Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production
Abstract
In this study, a low-cost additive manufacturing technology, electron beam melting (EBM), is employed for the first time to fabricate titanium liquid/gas diffusion media with high-corrosion resistances and well-controlled multifunctional parameters, including two-phase transport and high electric/thermal conductivities. Its application in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs) has been investigated in-situ with modular galvano (MG) and galvano electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (GEIS) and characterized ex-situ with SEM and XRD. Compared with conventional woven and sintered liquid/gas diffusion layers (LGDLs), much better performance is obtained with EBM-fabricated LGDLs due to a significant reduction of ohmic losses. The EBM technology components exhibited several distinct advantages in fabricating LGDLs: well-controllable pore morphology and structure, rapid prototyping, fast manufacturing, highly customizable design, and economic. In addition, by taking advantage of additive manufacturing, it is possible to fabricate complicated three-dimensional designs of virtually any shape from a digital model into one single solid object faster, cheaper, and easier, especially for titanium components. More importantly, this development will provide LGDLs with well-controllable pore morphologies, which will be valuable to develop sophisticated models of PEMECs with optimal and repeatable performance. Finally and furthermore, it could lead to a manufacturing solution that greatly simplifies the PEMEC/fuel cell components.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tullahoma, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1255656
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1261266; OSTI ID: 1352948
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; FE0011585
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 41; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 0360-3199
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; 3D printing; electron beam melting additive manufacturing; proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell; liquid/gas diffusion layers; multifunctional materials; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Citation Formats
Mo, Jingke, Zhang, Feng -Yuan, Dehoff, Ryan R., Peter, William H., Toops, Todd J., and Green, Jr., Johney Boyd. Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.12.111.
Mo, Jingke, Zhang, Feng -Yuan, Dehoff, Ryan R., Peter, William H., Toops, Todd J., & Green, Jr., Johney Boyd. Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.12.111
Mo, Jingke, Zhang, Feng -Yuan, Dehoff, Ryan R., Peter, William H., Toops, Todd J., and Green, Jr., Johney Boyd. 2016.
"Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.12.111. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1255656.
@article{osti_1255656,
title = {Additive manufacturing of liquid/gas diffusion layers for low-cost and high-efficiency hydrogen production},
author = {Mo, Jingke and Zhang, Feng -Yuan and Dehoff, Ryan R. and Peter, William H. and Toops, Todd J. and Green, Jr., Johney Boyd},
abstractNote = {In this study, a low-cost additive manufacturing technology, electron beam melting (EBM), is employed for the first time to fabricate titanium liquid/gas diffusion media with high-corrosion resistances and well-controlled multifunctional parameters, including two-phase transport and high electric/thermal conductivities. Its application in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs) has been investigated in-situ with modular galvano (MG) and galvano electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (GEIS) and characterized ex-situ with SEM and XRD. Compared with conventional woven and sintered liquid/gas diffusion layers (LGDLs), much better performance is obtained with EBM-fabricated LGDLs due to a significant reduction of ohmic losses. The EBM technology components exhibited several distinct advantages in fabricating LGDLs: well-controllable pore morphology and structure, rapid prototyping, fast manufacturing, highly customizable design, and economic. In addition, by taking advantage of additive manufacturing, it is possible to fabricate complicated three-dimensional designs of virtually any shape from a digital model into one single solid object faster, cheaper, and easier, especially for titanium components. More importantly, this development will provide LGDLs with well-controllable pore morphologies, which will be valuable to develop sophisticated models of PEMECs with optimal and repeatable performance. Finally and furthermore, it could lead to a manufacturing solution that greatly simplifies the PEMEC/fuel cell components.},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.12.111},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1255656},
journal = {International Journal of Hydrogen Energy},
issn = {0360-3199},
number = 4,
volume = 41,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jan 14 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Thu Jan 14 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}
Web of Science
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