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WO1996035001A1 - Element electrochimique a champ d'ecoulement elastique - Google Patents

Element electrochimique a champ d'ecoulement elastique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1996035001A1
WO1996035001A1 PCT/US1995/016115 US9516115W WO9635001A1 WO 1996035001 A1 WO1996035001 A1 WO 1996035001A1 US 9516115 W US9516115 W US 9516115W WO 9635001 A1 WO9635001 A1 WO 9635001A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
electrochemical cell
flow field
anode
cathode
electrode
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1995/016115
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Dennie Turin Mah
James Arthur Trainham, Iii
John Scott Newman
Douglas John Eames
Clarence Garlan Law, Jr.
Original Assignee
E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company filed Critical E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
Priority to AU44210/96A priority Critical patent/AU4421096A/en
Publication of WO1996035001A1 publication Critical patent/WO1996035001A1/fr

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H01M8/023—Porous and characterised by the material
    • H01M8/0241—Composites
    • H01M8/0243—Composites in the form of mixtures
    • 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
    • C25B9/17—Cells comprising dimensionally-stable non-movable electrodes; Assemblies of constructional parts thereof
    • C25B9/19—Cells comprising dimensionally-stable non-movable electrodes; Assemblies of constructional parts thereof with diaphragms
    • C25B9/23—Cells comprising dimensionally-stable non-movable electrodes; Assemblies of constructional parts thereof with diaphragms comprising ion-exchange membranes in or on which electrode material is embedded
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H01M8/023—Porous and characterised by the material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H01M8/023—Porous and characterised by the material
    • H01M8/0232—Metals or alloys
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H01M8/023—Porous and characterised by the material
    • H01M8/0234—Carbonaceous material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/02—Details
    • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
    • H01M8/023—Porous and characterised by the material
    • H01M8/0239—Organic resins; Organic polymers
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
    • Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an electro ⁇ chemical cell having a resilient flow field which provides uniform contact with an electrode of the cell.
  • the resilient flow field is useful in a cell for converting anhydrous hydrogen halide, in particular, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen bromide and hydrogen iodide, to a dry halogen gas, such as chlorine, fluorine, bromine, or iodine.
  • the resilient flow field which preferably comprises an elastomer, may be used in an electrochemical cell which converts an aqueous reactant to an aqueous product.
  • Hydrogen chloride (HC1) or hydrochloric acid is a reaction by-product of many manufacturing processes which use chlorine.
  • chlorine is used to manufacture polyvinyl chloride, isocyanates, and chlorinated hydrocarbons/fluorinated hydrocarbons, with hydrogen chloride as a by-product of these processes.
  • supply so exceeds demand hydrogen chloride or the acid produced often cannot be sold or used, even after careful purification. Shipment over long distances is not economically feasible. Discharge of the acid or chloride ions into waste water streams is environmentally unsound. Recovery and feedback of the chlorine to the manufacturing process is the most desirable route for handling the HC1 by-product.
  • a number of commercial processes have been developed to convert HC1 into usable chlorine gas . See, e.g., F. R.
  • the commercial improvements to the Deacon reaction have used other catalysts in addition to or in place of the copper used in the Deacon reaction, such as rare earth compounds, various forms of nitrogen oxide, and chromium oxide, in order to improve the rate of conversion, to reduce the energy input and to reduce the corrosive effects on the processing equipment produced by harsh chemical reaction conditions.
  • other catalysts such as rare earth compounds, various forms of nitrogen oxide, and chromium oxide, in order to improve the rate of conversion, to reduce the energy input and to reduce the corrosive effects on the processing equipment produced by harsh chemical reaction conditions.
  • thermal catalytic oxidation processes are complicated because they require separating the different reaction components in order to achieve product purity. They also involve the production of highly corrosive intermediates, which necessitates expensive construction materials for the reaction systems . Moreover, these thermal catalytic oxidation processes are operated at elevated temperatures of 250° C and above.
  • the current electrochemical commercial process is known as the Uhde process.
  • aqueous HC1 solution of approximately 22% is fed at 65° to 80° C to both compartments of an electrochemical cell, where exposure to a direct current in the cell results in an electro ⁇ chemical reaction and a decrease in HC1 concentration to 17% with the production of chlorine gas and hydrogen gas.
  • a polymeric separator divides the two compartments.
  • the process requires recycling of dilute (17%) HC1 solution produced during the electrolysis step and regenerating an HC1 solution of 22% for feed to the electrochemical cell.
  • the overall reaction of the Uhde process is expressed by the equation:
  • the chlorine gas produced by the Uhde process is wet, usually containing about 1% to 2% water. This wet chlorine gas must then be further processed to produce a dry, usable gas. If the concentration of HC1 in the water becomes too low, it is possible for oxygen to be generated from the water present in the Uhde process. This possible side reaction of the Uhde process due to the presence of water, is expressed by the equation:
  • the presence of water in the Uhde system limits the current densities at which the cells can perform to less than 500 amps. /ft. 2 , because of this side reaction.
  • the side reaction results in reduced electrical efficiency and corrosion of the cell components.
  • Balko employs an electrolytic cell having a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. Hydrogen chloride, in the form of hydrogen ions and chloride ions in aqueous solution, is introduced into an electrolytic cell. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane is bonded to the anode to permit transport from the anode surface into the membrane. In Balko, controlling and minimizing the oxygen evolution side reaction is an important consideration. Evolution of oxygen decreases cell efficiency and leads to rapid corrosion of components of the cell. The design and configuration of the anode pore size and electrode thickness employed by Balko maximizes transport of the chloride ions.
  • the current collector is a substantially open mesh planar electroconductive metal- wire mat or screen, i.e., fabric which is resistant to the electrolyte and the electrolysis products.
  • the wire loops of the mat deflect and slide laterally, thereby distributing pressure over the surfaces with which it contacts.
  • Nickel, stainless steel, copper, silver- coated copper or the like are suitable for the wire when the wire is cathodic. If the compressible wire is anodic, the collector wire must resist chlorine and anodic attack. Accordingly, the wires may be of a valve metal such as titanium or niobium, which are costly. These metals are preferably coated with an electroconductive, non-passivating layer resistant to anodic attack such as platinum group metal or oxide, bimetallic spinel perovskite, etc., which adds to the cost of the current collector.
  • the present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing an electrochemical cell for directly producing essentially dry halogen gas from essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide.
  • This process allows for direct processing of anhydrous hydrogen halide which is a by-product of manufacturing processes, without first dissolving the hydrogen halide in water.
  • This direct production of essentially dry halogen gas when done, for example, for chlorine gas, is less capital intensive than processes of the prior art, which require separation of water from the chlorine gas.
  • This direct production of essentially dry halogen gas also requires lower investment costs than the electrochemical conversions of hydrogen chloride of the prior art.
  • the present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing an electro ⁇ chemical cell which has flow field made of a flexible, or resilient, material.
  • This flow field whether used in an aqueous or an anhydrous environment, maintains uniform pressure and thus uniform contact on the surface of the electrode, thereby preventing damage to the membrane. With this feature, higher current densities can be run over the life of the cell.
  • the flexible flow field is preferably made of an elastomeric material which can be made by molding techniques.
  • the flow field of the present invention is easier and less expensive to make than current collectors of the prior art.
  • an electrochemical cell comprising an electrode; a membrane disposed in contact with one side of the electrode; and a flow field disposed in contact with the other side the electrode, wherein the flow field is resilient and provides uniform contact between the electrode and the current bus.
  • an electrochemical cell for directly producing essentially dry halogen gas from essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide comprising means for oxidizing molecules of essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide to produce essentially dry halogen gas and protons; cation-transporting means for transporting the protons therethrough, wherein one side of the cation-transporting means is disposed in contact with one side of the oxidizing means; means for reducing the transported protons, wherein the other side of the cation-transporting means is disposed in contact with the reducing means; current conducting means disposed on the other side of the oxidizing means for conducting current to and from the oxidizing means, the cation- transporting means and the reducing means; and mass flow field means disposed between the cation- transporting means and the current bus for providing uniform contact between the oxidizing means and the current bus, wherein the mass flow field means comprise a resilient material.
  • FIG. 1 is an exploded, cross-sectional view of an electrochemical cell for producing halogen gas from anhydrous hydrogen halide according to a first and second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 1A is a cut away, top cross-sectional view of the anode and cathode mass flow fields as shown in Fig. 1.
  • Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an electrochemical cell for producing halogen gas from aqueous hydrogen halide according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
  • an electrochemical cell for the direct production of essentially dry halogen gas from anhydrous hydrogen halide.
  • a cell is shown generally at 10 in Fig. 1.
  • the cell of the present invention will be described with respect to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which directly produces essentially dry chlorine gas from anhydrous hydrogen chloride.
  • This cell may alternatively be used to produce other halogen gases, such as bromine, fluorine and iodine from a respective anhydrous hydrogen halide, such as hydrogen bromide, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen iodide.
  • the term "direct” means that the electro ⁇ chemical cell obviates the need to remove water from the halogen gas produced or the need to convert essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide to aqueous hydrogen halide before electrochemical treatment.
  • chlorine gas, as well as hydrogen is produced in this cell.
  • water, as well as chlorine gas is produced by this cell, as will be explained more fully below.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments comprises an electrode.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments may be described as comprising means for oxidizing molecules of essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide to produce essentially dry halogen gas and protons.
  • the oxidizing means is an electrode, or more specifically, an anode 12 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • electrochemical cell 10 On the anode side, electrochemical cell 10 has an anode-side inlet 14 and an anode-side outlet 16.
  • TEFLON ® PFA perfluoropolymer sold as TEFLON ® PFA (hereinafter referred to as "TEFLON ® PFA” by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Delaware (hereinafter referred to as "DuPont”) .
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments also comprises a membrane, where one side of the electrode is disposed in contact with the membrane.
  • the electrochemical cell of the present invention may be described as comprising cation-transporting means for transporting the protons therethrough, where one side of the oxidizing means is disposed in contact with one side of the cation- transporting means.
  • the cation- transporting means is a cation-transporting membrane 18 as shown in Fig. 1. More specifically, membrane 18 may be a proton-conducting membrane.
  • Membrane 18 may be a commercial cationic membrane made of a fluoro- or perfluoropolymer, preferably a copolymer of two or more fluoro or perfluoromonomers, at least one of which has pendant sulfonic acid groups.
  • carboxylic groups is not desirable, because those groups tend to decrease the conductivity of the membrane when they are protonated.
  • suitable resin materials are available commercially or can be made according to patent literature. They include fluorinated polymers with side chains of the type -CF 2 CFRS0 3 H and -OCF 2 CF 2 CF 2 S0 3 H, where R is a F, Cl, CF 2 C1, or a C 1 to C 10 perfluoroalkyl radical.
  • the sulfonyl fluoride groups can be hydrolyzed with potassium hydroxide to -S0 3 K groups, which then are exchanged with an acid to -S0 3 H groups.
  • Suitable cationic membranes which are made of hydrated, copolymers of polytetrafluoroethylene and poly-sulfonyl fluoride vinyl ether-containing pendant sulfonic acid groups, are offered by DuPont under the trademark "NAFION” (hereinafter referred to as NAFION ® ) .
  • NAFION ® membranes containing pendant sulfonic acid groups include NAFION ® 117, NAFION ® 324 and NAFION ® 417.
  • the first type of NAFION ® is unsupported and has an equivalent weight of 1100 g., equivalent weight being defined as the amount of resin required to neutralize one liter of a IM sodium hydroxide solution.
  • NAFION ® 417 The other two types of NAFION ® are both supported on a fluorocarbon fabric, the equivalent weight of NAFION ® 417 also being 1100 g.
  • NAFION ® 324 has a two-layer structure, a 125 flirt-thick membrane having an equivalent weight of 1100 g., and a 25 ⁇ m-thick membrane having an equivalent weight of 1500 g.
  • NAFION ® 117F grade which is a precursor membrane having pendant -S0 2 F groups that can be converted to sulfonic acid groups.
  • Beta-alumina is a class of nonstoichiometric crystalline compounds having the general structure Na 0-.-Al 2 0 3 , in which x ranges from 5 ( ⁇ "-alumina) to 11 ( ⁇ -alumina) .
  • This material and a number of solid electrolytes which are useful for the invention are described in the Fuel Cell Handbook- A. J. Appleby and F. R. Foulkes, Van Nostrand Reinhold, N.Y., 1989, pages 308-312.
  • Additional useful solid state proton conductors especially the cerates of strontium and barium, such as strontium ytterbiate cerate (SrCe 0#95 Yb 0> r j5 ⁇ 3 _ ⁇ ) and barium neodymiate cerate (BaCe 0 . 9 Nd 0. o ⁇ 0 3 _ ⁇ ) are described in a final report,
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments also comprises an electrode, or a cathode 20.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments may be described as comprising means for reducing the transported protons, where the reducing means is disposed in contact with the other side of the cation-transporting means.
  • the reducing means comprises a cathode 20, where cathode 20 is disposed in contact with the other side (as opposed to the side which is in contact with the anode) of membrane 18 as illustrated in Fig. 1.
  • Cathode 20 has a cathode-side inlet 24 and a cathode-side outlet 26 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • anhydrous HC1 is processed, and since some chlorides pass through the membrane and consequently, HC1 is present on the cathode-side of the cell, the cathode inlet and the outlet may be lined with TEFLON ® PFA.
  • TEFLON ® PFA As known to one skilled in the art, if electrodes are placed on opposite faces of membrane, cationic charges (protons in the HC1 reaction being described) are transported through the membrane from anode to cathode, while each electrode carries out a half-cell reaction.
  • molecules of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride are transported to the surface of the anode through anode- side inlet 14.
  • the molecules of the anhydrous hydrogen chloride are oxidized to produce essentially dry chlorine gas and protons.
  • the essentially dry chlorine gas exits through anode-side outlet 16 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • the protons are transported through the membrane and reduced at the cathode.
  • the anode and the cathode may comprise porous, gas-diffusion electrodes. Such electrodes provide the advantage of high specific surface area, as known to one skilled in the art.
  • the anode and the cathode comprise an electrochemically active material disposed adjacent, meaning at or under, the surface of the cation-transporting membrane. A thin film of the electrochemically active material may be applied directly to the membrane.
  • the electrochemically active material may be hot-pressed to the membrane, as shown in A. J. Appleby and E. B. Yeager, Energy, Vol. 11, 137 (1986).
  • the electrochemically active material may be deposited into the membrane, as shown in U.S. Patent
  • the electrochemically active material may comprise any type of catalytic or metallic material or metallic oxide, as long as the material can support charge transfer.
  • the electro- chemically active material may comprise a catalyst material such as platinum, ruthenium, osmium, rhenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, gold, titanium or zirconium and the oxides, alloys or mixtures thereof.
  • the oxides of these materials are not used for the cathode.
  • Other catalyst materials suitable for use with the present invention may include, but are not limited to, transition metal macro cycles in monomeric and polymeric forms and transition metal oxides, including perovskites and pyrochores.
  • the electrochemically active material may comprise a catalyst material on a support material.
  • the support material may comprise particles of carbon and particles of polytetrafluoro- ethylene, which is sold under the trademark "TEFLON” (hereinafter referred to as TEFLON ® ) , commercially available from DuPont.
  • the electrochemically active material may be bonded by virtue of the TEFLON ® to a support structure of carbon paper or graphite cloth and hot-pressed to the cation-transporting membrane.
  • the hydrophobic nature of TEFLON ® does not allow a film of water to form at the anode. A water barrier in the electrode would hamper the diffusion of HC1 to the reaction sites.
  • the electrodes are preferably hot- pressed into the membrane in order to have good contact between the catalyst and the membrane.
  • the loadings of electrochemically active material may vary based on the method of application to the membrane.
  • Hot-pressed, gas-diffusion electrodes typically have loadings of 0.10 to 0.50 mg/cm 2 .
  • Lower loadings are possible with other available methods of deposition, such as distributing them as thin films from inks onto the membranes, as described in Wilson and Gottesfeld, "High Performance Catalyzed Membranes of Ultra-low Pt Loadings for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells", Los Alamos National Laboratory, J. Electrochem. Soc, Vol. 139, No.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments further comprises an anode flow field 28 disposed in contact with the anode and a cathode flow field 30 disposed in contact with the cathode.
  • the flow fields are electrically conductive, and act as both mass and current flow fields.
  • Anode flow field 28 includes a plurality of anode flow channels 29, and cathode flow field 30 includes a plurality of cathode flow channels 31 as shown in Fig. 1A.
  • the purpose of the anode flow field and channels 29 is to get reactants, such as anhydrous HC1 in the first and second embodiments, to the anode and products, such as essentially dry chlorine gas, from the anode.
  • the purpose of the cathode flow field and channels 31 is to get reactants, such as liquid water in the first embodiment, or oxygen gas in the second embodiment, to the cathode and products, such as hydrogen gas in the first embodiment, or water vapor (H 2 0(g)) in the second embodiment, from the cathode.
  • reactants such as liquid water in the first embodiment, or oxygen gas in the second embodiment
  • products such as hydrogen gas in the first embodiment, or water vapor (H 2 0(g)) in the second embodiment
  • Water vapor may be needed to keep the membrane hydrated.
  • water vapor may not be necessary in the second embodiment because of the water produced by the electrochemical reaction of the oxygen (0 2 ) added as discussed below.
  • At least one of the mass flow fields comprises a resilient material. This provides uniform contact pressure, and thus uniform electrical contact, with the electrode, or more specifically, between the electrode and the current bus.
  • the flow field is conductive.
  • the resilient material of the flow field may be filled with a conductive material.
  • the conductive material may be, for example, a metal, or may be carbon. Enough conductive material is added so that the conductive particles are in intimate contact. However, if too much conductive material is added, this diminishes the resilient properties of the material.
  • the flow field is made of a chemically resistant material.
  • the resilient material used for the flow field may be an elastomer, such as the dipolymer ethylene/propylene, the terpolymer ethylene/propylene/diene (EPDM) or a tetrapolymer or the like. Using an elastomer for the flow field is especially advantageous since the flow field may be manufactured by molding techniques.
  • the resilient mass flow field of the present invention can be used on either the anode side or the cathode side of the cell.
  • an elastomer is used for the resilient material for the mass flow fields, it is preferable to put the resilient flow field on the side that is less corrosive, since an elastomer is a polymer which can be degraded.
  • elastomers such as EPDM have been found to stand up to corrosive materials such as HC1 and chlorine.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments may also comprise an anode mass flow manifold 32 and a cathode mass flow field manifold 34 as shown in Fig. 1..
  • the purpose of such manifolds is to bring products to and reactants from both the anode and the cathode, as well as to form a frame around the anode mass flow field and the anode, and the cathode mass flow field and the cathode, respectively.
  • These manifolds are preferably made of a corrosion resistant material, such as TEFLON ® PFA.
  • a gasket 36, 38 also contributes to forming a frame around the respective anode and cathode mass flow fields.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments also comprises an anode current bus 46 and a cathode current bus 48 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • the current buses conduct current to and from a voltage source (not shown) .
  • anode current bus 46 is connected to the positive terminal of a voltage source
  • cathode current bus 48 is connected to the negative terminal of the voltage source, so that when voltage is supplied to the cell, current flows through all of the cell components to the right of current bus 46 as shown in Fig. 1, including current bus 48, from which it returns to the voltage source.
  • the current buses are made of a conductor material, such as copper.
  • the electrochemical cell of the first and second embodiments of the present invention further comprises a current distributor disposed in contact with the flow field.
  • An anode current distributor 40 is disposed in contact with anode flow field 28, and a cathode current distributor 42 is disposed in contact with cathode flow field 30.
  • the anode current colects current from the anode bus and distributes it to the anode by electronic conduction.
  • the cathode current distributor collects current from the cathode and distributes it to the cathode bus by electronic conduction.
  • the anode and the cathode current distributors preferably each comprise a non-porous layer.
  • the anode current distributor thus provides a barrier between the anode and the current bus, as well as between the current bus and the hydrogen halide, such as hydrogen chloride, the halogen gas, such as chlorine.
  • the cathode current distributor provides a barrier between the cathode current bus and the and the cathode, as well as between the cathode current bus and the hydrogen halide. This is desirable because there is some migration of hydrogen halide through the membrane.
  • the current distributors of the present invention may be made of a variety of materials, and the material used for the anode current distributor need not be the same as the material used for the cathode current distributor. In one instance, the anode current distributor is made of platinized tantalum, and the cathode current distributor is made of a nickel-based alloy, such as UNS10665, sold as HASTELLOY ® B-2, by Haynes, International.
  • the electrochemical cell also comprises a conductive structural support 44 disposed in contact with anode current distributor 40.
  • the support on the anode side is preferably made of UNS31603 (316L stainless steel) .
  • a seal 45 preferably in the form of an O-ring made from a perfluoroelastomer, sold under the trademark KALREZ ® by DuPont, is disposed between structural support 44 on the anode side and anode current distributor 40.
  • structural support 44 is shown in front of anode current bus 46 in Fig. 1, it is within the scope of the present invention for the structural support to be placed behind the anode current bus (i.e., to the left of bus 46 as shown in Fig.
  • the cathode current distributor acts as a corrosion-resistant structural backer on the cathode side. This piece can be drilled and tapped to accept the TEFLON ® PFA fitting, which is used for the inlet and outlet.
  • a bipolar arrangement as familiar to one skilled in the art, is preferred.
  • the electrochemical cell of the present invention may be used in a bipolar stack.
  • current distributors 40 and 42 and all the elements disposed in between as shown in Fig. 1 are repeated along the length of the cell, and current buses are placed on the outside of the stack.
  • the anhydrous hydrogen halide may comprise hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen fluoride or hydrogen iodide. It should be noted that the production of bromine gas and iodine gas can be accomplished when the electrochemical cell is run at elevated temperatures (i.e., about 60° C and above for bromine and about 190° C and above for iodine) . In the case of iodine, a membrane made of a material other than NAFION ® should be used.
  • anhydrous hydrogen halide is hydrogen chloride.
  • current flows to the anode bus and anode current distributor 40 collects current from the anode bus and distributes it to the anode by electronic conduction.
  • Molecules of essentially anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas are fed to anode-side inlet 14 and through flow channels 29 in the anode mass flow field 28 and are transported to the surface of anode 12.
  • the protons (H + ) are transported through the membrane, which acts as an electrolyte .
  • the transported protons are reduced at the cathode .
  • Water is delivered to the cathode through cathode-side inlet 24 and through the grooves in cathode flow field 30 to hydrate the membrane and thereby increase the efficiency of proton transport through the membrane.
  • the hydrogen which is evolved at the interface between the electrode and the membrane exits via cathode-side outlet 26 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • the hydrogen bubbles through the water and is not affected by the TEFLON ® in the electrode.
  • Cathode current distributor 42 collects current from cathode 20 and distributes it to cathode bus 48.
  • anhydrous hydrogen halide is hydrogen chloride.
  • anode current distributor 40 collects current from the anode bus and distributes it to the anode by electronic conduction. Molecules of essentially anhydrous hydrogen chloride are fed to anode-side inlet 14 and are transported through grooves of anode mass flow field 28 to the surface of anode 12.
  • An oxygen- containing gas such as oxygen (0 2 (g), air or oxygen- enriched air (i.e., greater than 21 mol% oxygen in nitrogen) is introduced through cathode-side inlet 24 and through the grooves formed in cathode mass flow field 30.
  • oxygen such as oxygen (0 2 (g)
  • oxygen- enriched air i.e., greater than 21 mol% oxygen in nitrogen
  • This cathode feed gas- may be humidified to aid in the control of moisture in the membrane.
  • Molecules of the hydrogen chloride (Hcl (g) ) are oxidized under the potential created by the voltage source to produce essentially dry chlorine gas at the anode, and protons (H + ) , as expressed in equation (4) above.
  • the protons (H + ) are transported through the membrane, which acts as an electrolyte. Oxygen and the transported protons are reduced at the cathode to water, which is expressed by the equation:
  • the water formed (H 0(g) in equation (6)) exits via cathode-side outlet 26 as shown in Fig. 1, along with any nitrogen and unreacted oxygen. The water also helps to maintain hydration of the membrane, as will be further explained below.
  • Cathode current distributor 42 collects current from cathode 20 and distributes it to cathode bus 48 by electronic conduction.
  • the cathode reaction is the formation of water.
  • This cathode reaction has the advantage of more favorable thermodynamics relative to H 2 production at the cathode as in. the first embodiment. This is because the overall reaction in this embodiment, which is expressed by> the following equation:
  • the membrane of both the first and the second embodiments in the anhydrous case must be hydrated in order to have efficient proton transport.
  • the cathode-side of the membrane must be kept hydrated in order to increase the efficiency of proton transport through the membrane.
  • the hydration of the membrane is obtained by keeping liquid water in contact with the cathode. The liquid water passes through the gas-diffusion electrode and contacts the membrane.
  • the membrane hydration is accomplished by the production of water as expressed by equation (6) above and by the water introduced in a humidified oxygen-feed or air-feed stream. This keeps the conductivity of the membrane high.
  • the electrochemical cell can be operated over a wide range of temperatures.
  • Room temperature operation is an advantage, due to the ease of use of the cell. .
  • operation at elevated temperatures provides the advantages of improved kinetics and increased electrolyte conductivity. Higher temperatures result in lower cell voltages.
  • limits on temperature occur because of the properties of the materials used for elements of the cell.
  • the properties of a NAFION ® membrane change when the cell is operated above 120° C.
  • the properties of a polymer electrolyte membrane make it difficult to operate a cell at temperatures above 150° C.
  • With a membrane made of other materials, such as a ceramic material like beta- alumina it is possible to operate a cell at temperatures above 200° C.
  • one is not restricted to operate the electrochemical cell of either the first or the second embodiment at atmospheric pressure.
  • the cell could be run at differential pressure gradients, which change the transport characteristics of water or other components in the cell, including the membrane.
  • Fig. 2 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • elements corresponding to the elements of the embodiment of Fig. 1 will be shown with the same reference numeral as in Fig. 1, but will be designated with a prime (').
  • An electrochemical cell of the third embodiment is shown generally at 10' in Fig. 2.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment will be described with respect to a preferred embodiment, where halogens, such as chlorine, are generated by the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of a hydrogen halide, such as hydrochloric acid.
  • halogens such as chlorine
  • the cell of the third embodiment may be a fuel cell.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment comprises an electrode, or more specifically, an anode 12' .
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment also comprises a membrane disposed in contact with one side of the electrode.
  • a membrane 18' is shown in Fig. 2 having one side disposed in contact with one side of anode 12' .
  • the membrane need not necessarily be a cation-transporting membrane.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment also comprises an electrode, or more specifically, a cathode 20', where cathode 20' is disposed in contact with the other side (as opposed to the side which is in contact with the anode) of membrane as illustrated in Fig. 2.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment further comprises a mass flow field disposed in contact with the electrode.
  • the mass flow field may be an anode mass flow field 28' disposed in contact with the anode, or a cathode mass flow field 30' disposed in contact with the cathode.
  • the mass flow fields act as both mass and current flow fields.
  • the purpose of the anode flow field is to get reactants, such as aqueous HC1 in the third embodiment to the anode and products, such as wet chlorine gas, from the anode.
  • the purpose of the cathode flow field is to get catholyte to the cathode and product from the cathode.
  • the mass flow fields of the third embodiment include flow channels 29' and 31' for performing these functions.
  • the mass flow fields comprise a resilient material, such as an elastomer, which is the same as that described above with respect to the first two embodiments.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment also comprises a current bus for conducting current to the electrode, where the current bus is disposed on the other side of the electrode.
  • An anode current bus 46' and a cathode current bus 48' are shown in Fig. 2.
  • the current buses conduct current from a voltage source (not shown) .
  • anode current bus 46' is connected to the positive terminal of a voltage source
  • cathode current bus 48' is connected to the negative terminal of the voltage source, so that when voltage is supplied to the cell, current flows from the voltage source through all of the elements to the right of current bus 46' as shown in Fig. 2, including current bus 48' from which it returns to the voltage source.
  • the current buses of the third embodiment are made of a conductor material, such as copper.
  • the electrochemical cell of the third embodiment further comprises a current distributor disposed on one side of the electrode.
  • An anode current distributor disposed on one side of the electrode.
  • anode current distributor 40' is disposed on one side of anode 12', and a cathode current distributor 42' is disposed on one side of cathode 20'.
  • the anode current distributor distributes current to the anode by electronic conduction and allows current to flow away from the anode.
  • the cathode current distributor distributes current to the cathode by electronic conduction and allows current to flow to the cathode.
  • the anode and the cathode current distributors preferably each comprise a non-porous layer.
  • the anode current c-k-Lstributor provides a barrier between the anode current bus and the anode, as well as between the anode current bus and the reactant, such as aqueous hydrogen chloride and the product, such as wet gaseous chlorine.
  • the cathode current distributor provides a barrier between the cathode current bus and the cathode, as well as between the cathode current bus and the catholyte.
  • the current distributors of third embodiment may be made of a variety of materials, and the material used for the anode current distributor need not be the same as the material used for the cathode current distributor. The choice of material would depend on the choice of anolte and catholyte.
  • cationic charges are transported through the membrane from anode to cathode, while each electrode carries out a half-cell reaction.
  • hydrochloric acid which is introduced at arrow 14', which indicates the anode-side inlet, is electrolyzed at anode 12' to produce gaseous chlorine, which exits at arrow 16', which represent the anode-side outlet, and hydrogen ions (H + ) .
  • the H + ions are transported across membrane 18', to cathode 20' along with some water and some hydrochloric acid.
  • the hydrogen ions are discharged at the cathode through a cathode-side outlet 2 ' .

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Abstract

L'invention porte sur un élément électrochimique comportant: une électrode, (12, 20); une membrane (18) en contact avec l'un des côtés de l'électrode et un champ d'écoulement élastique (28, 30) disposé de l'autre côté de l'électrode et en contact électrique uniforme avec cette dernière. Ledit champ, de préférence un élastomère obtenu par moulage, rend la fabrication moins onéreuse et plus aisée. Le champ d'écoulement élastique objet de l'invention s'avère donc particulièrement utile pour la conversion directe d'un halogénure anhydre d'hydrogène essentiellement en halogène gazeux sec, par exemple du chlorure anhydre d'hydrogène en chlore gazeux, bien qu'il puisse être utilisé dans un élément électrochimique qui convertit des réactifs aqueux.
PCT/US1995/016115 1995-05-01 1995-12-13 Element electrochimique a champ d'ecoulement elastique WO1996035001A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU44210/96A AU4421096A (en) 1995-05-01 1995-12-13 Electrochemical cell having a resilient flow field

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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US43158995A 1995-05-01 1995-05-01
US08/431,589 1995-05-01

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4921585A (en) * 1989-03-31 1990-05-01 United Technologies Corporation Electrolysis cell and method of use
EP0629015A1 (fr) * 1993-04-30 1994-12-14 De Nora Permelec S.P.A. Cellule électrochimique comportant des membranes d'échange d'ions et des plaques bipolaires métalliques
WO1995014797A1 (fr) * 1993-11-22 1995-06-01 E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Anode utile pour la conversion electrochimique d'un halogenure d'hydrogene anhydre en halogene gazeux

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4921585A (en) * 1989-03-31 1990-05-01 United Technologies Corporation Electrolysis cell and method of use
EP0629015A1 (fr) * 1993-04-30 1994-12-14 De Nora Permelec S.P.A. Cellule électrochimique comportant des membranes d'échange d'ions et des plaques bipolaires métalliques
WO1995014797A1 (fr) * 1993-11-22 1995-06-01 E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Anode utile pour la conversion electrochimique d'un halogenure d'hydrogene anhydre en halogene gazeux

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