Pore-scale study of multiphase reactive transport in fibrous electrodes of vanadium redox flow batteries

Chen, Li; He, YaLing; Tao, Wen -Quan; Zelenay, Piotr; Mukundan, Rangachary; Kang, Qinjun

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.086

Title: Pore-scale study of multiphase reactive transport in fibrous electrodes of vanadium redox flow batteries

Journal Article · Fri Jul 21 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Electrochimica Acta

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.086· OSTI ID:1374359

Chen, Li ^[1]; He, YaLing ^[2]; Tao, Wen -Quan ^[2];

^[3];

^[3]

Xi'an Jiaotong Univ., Shaanxi (China); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Xi'an Jiaotong Univ., Shaanxi (China)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

The electrode of a vanadium redox flow battery generally is a carbon fibre-based porous medium, in which important physicochemical processes occur. In this work, pore-scale simulations are performed to study complex multiphase flow and reactive transport in the electrode by using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Four hundred fibrous electrodes with different fibre diameters and porosities are reconstructed. Both the permeability and diffusivity of the reconstructed electrodes are predicted and compared with empirical relationships in the literature. Reactive surface area of the electrodes is also evaluated and it is found that existing empirical relationship overestimates the reactive surface under lower porosities. Further, a pore-scale electrochemical reaction model is developed to study the effects of fibre diameter and porosity on electrolyte flow, V_II/V_III transport, and electrochemical reaction at the electrolyte-fibre surface. Finally, evolution of bubble cluster generated by the side reaction is studied by adopting a LB multiphase flow model. Effects of porosity, fibre diameter, gas saturation and solid surface wettability on average bubble diameter and reduction of reactive surface area due to coverage of bubbles on solid surface are investigated in detail. It is found that gas coverage ratio is always lower than that adopted in the continuum model in the literature. Furthermore, the current pore-scale studies successfully reveal the complex multiphase flow and reactive transport processes in the electrode, and the simulation results can be further upscaled to improve the accuracy of the current continuum-scale models.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1374359

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-17-25691

Journal Information:: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 248, Issue C; ISSN 0013-4686

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 48 works

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Title: Pore-scale study of multiphase reactive transport in fibrous electrodes of vanadium redox flow batteries

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