Development of a 0.1 kW power accumulation pilot plant based on an Fe/Cr redox flow battery Part I. Considerations on flow-distribution design

doi:10.1016/0378-7753(94)80026-X

Journal of Power Sources

Volume 48, Issue 3, 19 March 1994, Pages 293-302

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-7753(94)80026-X Get rights and content

Abstract

The design of a flow-distribution system for a 0.1 kW Fe/Cr redox flow battery has been based on the application of shunt current calculation model to a 20-cell bipolar system A model to simulate the intra-stack flow distribution has also been proposed. Both shunt-current and flow distribution analysis have yielded a prototype with a 93% current efficiency with an homogenous intrastack flow distribution.

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Citation Excerpt :
Commercially available macroscale redox flow batteries [1] use pairs of redox couples (e.g. Cr3+/Cr2+ and Fe3+/Fe2+ [2,3], V3+/V2+ and VO2+/VO2+ [4]) in liquid electrolytes with the favorable characteristic that the storage capacity and the power scale independently [5].
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A hydrogen-ferric ion rebalance cell operating at low hydrogen concentrations for capacity restoration of iron-chromium redox flow batteries
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To eliminate the adverse impacts of hydrogen evolution on the capacity of iron-chromium redox flow batteries (ICRFBs) during the long-term operation and ensure the safe operation of the battery, a rebalance cell that reduces the excessive Fe(III) ions at the positive electrolyte by using the hydrogen evolved from the negative electrolyte is designed, fabricated and tested. The effects of the flow field, hydrogen concentration and H₂/N₂ mixture gas flow rate on the performance of the hydrogen-ferric ion rebalance cell have been investigated. Results show that: i) an interdigitated flow field based rebalance cell delivers higher limiting current densities than serpentine flow field based one does; ii) the hydrogen utilization can approach 100% at low hydrogen concentrations (≤5%); iii) the apparent exchange current density of hydrogen oxidation reaction in the rebalance cell is proportional to the square root of the hydrogen concentration at the hydrogen concentration from 1.3% to 50%; iv) a continuous rebalance process is demonstrated at the current density of 60 mA cm⁻² and hydrogen concentration of 2.5%. Moreover, the cost analysis shows that the rebalance cell is just approximately 1% of an ICRFB system cost.
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The promise of redox flow batteries (RFBs) utilizing soluble redox couples, such as all vanadium ions as well as iron and chromium ions, is becoming increasingly recognized for large-scale energy storage of renewables such as wind and solar, owing to their unique advantages including scalability, intrinsic safety, and long cycle life. An ongoing question associated with these two RFBs is determining whether the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) or iron-chromium redox flow battery (ICRFB) is more suitable and competitive for large-scale energy storage. To address this concern, a comparative study has been conducted for the two types of battery based on their charge–discharge performance, cycle performance, and capital cost. It is found that: i) the two batteries have similar energy efficiencies at high current densities; ii) the ICRFB exhibits a higher capacity decay rate than does the VRFB; and iii) the ICRFB is much less expensive in capital costs when operated at high power densities or at large capacities.

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Development of a 0.1 kW power accumulation pilot plant based on an Fe/Cr redox flow battery Part I. Considerations on flow-distribution design

Abstract

J. Power Sources

J. Power Sources

9th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conf., San Francisco, CA, USA,NASA TM X-71540

DOE/NASA/12726-8,NASA TM-82607

J. Electrochem. Soc.

DOE/NASA/12726-24, NASA TM-83677

DOE/NASA/12726-13, NASA TM-82702

J. Electrochem. Soc.