CN220485847U

CN220485847U - Electrolysis device

Info

Publication number: CN220485847U
Application number: CN202322249655.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 沙小明; 朱中原; 郑彦会; 周冰
Original assignee: Beijing Hydrogen Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Hydrogen Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-08-21
Filing date: 2023-08-21
Publication date: 2024-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-21

Abstract

The application relates to an electrolysis device which is suitable for preparing hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing water, and comprises an electrolysis chamber; an anode electrode, an ion exchange membrane and a cathode electrode are sequentially arranged in the electrolysis chamber; the ion exchange membrane divides the electrolytic chamber into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber, the anode chamber is provided with a first through hole, and the cathode chamber is provided with a second through hole; the anode electrode is positioned in the anode chamber, the cathode electrode is positioned in the cathode chamber, and the anode electrode and the cathode electrode are both provided with sound wave generating devices. Compared with the existing electrolysis device, the electrolysis device can reduce the bubble coverage rate of the electrode surface and improve the electrolysis efficiency.

Description

Electrolysis device

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of electrolytic tanks, in particular to an electrolytic device.

Background

With the development of the energy industry, the development of clean, efficient and environment-friendly new energy has attracted more and more attention. Among them, hydrogen energy has been one of the focus of attention because of its advantages of high efficiency, cleanliness, and the like.

One of the bottlenecks of the current wide use of limiting hydrogen energy sources is that the energy conversion efficiency of preparing hydrogen by electrolyzing water is too low, which is generally considered to be because the surface of an electrode is covered by a large number of bubbles in the process of electrolyzing water, so that the contact area between the electrode and electrolyte is reduced, the surface activity of the electrode is reduced, the resistivity of the electrolyte is increased, the reaction efficiency is reduced, and the electrolysis energy consumption is increased.

Therefore, how to reduce the bubble coverage of the electrode surface and thereby improve the electrolysis efficiency is a problem to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to reduce bubble coverage of the electrode surface and thereby improve electrolysis efficiency, the present application provides an electrolysis device.

The utility model provides an electrolysis device for preparing hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing water, which comprises an electrolysis chamber;

an anode electrode, an ion exchange membrane and a cathode electrode are sequentially arranged in the electrolysis chamber;

the ion exchange membrane divides the electrolytic chamber into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber, the anode chamber is provided with a first through hole, and the cathode chamber is provided with a second through hole;

the anode electrode is positioned in the anode chamber, the cathode electrode is positioned in the cathode chamber, and the anode electrode and the cathode electrode are both provided with an acoustic wave generating device.

In the existing device for producing hydrogen by electrolyzing water, tiny bubbles are formed on the outer surface of an electrode to separate out, and the tiny bubbles are attached to the outer surface of the electrode until the tiny bubbles naturally fall off and rise to a liquid surface to be collected through an air outlet. In the electrolysis device, the anode electrode and the cathode electrode are both provided with the sound wave generating device, the sound wave vibrating electrode can be generated, bubbles adhered on the electrode are promoted to fall off, and the bubbles after falling rise to be collected through the first/second through holes. Through setting up sound wave generating device, utilize sound wave vibration electrode, the tiny bubble of accelerating the electrode surface drops, can reduce the bubble coverage rate on electrode surface, effectively increases electrode and electrolyte's area of contact, can improve electrolytic energy conversion efficiency.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolyzer of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolyzer of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolyzer of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural view of a second end plate according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 illustrates a right side view of a first end plate of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 illustrates a left side view of a second end plate of an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic structural diagram of an interdigital transducer according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic structural diagram of an interdigital transducer according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 illustrates left and right side views of a bipolar plate of an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 shows a schematic structural view of an anode/cathode electrode according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 shows a schematic structural view of an ion exchange membrane according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 shows a schematic structural view of an insulating part of an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Although various aspects of the embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.

In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in the following detailed description in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present application may be practiced without some of these specific details. In some instances, well known methods have not been described in detail in order to facilitate a focus of the present application.

FIG. 1 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolytic device according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolyzer according to one embodiment of the present application; FIG. 3 shows a disassembled structural view of an electrolyzer according to one embodiment of the present application; FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural view of the second end plate of the embodiment of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 shows a right side view of the first end plate of the embodiment of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 shows a left side view of the second end plate of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of an interdigital transducer, according to one embodiment of the present application; FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of an interdigital transducer, according to one embodiment of the present application; the left hand portion of fig. 9 shows a left side view of the bipolar plate of the embodiment of fig. 1, and the right hand portion shows a right side view of the bipolar plate; fig. 10 shows a schematic structural view of an anode/cathode electrode according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 11 shows a schematic structural view of an ion exchange membrane according to an embodiment of the present application; fig. 12 shows a schematic structural view of an insulating part according to an embodiment of the present application.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an electrolysis apparatus adapted to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, the electrolysis apparatus comprising an electrolysis chamber provided with an anode electrode 100, an ion exchange membrane 200, and a cathode electrode 300 in this order; the ion exchange membrane 200 is divided into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber in the electrolytic chamber, wherein the anode chamber is provided with a first through hole 511, and the cathode chamber is provided with a second through hole 611; the anode electrode 100 is located in the anode chamber, the cathode electrode 300 is located in the cathode chamber, and the anode electrode 100 and the cathode electrode 300 are each provided with an acoustic wave generating device 400.

The utility model discloses a separate positive pole room and positive pole room through setting up ion exchange membrane 200, utilize the first through-hole 511 of positive pole room to collect oxygen, utilize the second through-hole 611 of negative pole room to collect hydrogen, can prevent that the oxygen that the positive pole was separated out from mixing with the hydrogen that the negative pole was separated out, can increase the security of electrolysis process.

In the existing device for producing hydrogen by electrolyzing water, tiny bubbles are formed on the outer surface of an electrode to separate out, and the tiny bubbles are attached to the outer surface of the electrode until the tiny bubbles naturally fall off and rise to a liquid surface to be collected through an air outlet. In the electrolytic cell of the present application, the anode electrode 100 and the cathode electrode 300 are each provided with the acoustic wave generating device 400, and the acoustic wave vibrating electrode can be generated to promote the falling of bubbles adhered to the electrode, and the bubbles after falling rise to collect the bubbles through the first/second through holes 611. According to the device, the sound wave generating device 400 is arranged, the sound wave is utilized to vibrate the electrode, tiny bubbles on the outer surface of the electrode are accelerated to fall off, the bubble coverage rate of the surface of the electrode can be reduced, the contact area between the electrode and electrolyte is effectively increased, and the energy conversion efficiency of electrolysis can be improved.

In one possible implementation, the anode electrode 100 and the cathode electrode 300 are adapted to be electrically connected to the positive and negative poles of a dc power supply.

In one possible implementation, the acoustic wave generating device 400 is a surface acoustic wave generating device, which is an interdigital transducer, where the interdigital transducer is provided with a piezoelectric substrate 410, and two sets of interdigital transducer electrodes 411 disposed across the piezoelectric substrate 410 are provided to form a surface acoustic wave propagating along the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 410. The surface acoustic wave propagates on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 410 to cause mechanical vibration of the piezoelectric substrate 410, and because the piezoelectric substrate 410 is fixedly connected with the anode/cathode electrode 300, the piezoelectric substrate 410 can drive the electrode to mechanically vibrate to accelerate the shedding of micro bubbles on the outer surface of the electrode, so that the bubble coverage rate of the electrode surface can be reduced, and the energy conversion efficiency of electrolysis can be improved.

The interdigital transducer is an excitation structure of a surface acoustic wave and is also a surface acoustic wave transducer. The piezoelectric substrate 410 is engraved with two sets of interdigitated metal electrodes 411. The two sets of metal electrodes 411 intersect to form a pattern resembling the shape of a finger intersection of two hands, and are therefore referred to as interdigital transducers. According to the surface acoustic wave generating device, the interdigital transducer is arranged, the alternating electric signal is input to the interdigital transducer, and the material is deformed by utilizing the reverse voltage effect generated by the electrode, so that the surface acoustic wave is generated.

Specifically, the input ends of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes are suitable for being respectively and electrically connected with two poles of the output end of the alternating signal source, namely, the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes are used as loads of the alternating signal source, and the electric field directions of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes are periodically and alternately changed. When an alternating electrical signal is applied to the interdigital transducer electrodes, a periodically distributed electric field is generated, and corresponding elastic deformation is excited near the surface of the piezoelectric medium due to the inverse piezoelectric effect, so that vibration of solid particles is caused, and a surface acoustic wave propagating along the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 410 is formed.

When pressure, tension and tangential force are applied to the crystal without symmetry center, dielectric polarization proportional to stress occurs, and positive and negative charges occur at both end faces of the crystal, which is called positive piezoelectric effect. Conversely, when an electric field is applied to the crystal to induce polarization, deformation or mechanical stress proportional to the electric field strength is generated, and this phenomenon is called an inverse piezoelectric effect. The process of converting alternating electric signals into surface acoustic waves by using interdigital transducers in the application belongs to the category of inverse piezoelectric effect. More colloquially, the piezoelectric substrate 410 itself undergoes a stretching deformation under the action of an external electric field, which may also be referred to as electrostriction.

Further, the piezoelectric substrate is rectangular, and is provided with an insulating layer, so that the piezoelectric substrate is acid-base resistant and high-temperature resistant. The thickness of the interdigital transducer electrode is 0.1 mm-0.5 mm; the acid and alkali resistance degree is pH 2-12; the tolerance temperature is 20-120 ℃; the dielectric constant is 1.5-2.5. The input end of the interdigital transducer electrode is connected with a wire, the wire penetrates out of the electrolysis chamber, and an insulating layer is arranged on the part of the wire positioned in the electrolysis chamber. One end of the lead, which passes through the outside of the electrolytic chamber, is connected with an alternating power supply.

In one possible implementation, the piezoelectric substrate 410 is provided with an interdigital transducer having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5mm,

in one possible implementation, the device further comprises a signal generator, wherein the signal generator is a device capable of providing electric signals with various frequencies, waveforms and output levels and is widely used in various radio frequency applications. The signal generator and the amplifier are positioned outside the electrolysis chamber, and the output end of the signal generator is electrically connected with the input ends of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes.

Further, the device also comprises an amplifier, wherein the input end of the amplifier is electrically connected, and the output end of the amplifier is electrically connected with the input ends of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes respectively. The present application generates a sine wave having a certain frequency by providing a signal generator and an amplifier, and applies an alternating current signal of a resonance frequency, for example, an alternating current signal of a resonance frequency of 5MHZ to 500MHZ, to the input ends of the two sets of interdigital transducer electrodes.

The signal generator and the amplifier are used as excitation sources of the interdigital transducer in the surface acoustic wave generating device, and the frequency of the alternating electric signal output by the signal generator can be adjusted according to the actual electrolysis condition, so that the frequency of the surface acoustic wave is changed, and tiny bubbles are promoted to be separated from the surface of the electrode.

In one possible implementation, the diversion layer 800 is made of coarse foam nickel, and is covered with a 5-10 nm electroplating catalyst layer with coarse foam nickel as a base material, wherein the thickness of the coarse foam nickel is 0.1-2 mm, and the pore diameter of the coarse foam nickel is 10-50 nm. The anode/cathode electrode 300 is covered with a 20nm plating catalyst layer using fine-bubble nickel as a base material, and the pore diameter of the fine-bubble nickel is 0.1nm to 10nm.

In one possible implementation, the electrolysis chamber further comprises a first end plate 500 and a second end plate 600;

the first end plate 500, the anode electrode 100, the ion exchange membrane 200, the cathode electrode 300, and the second end plate 600 are stacked in this order;

the first end plate 500 is provided with a first groove 510, the first through hole 511 is communicated with the first groove 510, the anode electrode 100 is fixed on the inner side wall of one end of the first groove 510, which is far away from the opening, the second end plate 600 is provided with a second groove 610, the second through hole 611 is communicated with the second groove 610, the cathode electrode 300 is fixed on the inner side wall of one end of the second groove 610, which is far away from the opening, the first groove 510 and the second groove 610 are oppositely arranged, the open end of the first groove 510 is in sealing connection with the open end of the second groove 610, and the ion exchange membrane 200 covers the opening of the first groove 510 and the opening of the second groove 610.

The first recess 510 and the ion exchange membrane 200 divide compartments that are anode compartments, and the second recess 610 and the ion exchange membrane 200 divide compartments that are cathode compartments. The electrolytic cell has the advantages of simple and compact structure, easy assembly, contribution to reducing the inter-electrode distance of the electrolytic cell and improvement of electrolytic efficiency.

Further, the number of the first through holes 511 is two or more, and the number of the second through holes 611 is two or more.

In one possible implementation, the preset thickness of the anode electrode 100 is smaller than the preset depth of the first groove 510, i.e., a preset gap is provided between the anode electrode 100 and the ion exchange membrane 200; the predetermined thickness of the cathode 300 is smaller than the predetermined depth of the second recess 610, i.e., a predetermined gap is also provided between the cathode 300 and the ion exchange membrane 200. These preset gaps are very small, and the electrolysis device is fastened as a whole by the bolts 520 in a pressurized manner, the anode electrode 100, the ion exchange membrane 200 and the cathode electrode 300 are attached to each other, the internal spaces of the anode chamber and the cathode chamber are very small, the generation of large bubbles can be prevented by the small gap size, the small bubbles are timely crushed and fall off from the electrodes, and the small bubbles are collected through the first/second through holes 611.

In one possible implementation manner, the first end plate 500 is in a rectangular plate shape as a whole, the first end plate 500 is provided with two third through holes and one first groove 510, the two third through holes are located at two opposite angles of the first end plate 500, the first groove 510 is in a hexagonal structure as a whole, an inner side wall of one end of the first groove 510, which faces away from the opening, is provided with two first through holes 511 in a penetrating manner, the hexagonal structure of the first groove 510 covers the other two opposite angles of the rectangular structure of the first end plate 500, and the two first through holes 511 are located at the two opposite angles of the rectangular structure of the first end plate 500 respectively.

The second end plate 600 is overall rectangular plate-shaped, the second end plate 600 is provided with two fourth through holes and a second groove 610, the two fourth through holes are located at two opposite angles of the second end plate 600, the second groove 610 is overall hexagonal structure, the inner side wall of one end of the second groove 610, which is away from the opening, penetrates through two second through holes 611, the hexagonal structure of the second groove 610 covers the other two opposite angles of the rectangular structure of the second end plate 600, and the two second through holes 611 are located at the two opposite angles of the rectangular structure of the second end plate 600 respectively.

The open end of the first groove 510 faces the open end of the second groove 610 and the side of the first end plate 500 is sealingly connected to the side of the anion shell plate. Opposite sides of the ion exchange membrane 200 are disposed to cover the open ends of the first grooves 510 and the open ends of the second grooves 610. Wherein the third through hole of the first end plate 500 is disposed opposite to and communicates with the second through hole 611 of the second end plate 600, and the first through hole 511 of the first end plate 500 is disposed opposite to and communicates with the fourth through hole of the second end plate 600.

The first groove 510, the first through hole 511 and the fourth through hole communicated with the first groove 510 are arranged, so that the electrolyte and the gas in the anode chamber can independently enter and exit; by providing the second groove 610 and the second through hole 611 and the third through hole which are communicated with the second groove 610, the independent in-out of the cathode chamber electrolyte and the gas is realized. The gas-liquid supply and discharge paths of the anode chamber and the cathode chamber are independent of each other, so that the safety of the electrolysis process and the purity of the electrolysis product can be ensured.

In one possible implementation, the inner sidewall of the end of the first groove 510 facing away from the opening is provided with a guide layer 800, and the anode electrode 100 is connected to the inner sidewall of the first groove 510 through the guide layer 800, where the guide layer 800 is located between the anode electrode 100 and the inner sidewall of the first groove 510. The inner sidewall of the end of the second groove 610 facing away from the opening is also provided with a guiding layer 800, and the cathode electrode 300 is connected with the inner sidewall of the second groove 610 through the guiding layer 800, and the guiding layer 800 is located between the cathode electrode 300 and the inner sidewall of the second groove 610.

In one possible implementation, the flow directing layer 800 is in the form of a porous foam.

In one possible implementation, the electrolysis chamber further comprises an insulation 700; the open end of the first groove 510 and the open end of the second groove 610 are hermetically connected by an insulating part 700, the insulating part 700 is provided with a flow hole, and the ion exchange membrane 200 is disposed to cover the opening of the first groove 510 and the opening of the second groove 610 by the flow hole.

In one possible implementation, a bipolar plate 900 is also included; the two side surfaces of the plate-shaped structure of the bipolar plate 900 are respectively provided with a first groove 510 and a second groove 610, the first groove 510 of the bipolar plate 900 is provided with an anode electrode 100, the second groove 610 of the bipolar plate 900 is provided with a cathode electrode 300, the bipolar plate 900 is positioned between the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600, the first groove 510 and the second groove 610 are alternately arranged, and the ion exchange membranes 200, the first groove 510 and the second groove 610 are consistent in number and are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence. Further, the first groove 510 of the bipolar plate 900 is also provided with a guiding layer 800, and the second groove 610 of the bipolar plate 900 is also provided with a guiding layer 800.

In one possible implementation, the first end plate 500, the bipolar plate 900, and the second end plate 600 are compression fastened together by bolts 520. The screw 521 of the bolt 520 sequentially passes through the first end plate 500, the bipolar plate 900 and the second end plate 600, and nuts are provided at both ends of the screw 521 passing through the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600. The nuts are screwed and loosened along the length direction of the screw 521, and are pressed by external pressure on the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600 positioned at the two sides of the electrolysis device, so that the falling of bubbles is promoted, and the reaction rate of electrolysis is improved.

In one possible implementation, the anode electrode 100 and the cathode electrode 300 are both nickel foam electrodes, and the first groove 510 and the second groove 610 are each provided with a preset depth of 2mm.

In one possible implementation, the insulating portion 700 is rectangular in shape.

In one possible implementation, a preset distance is provided between the anode electrode 100 and the cathode electrode 300, and the preset distance is 0.1mm to 0.5mm.

In one possible implementation, the ion exchange membrane 200 is a PPS ion exchange membrane 200.

In one possible implementation, the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600 are each provided with a connection portion, and both connection portions are provided with connection holes therethrough, and the two connection holes are disposed opposite to each other. The connecting hole through the connecting part is hung on the application site.

In one possible implementation, the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600 are each provided with a power connection portion, and the power connection portions of the first end plate 500 and the second end plate 600 are electrically connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the dc power source, respectively.

The embodiments of the present application have been described above, the foregoing description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the various embodiments described. The terminology used herein was chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or the improvement of technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An electrolyzer suitable for the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen and oxygen comprising:

an electrolysis chamber;

2. The electrolysis device according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic wave generating device is an interdigital transducer, the interdigital transducer is provided with a piezoelectric substrate, two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes are arranged on the piezoelectric substrate in a crossing manner, and the input ends of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes are suitable for being respectively electrically connected with two poles of the output end of the alternating signal source.

3. The electrolyzer of claim 2 further comprising a signal generator;

the signal generator is positioned outside the electrolysis chamber, and the output ends of the signal generator are respectively and electrically connected with the input ends of the two groups of interdigital transducer electrodes.

4. The electrolyzer of claim 1 wherein the electrolyzer further comprises a first end plate and a second end plate;

the first end plate, the anode electrode, the ion exchange membrane, the cathode electrode and the second end plate are sequentially stacked;

the first end plate is provided with a first groove, the first through hole is communicated with the first groove, the anode electrode is fixed on the inner side wall of one end of the first groove, which is away from the opening, the second end plate is provided with a second groove, the second through hole is communicated with the second groove, the cathode electrode is fixed on the inner side wall of one end of the second groove, which is away from the opening, the first groove and the second groove are oppositely arranged, the opening end of the first groove is in sealing connection with the opening end of the second groove, and the ion exchange membrane covers the opening of the first groove and the opening of the second groove.

5. The electrolytic device according to claim 4, wherein an inner side wall of one end of the first groove facing away from the opening is provided with a flow guiding layer, and the anode electrode is connected with the inner side wall of the first groove through the flow guiding layer;

the inner side wall of one end of the second groove, which is far away from the opening, is also provided with a diversion layer, and the cathode electrode is connected with the inner side wall of the second groove through the diversion layer.

6. The electrolyzer of claim 4 wherein the electrolyzer chamber further comprises an insulator; the opening end of the first groove is in sealing connection with the opening end of the second groove through the insulating part, the insulating part is provided with a flow hole, and the ion exchange membrane covers the opening of the first groove and the opening of the second groove through the flow hole.

7. The electrolyzer of claim 4 further comprising bipolar plates;

the bipolar plate structure comprises a bipolar plate structure, wherein two side surfaces of the bipolar plate structure are respectively provided with a first groove and a second groove, the first grooves of the bipolar plate are provided with anode electrodes, the second grooves of the bipolar plate are provided with cathode electrodes, the bipolar plate is located between the first end plate and the second end plate, the first grooves and the second grooves are alternately arranged, and the ion exchange membranes are in consistent and one-to-one correspondence with the first grooves and the second grooves.

8. The electrolyzer of claim 7 further comprising a bolt;

the screw rod of bolt passes in proper order first end plate bipolar plate with the second end plate sets up, the both ends of screw rod all are equipped with the nut.

9. The electrolysis device according to claim 1, wherein a preset distance is provided between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, the preset distance being 0.1mm to 0.5mm.