Electrolyte Gas Depleting Catalyst for Safe Water Electrolysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The mixing of dihydrogen and dioxygen gases within electrochemical cells during water electrolysis leads to safety risks and efficiency losses due to concentration imbalances in the electrolyte streams, necessitating shutdowns to maintain safe operation.
Innovation Solution
A dihydrogen and dioxygen depleting system using catalysts, positioned downstream of the mixing region and upstream of the electrochemical stack, reacts dissolved dioxygen and dihydrogen in the electrolyte stream to produce a treated electrolyte with reduced gas content, ensuring safe and balanced electrolyte concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If dihydrogen and dioxygen gases are allowed to mix in the electrolyte stream during water electrolysis, then gas production efficiency is improved, but safety risks increase due to potential explosions
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the electrolyte stream into separate pathways: one stream contains dihydrogen and the other contains dioxygen. This segmentation prevents direct mixing of the two gases in the electrolyte, eliminating explosion risks while maintaining continuous operation and high gas production efficiency from both compartments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary deaeration system that independently removes dissolved gases from the electrolyte before recirculation. This intermediary treatment prevents harmful gas accumulation and mixing, ensuring safety without compromising the electrolysis process productivity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If electrolyte streams from anodic and cathodic compartments are mixed, then concentration balance is improved, but gas content increases leading to safety shutdowns
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains separate electrolyte circulation loops for anodic and cathodic compartments, each with independent deaeration. This segmentation allows concentration balancing within each loop without introducing harmful gas mixing, preventing safety shutdowns while maintaining compositional stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The deaeration units extract dissolved dihydrogen and dioxygen gases from their respective electrolyte streams before recirculation. This extraction removes the harmful gas factor that would otherwise accumulate during mixing, enabling safe concentration balancing and continuous operation.
3Reliability
If gas separators are used to separate dihydrogen and dioxygen, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deaeration units serve multiple functions: they remove dissolved gases to prevent explosions, maintain electrolyte composition balance, and enable continuous recirculation without requiring complex gas separation membranes or additional safety barriers within the electrolyte path.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the existing electrolyte circulation infrastructure to transport gases to deaeration units, which automatically remove dissolved gases through phase separation. This self-service approach maintains safety without adding complex active control systems or multiple separation stages.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system enhances safety and reliability by reducing gas content in the electrolyte, preventing explosions and maintaining efficient operation by balancing electrolyte concentrations, thus ensuring continuous and sustainable water electrolysis.
Implementation Method 1
A dihydrogen and dioxygen depleting system using catalysts, positioned downstream of the mixing region and upstream of the electrochemical stack, reacts dissolved dioxygen and dihydrogen in the electrolyte stream
Implementation Method 2
an electrochemical stack device comprising at least a cell stack having at least one electrolysis cell for electrochemical generation of dihydrogen and dioxygen from an electrolyte
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention concerns a water electrolysis installation comprising: * a dioxygen separator (60) configured to separate a mixture of electrolyte and dioxygen (28B) and to obtain an electrolyte with dissolved dioxygen (61); * a dihydrogen separator (49) to separate a mixture of electrolyte and dihydrogen (28A) and to obtain an electrolyte with dissolved dihydrogen (51); * a recombination zone (32) configured to receive the electrolytes to produce, at a mixing region (68), a mixed electrolyte stream, The installation comprises a dihydrogen and/or dioxygen depleting system (70), comprising a catalyst configured to react dioxygen and dihydrogen dissolved in the mixed electrolyte stream, to produce a treated electrolyte stream (34) with reduced dioxygen and dihydrogen. The depleting system (70) is positioned in contact with the mixed electrolyte stream downstream of the mixing region (68) and upstream of the inlet of the electrochemical stack device.