Actuatable bipolar plate, electrolytic cell and electrolyzer comprising the same

Abstract

This invention provides an actuable bipolar plate, comprising a bipolar plate body and an actuating element, wherein the actuating element is embedded within the bipolar plate body and not exposed outside the bipolar plate body. Furthermore, an electrolyzer unit and electrolyzer incorporating the actuable bipolar plate of this invention can further improve mass transfer impedance and increase electrolysis efficiency, thereby improving component performance to achieve the goal of reducing the production cost of green hydrogen.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bipolar plate, an electrolytic cell unit and an electrolytic cell comprising the same. Prior Art

[0002] Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced by electrolyzing water using renewable energy. This process has the lowest carbon emissions compared to other hydrogen production methods. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) pointed out that the production cost of green hydrogen should drop to $1 / kg within 10 years. The international trend is committed to reducing the production cost of green hydrogen. Currently, it relies on the "economy of scale", "module integration" and "component performance" of water electrolysis equipment to promote the reduction of green hydrogen costs.

[0003] Among them, the performance of the components of the electrolyzer is affected by the ohmic impedance of each internal component, the activation impedance of the catalyst, and the mass transfer impedance of the anode and cathode. During the electrolysis process, hydrogen bubbles and oxygen bubbles will be generated at the anode and cathode. These bubbles may adhere to the porous components during the transfer process, causing blockage and other problems, which in turn affects the mass transfer impedance and deteriorates the electrolysis efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention embeds an actuator element inside a bipolar plate (also called a flow field plate) to discharge bubbles accumulated in a porous component through vibration of the actuator element, thereby improving mass transfer impedance and enhancing electrolysis efficiency, thereby improving component performance to solve one or more of the above problems.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides an actuatable bipolar plate, comprising: a bipolar plate body; and an actuating element, wherein the actuating element is embedded in the bipolar plate body and is not exposed outside the bipolar plate body.

[0006] Another embodiment of the present invention provides an electrolytic cell unit, which sequentially comprises: a first bipolar plate, a first porous layer, a first electrode, a polymer membrane, a second electrode, a second porous layer and a second bipolar plate, wherein at least one of the first bipolar plate and the second bipolar plate is the aforementioned actuatable bipolar plate.

[0007] Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides an electrolytic cell, comprising in sequence: a first end plate, at least one of the aforementioned electrolytic cell units, a second end plate and a fixing member, wherein the first end plate, at least one of the electrolytic cell units and the second end plate are fixed to each other via the fixing member.

[0008] According to the actuable bipolar plate of the embodiment of the present invention, by embedding the actuating element inside the bipolar plate, the force applied by the actuating element can be made uniform, so that the vibrations received by various parts of the bipolar plate and even the electrolyzer are consistent, so that the performance of each electrolyzer unit in the electrolyzer is consistent and maximized. In addition, the actuating element embedded inside the bipolar plate is close to the bubble accumulation point, which can achieve the effect of removing bubbles with minimal energy consumption to achieve the maximum benefit. Furthermore, the actuating element embedded inside the bipolar plate will not be in direct contact with the reactant or fluid, which can avoid interference such as leakage and short circuit, and can also save space and maximize the area for electrochemical reaction. In this way, the electrolyzer unit and electrolyzer including the actuable bipolar plate of the present invention can further improve the mass transfer impedance, enhance the electrolysis efficiency, and then improve the component performance to achieve the purpose of reducing the cost of green hydrogen production. Simple diagram description

[0009] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] 1B is an exploded view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional view of an actuatable bipolar plate along line L1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] 2A is a perspective view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] 2B is an exploded view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] 3A is a perspective view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] 3B is an exploded view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] FIG. 3C is a schematic cross-sectional view of an actuatable bipolar plate along line L3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] 4A is a perspective view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] 4B is a perspective view of an actuatable bipolar plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 4C is a schematic cross-sectional view of an actuatable bipolar plate along line L4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electrolytic cell unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an electrolytic cell according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. Implementation

[0022] The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the following embodiments, and the contents are sufficient to enable any person skilled in the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly. According to the contents disclosed in this specification, the scope of the patent application and the drawings, any person skilled in the relevant art can easily understand the relevant purposes and advantages of the present invention. The following examples are to further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention in detail, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1A to 1C. Figure 1A is a three-dimensional view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1B is an exploded view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 1C is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an actuable bipolar plate along line L1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of convenience, the size ratio is only schematically drawn but does not represent the actual size ratio. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the actuable bipolar plate 100 includes a bipolar plate body 110 and an actuating element 120, wherein the actuating element 120 is buried in the bipolar plate body 110 and is not exposed outside the bipolar plate body 110.

[0024] The material of the bipolar plate body 110 may be a conductive material. In some embodiments, the material of the bipolar plate body 110 may include a conductive metal, such as stainless steel or iron plated with nickel, but is not limited thereto. The shape of the bipolar plate body 110 may be generally circular, square, polygonal or irregular, which is basically in accordance with the design of the electrolytic cell, but is not limited thereto.

[0025] The bipolar plate body 110 may include a base 111 and an upper cover 112. The base 111 may include a groove 113. The upper cover 112 may cover the groove 113. The actuator 120 may be disposed in the groove 113 and covered by the upper cover 112. The upper cover 112 may be integrated with the base 111 through a packaging process, and the packaging process may include applying a packaging material or introducing external energy, such as laser welding or ultrasonic welding, but is not limited thereto, as long as the actuator 120 can be sealed in the bipolar plate body 110.

[0026] The materials of the base 111 and the upper cover 112 may be conductive materials. In some embodiments, the materials of the base 111 and the upper cover 112 may include conductive metals, such as stainless steel or iron plated with nickel, but not limited thereto. The materials of the base 111 and the upper cover 112 may be the same or different. The shape of the recess 113 may correspond to the shape of the base 111, but not limited thereto, and may be any shape. The shape of the upper cover 112 may correspond to the shape of the recess 113, but not limited thereto, as long as it can cover the recess 113 and the actuator 120 located in the recess 113. The shape of the actuator 120 may correspond to the shape of the recess 113, but not limited thereto, as long as it can be disposed in the recess 113 and covered by the upper cover 112. The space in the recess 113 other than the space where the actuator 120 is disposed may be filled with a filling material (such as a resin material), or may not be filled, or may remain empty.

[0027] The bipolar plate body 110 may include a flow channel through hole H1, which passes through the bipolar plate body 110. In this embodiment, the flow channel through hole H1 passes through the base 111 of the bipolar plate body 110. The flow channel through hole H1 can be used to allow electrolyte or gas to flow. The number and position of the flow channel through hole H1 are not limited and can be set according to actual needs. The bipolar plate body 110 may further include a wire hole C1, and the wire hole C1 can be used for the wire of the actuator 120 to extend.

[0028] The actuator 120 may be, for example, an ultrasonic oscillator, a piezoelectric ceramic element, a micro-capacitor actuator, etc., but is not limited thereto, as long as it can generate vibration to discharge the bubbles accumulated in the porous component. The actuator 120 may be coated with an insulating material to avoid electrical interference. The wire of the actuator 120 may extend through the wire hole C1 of the bipolar plate body 110 to be connected to an external power source.

[0029] In the first embodiment of the present invention, only one actuating element is used as an example, but it is not limited thereto, and the number of actuating elements may also be multiple. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the number of actuating elements is multiple. Please refer to Figures 2A and 2B, Figure 2A is a three-dimensional view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2B is an exploded view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the actuable bipolar plate 200 includes a bipolar plate body 210 and an actuating element 220, wherein the actuating element 220 is buried in the bipolar plate body 210 and is not exposed outside the bipolar plate body 210.

[0030] The bipolar plate body 210 may include a base 211 and an upper cover 212. The base 211 may include a groove 213. The upper cover 212 may cover the groove 213. The actuating element 220 may be disposed in the groove 213 and covered by the upper cover 212. The bipolar plate body 210 may include a flow channel through hole H2, which passes through the bipolar plate body 210. In this embodiment, the flow channel through hole H2 passes through the base 211 of the bipolar plate body 210. The flow channel through hole H2 may be used to allow electrolyte or gas to flow. The number and position of the flow channel through hole H2 are not limited and may be set according to actual needs. The bipolar plate body 210 may further include a wire hole C2, which may allow the wire of the actuating element 220 to extend.

[0031] The number of the actuator elements 220 may be multiple and arranged in an array, but is not limited thereto and may be arranged arbitrarily. Each actuator element 220 may be coated with an insulating material to prevent electrical interference. Each actuator element 220 may be electrically connected to each other through a wire, and the wire may extend through the wire hole C2 of the bipolar plate body 210 to be connected to an external power source.

[0032] The description of the bipolar plate body 210, the actuating element 220, the base 211, the upper cover 212 and the groove 213 can refer to the bipolar plate body 110, the actuating element 120, the base 111, the upper cover 112 and the groove 113 of the aforementioned first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0033] In the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the bipolar plate body includes a base and an upper cover, but is not limited thereto, and the bipolar plate body may also have other forms. Please refer to Figures 3A to 3C, Figure 3A is a three-dimensional view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the third embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3B is an exploded view of an actuable bipolar plate according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3C is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an actuable bipolar plate along line L3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of convenience of understanding, only the size ratio is schematically drawn but does not represent the actual size ratio. In the third embodiment of the present invention, the actuable bipolar plate 300 includes a bipolar plate body 310 and an actuating element 320, wherein the actuating element 320 is buried in the bipolar plate body 310 and is not exposed outside the bipolar plate body 310.

[0034] The bipolar plate body 310 may include a first plate body 311, a second plate body 312, a connector 313, and a resin layer 314. The resin layer 314 may be disposed between the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312 and may cover the actuating element 320. The connector 313 may connect the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312. The connector 313 may penetrate the resin layer 314 to connect the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312. The shape of the resin layer 314 may correspond to the shape of the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312, but is not limited thereto, as long as it can cover the actuating element 320. In the case where the shape of the resin layer 314 is smaller than the shape of the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312, that is, in the case where the outer diameter of the resin layer is smaller, the connector 313 may also connect the first plate body 311 and the second plate body 312 along the periphery of the resin layer 314.

[0035] The materials of the first plate 311, the second plate 312 and the connecting member 313 may be conductive materials. In some embodiments, the materials of the first plate 311, the second plate 312 and the connecting member 313 may include conductive metals, such as stainless steel or nickel-plated iron, but are not limited thereto. The materials of the first plate 311, the second plate 312 and the connecting member 313 may be the same or different.

[0036] The bipolar plate body 310 may further include a flow channel through hole H3. The flow channel through hole H3 may penetrate the first plate body 311, the second plate body 312 and the resin layer 314. The connector 313 may have a through hole H3', and the connector 313 may be disposed in the flow channel through hole H3. The flow channel through hole H3 and the through hole H3' can be used to allow electrolyte or gas to flow. In the case where the connector 313 is disposed in the flow channel through hole H3, the through hole H3' can replace the flow channel through hole H3 to allow electrolyte or gas to flow. In detail, the first plate body 311 may include a through hole H31, the second plate body 312 may include a through hole H32, and the resin layer 314 may include a through hole H33, and the through hole H31, the through hole H32 and the through hole H33 together constitute the flow channel through hole H3. The number and position of the flow channel through hole H3 are not limited and can be set according to actual needs. In other embodiments, when the shape of the resin layer is smaller than that of the first plate body and the second plate body, that is, when the outer diameter of the resin layer is small, the connecting piece connects the first plate body and the second plate body along the periphery of the resin layer without penetrating the resin layer. At this time, the flow channel hole may only penetrate the first plate body and the second plate body, and the connecting piece may be arranged in this flow channel hole and have a perforation to allow the electrolyte or gas to flow.

[0037] The description of the bipolar plate body 310 and the actuating element 320 may refer to the bipolar plate body 110 and the actuating element 120 of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0038] In the third embodiment of the present invention, only one actuator is used as an example, but it is not limited thereto. The number of actuators can be multiple, and they can be arranged in an array or in any arrangement, as long as they can be covered by the resin layer. Each actuator can be covered by a resin layer to avoid electrical interference. Each actuator can be electrically connected to each other through a wire, and the wire can extend through the wire hole of the bipolar plate body to connect to an external power source.

[0039] In the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the bipolar plate body includes a plurality of components, but is not limited thereto, and the bipolar plate body may also be formed in an integral manner. Please refer to FIGS. 4A to 4C, FIG. 4A is a three-dimensional view of an actuable bipolar plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4B is a perspective view of an actuable bipolar plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an actuable bipolar plate along line L4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and only schematically illustrates the size ratio for ease of understanding but does not represent the actual size ratio. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the actuable bipolar plate 400 includes a bipolar plate body 410 and an actuating element 420, wherein the actuating element 420 is buried in the bipolar plate body 410 and is not exposed outside the bipolar plate body 410.

[0040] The side edge of the bipolar plate body 410 may have a hole 411, and the actuating element 420 may be embedded in the bipolar plate body 410 through the hole 411. The number of holes 411 and the actuating element 420 may be multiple and may be the same or different. The arrangement of the multiple holes 411 may be parallel to each other, but is not limited thereto. The shape of the actuating element 420 may correspond to the shape of the hole 411, but is not limited thereto, as long as the actuating element 420 can be embedded in the hole 411 of the bipolar plate body 410.

[0041] The hole 411 may be filled with a resin material to seal the actuator element 420 in the bipolar plate body 410. A wire of the actuator element 420 may extend through the hole 411 of the bipolar plate body 410 to be connected to an external power source.

[0042] The bipolar plate body 410 may include a flow channel through hole H4, which penetrates the bipolar plate body 410 and can be used to allow electrolyte or gas to flow. The number and position of the flow channel through hole H4 are not limited and can be set according to actual needs.

[0043] The description of the bipolar plate body 410 and the actuating element 420 may refer to the bipolar plate body 110 and the actuating element 120 of the first embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of an electrolytic cell unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of convenience, the size ratio is only schematically illustrated but does not represent the actual size ratio. The electrolytic cell unit 500 of the embodiment of the present invention sequentially includes a first bipolar plate 510, a first porous layer 520, a first electrode 530, a polymer membrane 540, a second electrode 550, a second porous layer 560, and a second bipolar plate 570. At least one of the first bipolar plate 510 and the second bipolar plate 570 can be the actuable bipolar plate 100, the actuable bipolar plate 200, the actuable bipolar plate 300, or the actuable bipolar plate 400 of the present invention, or both can be the actuable bipolar plate 100, the actuable bipolar plate 200, the actuable bipolar plate 300, or the actuable bipolar plate 400 of the present invention.

[0045] Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of an electrolytic cell according to another embodiment of the present invention. For the sake of convenience, the size ratio is only schematically drawn but does not represent the actual size ratio. The electrolytic cell 600 of the embodiment of the present invention includes a first end plate 610, at least one electrolytic cell unit 620 of the present invention, a second end plate 630 and a fixing member 640 in sequence, wherein the first end plate 610, at least one electrolytic cell unit 620 and the second end plate 630 are fixed to each other through the fixing member 640. The fixing member 640 can be, for example, a screw or a latch, but is not limited thereto. The electrolytic cell 600 can include a plurality of electrolytic cell units 620, at least one of which can be the electrolytic cell unit 500 of the present invention, or all of which can be the electrolytic cell units 500 of the present invention. In FIG. 6, arrow A schematically indicates the direction in which the electrolyte flows through the flow channel through hole, and arrow B schematically indicates the direction in which the hydrogen flows through the flow channel through hole, but is not limited thereto. The flow of the electrolyte and the gas can be determined according to actual needs. FIG6 schematically shows a state in which the wires of the actuating elements in the actuable bipolar plate of one of the electrolytic cell units 620 are connected to an external power source, but the invention is not limited thereto and the external power source can be connected according to actual needs.

[0046] Through simulation calculation, compared with setting the actuator device outside the electrolyzer, the actuator bipolar plate of the present invention is set in the electrolyzer unit near the reaction zone, the amplitude of the first electrolyzer unit from the end plate can be increased by 3% and the power consumption can be saved by 7%; the amplitude of the tenth electrolyzer unit from the end plate can be increased by 12% and the power consumption can be saved by 30%. It can be seen that the actuator bipolar plate of the present invention can greatly increase the amplitude and reduce power consumption by embedding the actuator element inside the bipolar plate body, which helps to improve hydrogen production efficiency and reduce energy consumption, and thus helps to accelerate the commercialization of electrolysis technology.

[0047] According to the actuable bipolar plate of the embodiment of the present invention, by embedding the actuating element inside the bipolar plate, the bubbles accumulated in the porous component can be discharged through the vibration of the actuating element. Moreover, compared with the electrolyzer device with the actuating element arranged outside, embedding the actuating element inside the bipolar plate can make the force of the actuating element more uniform, so that the vibrations received by various parts of the bipolar plate and even the electrolyzer are consistent, so that the efficiency of each electrolyzer unit in the electrolyzer is consistent and maximized. In addition, the actuating element embedded inside the bipolar plate can be closer to the bubble accumulation place than the actuating element arranged outside the electrolyzer, and the effect of removing bubbles can be achieved with the minimum energy consumption to achieve the maximum benefit. Furthermore, the actuating element embedded inside the bipolar plate will not be in direct contact with the reactant or fluid, which can avoid interference such as leakage and short circuit, and can also save space and maximize the area for electrochemical reaction. In this way, the electrolyzer unit and electrolyzer including the actuable bipolar plate of the present invention can further improve the mass transfer impedance, enhance the electrolysis efficiency, and further improve the component performance to achieve the purpose of reducing the green hydrogen production cost.

[0048] Although the present invention is disclosed as above with the aforementioned embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention are within the scope of patent protection of the present invention. Please refer to the attached patent application for the scope of protection defined by the present invention.

[0049] 100, 200, 300, 400: Actuable bipolar plates 110,210,310,410: Bipolar plate body 120,220,320,420: Actuating element 111,211: Base 112,212: Upper cover 113,213: Groove 311: First plate 312: Second plate 313: Connector 314: Resin layer 411: Holes 500: Electrolyzer unit 510: first bipolar plate 520: first porous layer 530: first electrode 540:Polymer film 550: second electrode 560: Second porous layer 570: second bipolar plate 600: Electrolyzer 610: first end plate 620: Electrolyzer unit 630: Second end plate 640:Fixer H1, H2, H3, H4: flow channel holes H31, H32, H33: Through hole H3': Perforation A,B: Arrow L1, L3, L4: Line C1, C2: Wire hole

Claims

1. An actuable bipolar plate, comprising: a bipolar plate body; and an actuating element, wherein the actuating element is embedded in the bipolar plate body and not exposed outside the bipolar plate body, the actuating element being used to generate vibration, wherein the bipolar plate body includes a base and a top cover, the base including a groove, the top cover covering the groove, and the actuating element being disposed in the groove and covered by the top cover.

2. The actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 1, wherein the number of actuating elements is plurality and arranged in an array.

3. The actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 1, wherein the top cover is integrally connected to the base.

4. The actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 1, wherein the bipolar plate body includes a flow channel through-hole that penetrates the bipolar plate body.

5. An actuable bipolar plate, comprising: a bipolar plate body; and an actuating element, wherein the actuating element is embedded in the bipolar plate body and not exposed outside the bipolar plate body, the actuating element being used to generate vibration, wherein the bipolar plate body includes a first plate, a second plate, a connector, and a resin layer, the resin layer being disposed between the first plate and the second plate and covering the actuating element, and the connector connecting the first plate and the second plate.

6. The actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 5, wherein the bipolar plate body further includes a flow channel through hole that penetrates the first plate body and the second plate body, the connector is disposed in the flow channel through hole, and the connector has a through hole.

7. An actuable bipolar plate, comprising: a bipolar plate body; and an actuating element, wherein the actuating element is embedded in the bipolar plate body and not exposed outside the bipolar plate body, the actuating element being used to generate vibration, wherein a hole is provided on a side edge of the bipolar plate body, and the actuating element is embedded in the bipolar plate body through the hole.

8. An actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 1, 5 or 7, wherein the actuating element is covered by an insulating material.

9. An actuable bipolar plate as described in claim 1, 5 or 7, wherein the material of the bipolar plate body comprises a conductive material.

10. An electrolytic cell unit, comprising, in sequence: a first bipolar plate, a first porous layer, a first electrode, a polymer membrane, a second electrode, a second porous layer, and a second bipolar plate, wherein at least one of the first bipolar plate and the second bipolar plate is an actuable bipolar plate as described in claims 1, 5, or 7.

11. An electrolytic cell, comprising in sequence: a first end plate, at least one electrolytic cell unit as described in claim 10, a second end plate, and a fastener, wherein the first end plate, the at least one electrolytic cell unit, and the second end plate are fastened to each other through the fastener.

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