Hydrogen production with seawater-resilient bipolar membrane electrolyzers

Marin, Daniela H.; Perryman, Joseph T.; Hubert, McKenzie A.; Lindquist, Grace A.; Chen, Lihaokun; Aleman, Ashton M.; Kamat, Gaurav A.; Niemann, Valerie A.; Stevens, Michaela Burke; Regmi, Yagya N.; Boettcher, Shannon W.; Nielander, Adam C.; Jaramillo, Thomas F.

doi:10.1016/j.joule.2023.03.005

Hydrogen production with seawater-resilient bipolar membrane electrolyzers

Journal Article · Tue Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Joule

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.03.005· OSTI ID:2005382

Marin, Daniela H. ^[1]; Perryman, Joseph T. ^[1]; Hubert, McKenzie A. ^[1]; Lindquist, Grace A. ^[2]; Chen, Lihaokun ^[2]; Aleman, Ashton M. ^[1]; Kamat, Gaurav A. ^[1]; Niemann, Valerie A. ^[1]; Stevens, Michaela Burke ^[3]; Regmi, Yagya N. ^[4]; Boettcher, Shannon W. ^[2]; ^[3]; Jaramillo, Thomas F. ^[1]

Stanford University, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis
Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)

Generation of H₂ and O₂ from untreated water sources represents a promising alternative to ultrapure water required in contemporary proton exchange membrane-based electrolysis. Bipolar membrane-based devices, often used in electrodialysis and CO₂ electrolysis, facilitate impure water electrolysis via the simultaneous mediation of ion transport and enforcement of advantageous microenvironments. Herein, we report their application in direct seawater electrolysis; we show that upon introduction of ionic species such as Na⁺ and Cl^- from seawater, bipolar membrane electrolyzers limit the oxidation of Cl^- to corrosive OCl^- at the anode to a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 0.005%, while proton exchange membrane electrolyzers under comparable operating conditions exhibit up to 10% FE to Cl oxidation. In conclusion, the effective mitigation of Cl^- oxidation by bipolar membrane electrolyzers underpins their ability to enable longer-term seawater electrolysis than proton exchange membrane assemblies by a factor of 140, suggesting a path to durable seawater electrolysis.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB); US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515; EE0008841

OSTI ID:: 2005382

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2997083

Journal Information:: Joule, Journal Name: Joule Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 7; ISSN 2542-4351

Publisher:: Elsevier - Cell PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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