communication path between the fuel cell stack and the vanadium electrolyte storage tank.

[0026] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vanadium electrolyte storage tank 100 includes a tank body 110, a main pipeline 120, and multiple branch pipelines 130.

[0027] The tank 110 has an inlet (not shown) at its top and an outlet 111 at its bottom. Specifically, the inlet is located at the top of the tank 110, and the outlet 111 is located at the bottom of the tank 110. In the flow battery, the drain port and fill port of the stack are connected to the inlet and outlet 111, respectively.

[0028] The main pipe 120 is located at the upper end of the tank 110 and is fixedly connected to the side wall of the tank 110. The main pipe 120 is connected to the liquid inlet. The main pipe 120 can be a grid-like assembly formed by multiple pipe fittings crossing and connecting, or it can be a single part composed of a straight pipe, a bend, or a ring pipe.

[0029] Multiple branch pipes 130 are fixed at intervals to the main pipe 120 and communicate with it. Each branch pipe 130 is vertically arranged and located below the main pipe 120. Each branch pipe 130 has multiple first mixing nozzles 140 spaced apart along its extension direction. The branch pipes 130 can be straight pipes, curved pipes, or other shaped pipes, or they can be components formed by multiple pipes interconnected to form shapes such as inverted Y-shapes or T-shapes. The opening directions of the spray nozzles 140 on each branch pipe 130 can be the same or different.

[0030] It should be explained that the branch pipe 130 being below the main pipe 120 refers to the positional relationship between the branch pipe 130 and the main pipe 120 when the vanadium electrolyte is in use.

[0031] In the aforementioned vanadium electrolyte storage tank 100 and flow battery, during the use of the flow battery, after the vanadium electrolyte is discharged or charged by the stack device, it flows into the main pipeline 120 through the inlet under the power provided by the reflux pump. The vanadium electrolyte in the main pipeline 120 is then diverted into multiple branch pipelines 130. The vanadium electrolyte in each branch pipeline 130 is then sprayed into the tank 110 through multiple first mixing nozzles 140, thus achieving the reflux of the vanadium electrolyte. In this way, during the vanadium electrolyte reflux process, by first diverting the vanadium electrolyte into multiple streams, and then sending each stream of vanadium electrolyte into the tank 110 in a spray manner, multiple surging mixing zones are formed within the tank 110, thereby achieving the purpose of fully mixing the high-order vanadium solution and the low-order vanadium solution while the vanadium electrolyte is refluxing.

[0032] During charging and discharging, a well-mixed vanadium electrolyte can facilitate the diffusion of ions, thereby reducing the impact of concentration differences and helping to improve the charging and discharging efficiency and cycle life of the flow battery. At the same time, a well-mixed vanadium electrolyte can better adapt to the needs of the flow battery under different operating conditions, improving the stability of the flow battery performance.

[0033] Once the vanadium solutions of different valence states are fully mixed, the operation of replacing the vanadium electrolyte becomes more convenient. Simply replace the depleted vanadium electrolyte with a fully charged mixed-valence vanadium electrolyte to quickly restore the flow battery's charge, greatly improving the ease of use of the flow battery.

[0034] During charging, vanadium ions in the lower valence state are more likely to lose electrons and be oxidized, while vanadium ions in the higher valence state are more likely to accept electrons and be reduced. The mixed valence state vanadium liquid can provide reactivity over a wider potential range, thereby improving the charge and discharge efficiency of the flow battery.

[0035] Vanadium ions in a single valence state may undergo hydrolysis or precipitation under certain conditions. However, when vanadium ions in different valence states are thoroughly mixed, they can interact with each other, reducing the degree of hydrolysis, decreasing the formation of precipitates, and improving the stability of the vanadium electrolyte.

[0036] For ease of understanding, the following is a simple description of the operation of the first mixing nozzle 140: The vanadium electrolyte in the branch pipe 130 enters the first mixing nozzle 140 under the pump pressure provided by the return pump and reaches high speed. Through the exchange of flow momentum, a low-pressure area is formed around the guide port. Due to the pressure difference of the area and the action of liquid momentum on the attracted liquid, the high-speed working jet and the attracted fluid enter the mixing and diffusion section together with a certain proportion of fluid flow and are sprayed out, thereby realizing the function of spraying vanadium electrolyte into the tank 110.

[0037] In some embodiments, the main pipe 120 is an annular tubular structure arranged circumferentially along the tank 110. Multiple branch pipes 130 are spaced apart circumferentially along the tank 110. Thus, during the vanadium electrolyte recirculation into the tank 110, multiple first mixing nozzles 140 form multiple surging mixing zones within the tank 110. These surging mixing zones collectively form a cylindrical region within the tank 110, achieving thorough mixing of high-order and low-order vanadium solutions with a relatively simple main pipe 120 structure.

[0038] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first mixing nozzle 140 is disposed inside the corresponding branch pipe 130, and the nozzle of the first mixing nozzle 140 faces the central axis of the tank 110. Thus, during the vanadium electrolyte recirculation into the tank 110, multiple first mixing nozzles 140 generate multiple streams of high-pressure fluid facing the central axis of the tank 110, and collide with each other when there is sufficient power, forming a larger mixing area. This further improves the mixing effect and mixing speed of the high-order and low-order vanadium solutions while maintaining a relatively simple main pipe 120 structure.

[0039] Furthermore, in some embodiments, each branch pipe 130 is spaced apart from the side wall of the tank 110. A plurality of second mixing nozzles 150 are spaced apart along the extension direction of each branch pipe 130. The second mixing nozzles 150 are located on the side of the corresponding branch pipe 130 opposite to the central axis of the tank 110, and their nozzles are arranged in a direction opposite to the central axis of the tank 110.

[0040] Thus, during the vanadium electrolyte recirculation into the tank 110, multiple first mixing nozzles 140 form multiple mixing zones on the side of the branch pipe 130 near the central axis of the tank 110, and multiple second mixing nozzles 150 form multiple surging mixing zones on the side of the branch pipe 130 away from the central axis of the tank 110, thereby further improving the mixing effect and mixing speed of the high-order vanadium solution and the low-order vanadium solution.

[0041] Of course, if the power provided by the reflux pump is large enough or the nozzle of the second mixing nozzle 150 is close to the side wall of the tank 110, the high-pressure fluid ejected by the second mixing nozzle 150 will also collide with the side wall of the tank 110, thereby forming turbulence near the second mixing nozzle 150, which is beneficial to further improving the mixing effect and mixing speed of the high-order vanadium liquid and the low-order vanadium liquid.

[0042] The second mixing nozzle 150 and the first mixing nozzle 140 have the same structure and function, and will not be described in detail again.

[0043] In some embodiments, the main pipeline 120 includes a plurality of straight pipe segments 121. The plurality of straight pipe segments 121 are connected end to end in sequence to form the main pipeline 120. The liquid inlet is connected to one of the straight pipe segments 121. By connecting the plurality of straight pipe segments 121 end to end in sequence to obtain a ring-shaped main pipeline 120, the processing difficulty and processing cost of the main pipeline 120 are reduced.

[0044] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the vanadium electrolyte storage tank 100 also includes a connecting pipe 160. One end of the connecting pipe 160 is connected to the main pipeline 120 via a tee connector 170, and the other end is connected to the liquid inlet via a flange 180. Thus, during the manufacturing process of the vanadium electrolyte storage tank 100, by connecting one end of the connecting pipe 160 to the tee connector 170 and the other end to the side wall of the tank body 110 via the flange 180, the connection between the liquid inlet and the main pipeline 120 can be achieved conveniently and quickly.

[0045] In some embodiments, a plurality of spray nozzles 190 are provided at intervals on the upper side of the main pipeline 120 and communicate with it. Thus, during the process of vanadium electrolyte flowing back into the tank 110, the vanadium electrolyte in the main pipeline 120 is sprayed upward in a mist form through the plurality of spray nozzles 190 to form a spray state above the liquid surface in the tank 110, thereby allowing it to enter the tank 110 for storage evenly, which is beneficial to further improving the mixing effect of high-order vanadium liquid and low-order vanadium liquid.

[0046] Specifically, the spray nozzle 190 is a spiral nozzle with an internal spray angle of 120°, so that when the vanadium electrolyte is sprayed upward in a mist, the resulting spray will fall evenly at a large angle onto the surface of the vanadium electrolyte in the tank 110.

[0047] Of course, in other embodiments, the spray nozzle 190 can also be a high-pressure circular nozzle, a fan-shaped nozzle, a solid cone nozzle, etc., as long as it can achieve the spraying function.

[0048] In some embodiments, the inner diameter of the branch pipe 130 is smaller than the inner diameter of the main pipe 120. This ensures that the flow pressure of the vanadium electrolyte in the branch pipe 130 is stable, thereby ensuring that the first mixing nozzle 140 and the second mixing nozzle 150 can stably spray the vanadium electrolyte into the tank 110.

[0049] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0050] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of several implementations of this utility model, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the inventive concept, and these all fall within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vanadium electrolyte storage tank, characterized in that, include: The tank body has an inlet and an outlet at the top and bottom, respectively. The main pipeline is located at the upper end of the tank body and is fixedly connected to the side wall of the tank body; the main pipeline is connected to the liquid inlet. Multiple branch pipes are fixed at intervals to the main pipe and connected to the main pipe; each branch pipe is vertically arranged and located below the main pipe; each branch pipe is provided with multiple first mixing nozzles at intervals along its extension direction.

2. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main pipeline is an annular tubular structure arranged along the circumference of the tank; multiple branch pipelines are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the tank.

3. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first mixing nozzle is located inside the corresponding branch pipe, and the nozzle orifice of the first mixing nozzle faces the central axis of the tank.

4. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 3, characterized in that, Each branch pipe is spaced apart from the side wall of the tank; a plurality of second mixing nozzles are spaced apart along the extension direction of the branch pipe; the second mixing nozzles are located on the side of the corresponding branch pipe away from the central axis of the tank, and their nozzles are arranged in a direction away from the central axis of the tank.

5. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 2, characterized in that, The main pipeline includes multiple straight pipe sections; the multiple straight pipe sections are connected end to end in sequence to form the main pipeline; the liquid inlet is connected to one of the straight pipe sections.

6. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes a connecting pipe; one end of the connecting pipe is connected to the main pipeline through a tee connector, and the other end is connected to the liquid inlet through a flange.

7. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper side of the main pipeline is provided with multiple spray nozzles that are connected to it at intervals.

8. The vanadium electrolyte storage tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner diameter of the branch pipe is smaller than the inner diameter of the main pipe.

9. A flow battery, characterized in that, It includes a vanadium electrolyte storage tank, a fuel cell stack, and a reflux pump as described in any one of claims 1 to 8; the drain port and the filling port of the fuel cell stack are respectively connected to the inlet port and the outlet port; the reflux pump is disposed on the communication passage between the fuel cell stack and the inlet port.

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