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High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis
We report high-current density operating alkaline (water) electrolyzers (AELs) based on platinum on Vulcan (Pt/C) cathodes and stainless-steel anodes. By optimizing the binder (Nafion ionomer) and Pt mass loading (m(Pt)) content in the catalysts coating at the cathode side, the AEL can operate at th...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9649444/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36385988 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.1045212 |
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author | Zappia, Marilena Isabella Bellani, Sebastiano Zuo, Yong Ferri, Michele Drago, Filippo Manna, Liberato Bonaccorso, Francesco |
author_facet | Zappia, Marilena Isabella Bellani, Sebastiano Zuo, Yong Ferri, Michele Drago, Filippo Manna, Liberato Bonaccorso, Francesco |
author_sort | Zappia, Marilena Isabella |
collection | PubMed |
description | We report high-current density operating alkaline (water) electrolyzers (AELs) based on platinum on Vulcan (Pt/C) cathodes and stainless-steel anodes. By optimizing the binder (Nafion ionomer) and Pt mass loading (m(Pt)) content in the catalysts coating at the cathode side, the AEL can operate at the following (current density, voltage, energy efficiency -based on the hydrogen higher heating value-) conditions (1.0 A cm(−2), 1.68 V, 87.8%) (2.0 A cm(−2), 1.85 V, 79.9%) (7.0 A cm(−2), 2.38 V, 62.3%). The optimal amount of binder content (25 wt%) also ensures stable AEL performances, as proved through dedicated intermittent (ON-OFF) accelerated stress tests and continuous operation at 1 A cm(−2), for which a nearly zero average voltage increase rate was measured over 335 h. The designed AELs can therefore reach proton-exchange membrane electrolyzer-like performance, without relying on the use of scarce anode catalysts, namely, iridium. Contrary to common opinions, our preliminary techno-economic analysis shows that the Pt/C cathode-enabled high-current density operation of single cell AELs can also reduce substantially the impact of capital expenditures (CAPEX) on the overall cost of the green hydrogen, leading CAPEX to operating expenses (OPEX) cost ratio <10% for single cell current densities ≥0.8 A cm(−2). Thus, we estimate a hydrogen production cost as low as $2.06 kg(H2) (−1) for a 30 years-lifetime 1 MW-scale AEL plant using Pt/C cathodes with m(Pt) of 150 μg cm(−2) and operating at single cell current densities of 0.6–0.8 A cm(−2). Thus, Pt/C cathodes enable the realization of AELs that can efficiently operate at high current densities, leading to low OPEX while even benefiting the CAPEX due to their superior plant compactness compared to traditional AELs. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9649444 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-96494442022-11-15 High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis Zappia, Marilena Isabella Bellani, Sebastiano Zuo, Yong Ferri, Michele Drago, Filippo Manna, Liberato Bonaccorso, Francesco Front Chem Chemistry We report high-current density operating alkaline (water) electrolyzers (AELs) based on platinum on Vulcan (Pt/C) cathodes and stainless-steel anodes. By optimizing the binder (Nafion ionomer) and Pt mass loading (m(Pt)) content in the catalysts coating at the cathode side, the AEL can operate at the following (current density, voltage, energy efficiency -based on the hydrogen higher heating value-) conditions (1.0 A cm(−2), 1.68 V, 87.8%) (2.0 A cm(−2), 1.85 V, 79.9%) (7.0 A cm(−2), 2.38 V, 62.3%). The optimal amount of binder content (25 wt%) also ensures stable AEL performances, as proved through dedicated intermittent (ON-OFF) accelerated stress tests and continuous operation at 1 A cm(−2), for which a nearly zero average voltage increase rate was measured over 335 h. The designed AELs can therefore reach proton-exchange membrane electrolyzer-like performance, without relying on the use of scarce anode catalysts, namely, iridium. Contrary to common opinions, our preliminary techno-economic analysis shows that the Pt/C cathode-enabled high-current density operation of single cell AELs can also reduce substantially the impact of capital expenditures (CAPEX) on the overall cost of the green hydrogen, leading CAPEX to operating expenses (OPEX) cost ratio <10% for single cell current densities ≥0.8 A cm(−2). Thus, we estimate a hydrogen production cost as low as $2.06 kg(H2) (−1) for a 30 years-lifetime 1 MW-scale AEL plant using Pt/C cathodes with m(Pt) of 150 μg cm(−2) and operating at single cell current densities of 0.6–0.8 A cm(−2). Thus, Pt/C cathodes enable the realization of AELs that can efficiently operate at high current densities, leading to low OPEX while even benefiting the CAPEX due to their superior plant compactness compared to traditional AELs. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-10-28 /pmc/articles/PMC9649444/ /pubmed/36385988 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.1045212 Text en Copyright © 2022 Zappia, Bellani, Zuo, Ferri, Drago, Manna and Bonaccorso. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Chemistry Zappia, Marilena Isabella Bellani, Sebastiano Zuo, Yong Ferri, Michele Drago, Filippo Manna, Liberato Bonaccorso, Francesco High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title | High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title_full | High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title_fullStr | High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title_full_unstemmed | High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title_short | High-current density alkaline electrolyzers: The role of Nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
title_sort | high-current density alkaline electrolyzers: the role of nafion binder content in the catalyst coatings and techno-economic analysis |
topic | Chemistry |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9649444/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36385988 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.1045212 |
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