Performance Assessment of Anion Exchange Electrolyzer With Pbi-Based Membrane Through 0-D Modeling

Abstract

Anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis is emerging as a promising method for the sustainable production of hydrogen. A key advantage lies in the potential for cost-effective hydrogen production by substituting expensive noble metal electrocatalysts with affordable transition metals. This work presents a 0-D mathematical model for evaluating the performance of AEMWEs, with a particular focus on polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based membranes, which are renowned for their high thermal stability, chemical resistance and excellent conductivity in alkaline media. The objective of the model is to predict the behavior of membranes in AEMWE systems, and it has been employed to evaluate the performance of a range of PBI membranes. To ensure precision, the values were meticulously selected from the literature, in accordance with the experimental conditions. Furthermore, IR-corrected validation was incorporated to isolate the impact of membrane conductivity on performance, thereby facilitating a dependable assessment of PBI membranes under diverse conditions. The model considers the effects of electrolyte resistance and bubble formation on cell voltage behavior. The efficiency was evaluated on the basis of the higher heating value (HHV). The findings demonstrate that one membrane exhibits consistent efficiency across a broad temperature range (40–90 °C), whereas the other displays notable variability under diverse conditions. In particular, the efficiency of the electrolyzer is significantly enhanced by the use of thinner membranes and higher temperatures. The highest efficiencies obtained were 83.9% and 79.8% for 25 μm and 50 μm PBI/Polystyrene membrane under the operating conditions of 1 M KOH solution at 80 °C and current density of 2 A/cm2. This study aims to provide valuable information on the performance of PBI membranes through a zero-dimensional model validated by experimental data. © 2025 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC