Experimental and modeling studies of a high-temperature electrochemical hydrogen compressor

Abstract

Some non-technical factors such as economics and logistics prevent hydrogen (H2) tech-nologies from becoming more widespread in daily life. Today, the prevalence of H2 tech-nologies requires new technological developments. Electrochemical hydrogen compressors (ECHC) are of great interest due to their ability to pressurize and purify in one step. In this study, the electrochemical H2 compression performance of high phosphoric acid (PA) doped poly 2,2-m-phenylene-5,5-benzimidazole (PBI) membrane-based HT-ECHC under high temperature and non-humid conditions was investigated through both an experimental and a numerical approach. The H2 compression capacity of HT-ECHC at different operating voltages was examined by performance tests at 160 degrees C, and it was determined that the electrochemical compression performance increased with increasing operating voltage. It was observed that the current density values also increased with increasing voltage, and it was determined that a current density of 61.2 A was obtained at 1 V. As a result of the tests, H2 was successfully compressed from atmospheric pressure to 60 bar by HT-ECHC without any gas leakage. The results of the developed model were compared with the experimental performance test data, and the variation of molar flow, cell voltage, and cell efficiency over time was examined. It has been determined that the back diffusion from the cathode to the anode in the cell increases with the increasing operating voltage of HT-ECHC and therefore the cell efficiency decreases. It has been evaluated that the developed model and experimental results are in good agreement. (c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.