Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B1/00—Electrolytic production of inorganic compounds or non-metals
  • C25B1/01—Products
  • C25B1/02—Hydrogen or oxygen
  • C25B1/04—Hydrogen or oxygen by electrolysis of water
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B15/00—Operating or servicing cells
  • C25B15/08—Supplying or removing reactants or electrolytes; Regeneration of electrolytes
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B9/00—Cells or assemblies of cells; Constructional parts of cells; Assemblies of constructional parts, e.g. electrode-diaphragm assemblies; Process-related cell features
  • C25B9/05—Pressure cells
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B9/00—Cells or assemblies of cells; Constructional parts of cells; Assemblies of constructional parts, e.g. electrode-diaphragm assemblies; Process-related cell features
  • C25B9/60—Constructional parts of cells
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B9/00—Cells or assemblies of cells; Constructional parts of cells; Assemblies of constructional parts, e.g. electrode-diaphragm assemblies; Process-related cell features
  • C25B9/70—Assemblies comprising two or more cells
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B9/00—Cells or assemblies of cells; Constructional parts of cells; Assemblies of constructional parts, e.g. electrode-diaphragm assemblies; Process-related cell features
  • C25B9/70—Assemblies comprising two or more cells
  • C25B9/73—Assemblies comprising two or more cells of the filter-press type
  • C25B9/77—Assemblies comprising two or more cells of the filter-press type having diaphragms

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to the field of alkaline water electrolysis, and specifically relates to a sealing assembly and an alkaline water electrolyzer.
• An alkaline water electrolyzer usually includes many components and structural designs, such as a diaphragm, a bipolar plate, a cathode, an anode, a cathode plate frame, an anode plate frame, a current-carrying part, and a sealing assembly.
• the alkaline water electrolyzer may consist of 5 to 300 identical electrolysis units stacked together. To simplify assembly, there are some nested structures in the electrolyzer, so that the various components of the eletrolyzer can be nested into each other or be stacked together, and then press-fitted by screws. After the press-fitting process, metal endplates are fixed and connected to an electrical system, an electrolyte is injected, and the electrolyzer gets access to a gas pipeline.
• the sealing assembly is critical to the overall lifetime and safety of the electrolyzer.
• a traditional sealing assembly is inconvenient for assembly and disassembly in an electrolyzer, and is difficult to ensure the sealing of the electrolyzer after installation, which may easily lead to leakage of the electrolyzer, and even damage to the electrolyzer, resulting in decreased service life of the electrolyzer.
• an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a sealing assembly that is convenient for assembly and disassembly and has a good sealing property, and an alkaline water electrolyzer.
• the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution.
• the present disclosure provides a sealing assembly, which comprises a sealing gasket and a diaphragm, wherein the sealing gasket is provided with an accommodation area passing through the sealing gasket and a guide channel which is located outside the accommodation area and in communication with the accommodation area, the diaphragm is arranged in the accommodation area;
• the guide channel comprises a guide boss, a guide hole and a flow passage which communicate successively, the guide boss is provided on a surface of the sealing gasket, and the flow passage is provided on an opposite surface of the sealing gasket and is in communication with the accommodation area.
• the sealing assembly further comprises a rigid skeleton, an inner wall of the accommodation area is provided with a groove, the rigid skeleton is provided in the groove, and the diaphragm is sandwiched between an inner wall of the groove and the rigid skeleton.
• the rigid skeleton is made from an acid-resistant, alkali-resistant and corrosion-resistant plastic or an acid-resistant, alkali-resistant and corrosion-resistant metal. Embedding the rigid skeleton in the sealing gasket can effectively prevent unevenness of the diaphragm due to the overall contraction of the sealing gasket during the vulcanization process, and the rigid skeleton can also increase the stiffness and strength of the sealing gasket.
• the inner wall of the accommodation area is provided with a convex rim, and the rigid skeleton is accommodated in the groove and abuts against the convex rim.
• the convex rim arranged within the accommodation area has a good limiting effect, which enables the rigid skeleton to be stably clamped in the groove, thereby making the structure of the sealing assembly more stable.
• the diaphragm is made from polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).
• the guide boss is integrally formed on the surface of the sealing gasket, and the flow passage is formed by recessing the opposite surface of the sealing gasket.
• a convex shoulder is provided in the flow passage.
• a guide boss of a sealing assembly is embedded into and coordinated with a flow passage of an adjacent sealing assembly and abuts against a convex shoulder in the flow passage of the adjacent sealing assembly, so that guide channels of the two sealing assemblies are interconnected with each other.
• a clearance is left between the guide boss of the sealing assembly and the flow passage of the adjacent sealing assembly, thereby avoiding blocking the communication between the guide hole and the flow passage in any one of the guide channels.
• the convex shoulder extends along an extension direction of the flow passage, and can prevent the flow passage from being deformed and clogged during the stacking and installation process of the alkaline water electrolyzer.
• At least three guide channels are provided in the sealing gasket, wherein at least one of the guide channels is used for flowing of a liquid and at least two of the guide channels are used for flowing of a gas.
• the guide bosses of the plurality of guide channels may be provided on a same surface of the sealing gasket, or may be provided on different surfaces of the sealing gasket.
• the sealing gasket is made from a rubber material, and the rubber material is at least one selected from the group consisting of ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) rubber, natural rubber, neoprene rubber, chlorinated polyethylene rubber, polyacrylate rubber, ethylene-acrylate rubber, nitrile rubber, and fluorine rubber.
• EVA ethylene vinyl acetate
• the sealing gasket made of such rubber material has long-lasting resilience, and can withstand high temperatures and high pressures and ensure long-term reliability of sealing, which is conducive to extending the overall service life of the alkaline water electrolyzer.
• the present disclosure provides an alkaline water electrolyzer comprising two endplates and a plurality of electrolysis units that are stacked between the two endplates, wherein each of the plurality of electrolysis units comprises an polar plate complex and a sealing assembly according to the first aspect, and the polar plate complex is stacked with the sealing assembly; the polar plate complex is provided with a locating hole corresponding to the guide boss of the sealing assembly, and each of the endplates is provided with a through hole corresponding to the guide boss of the sealing assembly.
• each of the plurality of electrolysis units further comprises a limit stop provided outside the sealing gasket.
• the limit stop is provided with a limit post
• the polar plate complex is provided with a first limit hole adapted to the limit post
• each of the endplates is provided with a second limit hole adapted to the limit post.
• the limit stop of one electrolysis unit and the limit stop of the other electrolysis unit are staggered with each other in a stacking direction of the electrolysis units, which allows the whole electrolyzer to be stressed more uniformly during stacking and compression process, and avoids uneven deformation or displacement of the sealing gasket.
• the limit stop is made from a plastic or a metal, wherein the plastic is any one selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polysulphone (PSU), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and polyurethane (PU), and the metal is selected from stainless steel, nickel, and chromium.
• PTFE polytetrafluoroethylene
• PSU polysulphone
• PPS polyphenylene sulfide
• PU polyurethane
• the metal is selected from stainless steel, nickel, and chromium.
• Such materials have high hardness, which can ensure that the limit stop has good limiting and supporting effects when the electrolyzer is assembled.
• the polar plate complex is provided with a limit ring adapted to the sealing assembly, and the locating hole is provided in the limit ring.
• each of the endplates is provided with a fastening screw hole adapted to a fastening screw, and the endplates are connected with each other by the fastening screws.
• the alkaline water electrolyzer provided in the present disclosure has relatively fewer components, and the sealing assemblies, the polar plate complexes, the limit stops and the endplates are all separated, which facilitates assembly and disassembly, and thus reduces the installation cost.
• the present disclosure has the following beneficial effects.
• the sealing assembly provided in the present disclosure is applicable to the stacked structure of the alkaline water electrolyzer.
• a guide boss of a sealing assembly is embedded into and coordinated with a flow passage of an adjacent sealing assembly, which is convenient for assembly and disassembly and ensures that no fluid leaks out from the alkaline water electrolyzer due to thermal expansion or cold shrinkage, so that the sealing assembly has a good sealing property.
• 1-sealing gasket 11-accommodation area, 12-guide channel, 121-guide boss, 122-guide hole, 123-flow passage, 124-convex shoulder, 13-groove, 14-convex rim, 2-diaphragm, 3-rigid skeleton, 4-polar plate complex, 41-locating hole, 42-first limit hole, 5-limit stop, 51-limit post, 6-endplate, 61-second limit hole, 62-fastening screw hole, and 63-through hole.
• a sealing assembly comprising a sealing gasket 1 and a diaphragm 2.
• the sealing gasket 1 is provided with an accommodation area 11 passing through the sealing gasket 1, and a guide channel 12 which is located outside the accommodation area 11 and interconnected with the accommodation area 11.
• the diaphragm 12 is arranged in the accommodation area 11.
• the guide channel 12 comprises a guide boss 121, a guide hole 122 and a flow passage 123 which communicate.
• the guide boss 121 is provided on a surface of the sealing gasket 1, and the flow passage 123 is provided on an opposite surface of the sealing gasket 1 and is in communication with the accommodation area 11.
• the sealing assembly provided in the present disclosure is applicable to a stacked structure of an alkaline water electrolyzer.
• a guide boss 121 of a sealing assembly is nested into a flow passage 123 of an adjacent sealing assembly, which is convenient for assembly and disassembly and ensures that no fluid leaks out from the alkaline water electrolyzer due to thermal expansion or cold shrinkage, so that the sealing assembly has a good sealing property.
• the sealing assembly further comprises a rigid skeleton 3, an inner wall of the accommodation area 11 is provided with a groove 13 in which the rigid skeleton 3 is provided, and the diaphragm 12 is sandwiched between an inner wall of the groove 13 and the rigid skeleton 3.
• the rigid skeleton 3 is made from an acid-resistant, alkali-resistant and corrosion-resistant plastic or an acid-resistant, alkali-resistant and corrosion-resistant metal. Embedding the rigid skeleton 3 in the sealing gasket 1 can effectively prevent unevenness of the diaphragm 2 due to the overall contraction of the sealing gasket 1 during the vulcanization process, and the rigid skeleton 3 can also increase the stiffness and strength of the sealing gasket 1.
• the inner wall of the accommodation area 11 is integrally formed with a convex rim 14, and the rigid skeleton 3 is accommodated in the groove 13 and abuts against the convex rim 14.
• the convex rim 14 arranged in the accommodation area 11 has a good limiting effect, which enables the rigid skeleton 3 to be stably clamped in the groove 13, thereby making the structure of the sealing assembly more stable.
• the diaphragm 2 is made from polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).
• the guide boss 121 is integrally formed on the surface of the sealing gasket 1, and the flow passage 123 is formed as a recess on the opposite surface of the sealing gasket 1.
• a convex shoulder 124 is provided in the flow passage 123.
• a guide boss 121 of a sealing assembly is embedded into and cooperated with a flow passage 123 of an adjacent sealing assembly and abuts against a convex shoulder 124 in the flow passage 123 of the adjacent sealing assembly, so that guide channels 12 of the two sealing assemblies are in communication with each other.
• a clearance is left between the guide boss121 of the sealing assembly and the flow passage 123 of the adjacent sealing assembly, thereby avoiding blocking the communication between the guide hole 122 and the flow passage 123 in any one of the guide channels 12.
• the convex shoulder 124 extends along a length direction of the flow passage 123, and can prevent the flow passage 123 from being deformed and clogged during the stacking and installation process of the alkaline water electrolyzer.
• At least three guide channels 12 are provided in the sealing gasket 1, wherein at least one of the guide channels is used for flowing of a liquid and at least two of the guide channels are used for flowing of a gas.
• the guide bosses 121 of the plurality of guide channels 12 may be provided on a same surface of the sealing gasket 1, or may be provided on different surfaces of the sealing gasket 1.
• the sealing gasket is made from a rubber material, and the rubber material may be at least one selected from the group consisting of ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) rubber, natural rubber, neoprene rubber, chlorinated polyethylene rubber, polyacrylate rubber, ethylene-acrylate rubber, nitrile rubber, and fluorine rubber.
• EVA ethylene vinyl acetate
• the sealing gasket 1 made of such rubber material has long-lasting resilience, and can withstand high temperatures and high pressures and ensure long-term reliability of sealing, which is conducive to extending the overall service life of the alkaline water electrolyzer.
• sealing gasket 1 and the diaphragm 2 may also be integrally formed.
• a thickness of the sealing gasket 1 may be in a range of from 8 mm to 9 mm
• a depth of the flow passage 123 may be in a range of from 3 mm to 4 mm
• a width of the flow passage 123 is larger than a diameter of the guide hole 122
• a thickness of the convex shoulder 124 may be in a range of from 2 mm to 3 mm.
• an alkaline water electrolyzer comprising two endplates 6 and a plurality of electrolysis units that are stacked between the two endplates 6.
• Each of the plurality of electrolysis units comprises a polar plate complex 4 and a sealing assembly according to the first aspect, and the polar plate complex 4 is stacked with the sealing assembly.
• the polar plate complex 4 is provided with a locating hole 41 which passes through the polar plate complex 4 and is adapted to the guide boss 121 of the sealing assembly.
• the endplates 6 each are provided with a through hole 63 which passes through the respective endplate 6, and is adapted to the guide boss123 of the sealing assembly.
• the polar plate complex 4 comprises a bipolar plate, and two sides of the bipolar plate are each provided with a nickel mesh.
• the nickel mesh is provided with a membrane electrode on a surface, and the locating hole 41 is disposed outside the nickel mesh and the membrane electrode.
• two side surfaces of the bipolar plate each are provided with a limit ring adapted to the sealing gasket 1.
• the limit ring is formed by recessing a surface of the bipolar plate to an opposite surface of the bipolar plate.
• the locating hole 41 is provided in the limit ring.
• each of the plurality of electrolysis units further comprises a limit stop 5 provided outside the sealing gasket 1.
• the limit stop 5 and the bipolar plate are integrally formed or welded.
• the limit stop 5 is provided with a limit post 51 which passes through two opposite surfaces of the limit stop 5 and protrudes from the limit stop 5 at two ends.
• the limit stop 5 and the limit post 51 are integrally formed.
• the polar plate complex 4 is provided with a first limit hole 42 which passes through the polar plate complex 4 and is adapted to the limit post 51.
• the endplates 6 are each provided with a second limit hole 61 which passes through the respective endplate 6 and is adapted to the limit post 51.
• the limit stop 5 of one electrolysis unit and the limit stop 5 of the other electrolysis unit are staggered with each other in a stacking direction of the electrolysis units, which allows the whole electrolyzer to be stressed more uniformly during the stacking and compression process, and avoids uneven deformation or displacement of the sealing gasket 1.
• a thickness ratio of the limit stop 5 to the sealing gasket 1 is in a range of (0.6-0.9):1, and a ratio of a compression modulus of the limit stop 5 to a compression modulus of the sealing gasket 1 is not less than 10.
• the limit stop 5 may be in contact with an outer wall of the sealing gasket 1.
• the limit stop 5 may not be in contact with the outer wall of the sealing gasket 1.
• a clearance in a range of from 3 mm to 10 mm is retained between the limit stop 5 and the sealing gasket 1. The clearance allows the rubber sealing gasket to deform laterally during the stacking and compression process of the electrolyzer, ensuring that a stress concentration point does not occur prematurely.
• At least two limit stops 5 are provided in each electrolysis unit and evenly distributed outside the sealing gasket 1.
• the limit stop 5 is made from a plastic or a metal, wherein the plastic is any one selected from the group consisting of PTFE, PSU, PPS and PU, and the metal may be a hard alloy, such as, a titanium alloy or a stainless steel. Such materials have high hardness, which can ensure that the limit stop 5 has good limiting and supporting effects when the electrolyzer is assembled.
• each of the endplates 6 is provided with a fastening screw hole 62 adapted to a fastening screw, and the endplates 6 are connected with each other by the fastening screws.
• a thickness of the polar plate complex 4 may be in a range of from 2 mm to 3 mm, and the thickness of the polar plate complex 4 is preferably less than a height of a guide boss 121. Compared with the prior art, the use of the polar plate complex 4 with such a thickness in the present disclosure can relatively reduce the overall weight of the electrolyzer.
• the alkaline water electrolyzer provided in the present disclosure has relatively fewer components, and the sealing assemblies, the polar plate complexes 4 and the endplates 6 are all separated, which facilitates assembly and disassembly and thus reduces the installation cost. Besides, more electrolysis units can be accommodated in the alkaline water electrolyzer provided in the present disclosure when a same space is occupied, thereby achieving higher electrolysis efficiency.
• a plurality of polar plate complexes 4 may be stacked first, and then limit stops 5 are installed.
• guide bosses 121 of a sealing gasket 1 each are inserted into the respective locating holes 41 of a polar plate complex 4 and then protrude out to achieve a sealing fit between the guide bosses 121 and the polar plate complex 4, so that an electrolysis unit is assembled;
• the assembled electrolysis unit is placed on an endplate 6, limit posts 5 of the assembled electrolysis unit are respectively inserted into second limit holes of the endplate 6, and the guide bosses 121 of the assembled electrolysis unit each are inserted into the respective through holes 63 of the endplate 6;
• a plurality of electrolysis units are assembled and then stacked to form a stack, and the guide bosses 121 of an electrolysis unit each are inserted into the respective flow passages 123 of an adjacent electrolysis unit;
• another endplate 6 is placed on the stack consisting of the plurality of electrolysis units, and the guide bosses 121 of

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• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Electrolytic Production Of Non-Metals, Compounds, Apparatuses Therefor (AREA)
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• 2024
  • 2024-03-19 CN CN202410313899.6A patent/CN118147673A/zh active Pending
• 2025
  • 2025-03-13 EP EP25163678.3A patent/EP4621101A3/de active Pending

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