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Title: The Relationship between Shunt Currents and Edge Corrosion in Flow Batteries

Abstract

Shunt currents occur in electrochemical reactors like flow batteries, electrolyzers, and fuel cells where many bipolar cells that are connected in series electrically contact a mobile electrolyte through one or more common fluid distribution manifolds. Shunt currents reduce energy efficiency, and can cause unwanted side reactions including corrosion and gas generation. Equivalent-circuit models have been widely used to examine shunt currents in multi-cell electrochemical reactors. However, a detailed investigation of the interesting electrochemical processes occurring at the edges of the active areas has not been presented. In this work, the generation of shunt currents and their tendency to drive corrosion at the edges of positive electrodes in the most positive cells in a reactor stack are investigated with a comprehensive numerical model. An analytical model based on the penetration of current into a semi-infinite electrode, that can be used in conjunction with traditional equivalent-circuit models to assess the tendency for shunt currents to drive corrosion, is developed and compared to the numerical model. The models provided here can be used to set requirements on maximum allowable port currents in order to achieve a particular durability goal.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR); United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Fuel Cell Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1506267
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of the Electrochemical Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 164; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651
Publisher:
The Electrochemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
25 ENERGY STORAGE; Corrosion; Flow battery; Shunt current

Citation Formats

Darling, Robert M., Shiau, Huai-Suen, Weber, Adam Z., and Perry, Mike L. The Relationship between Shunt Currents and Edge Corrosion in Flow Batteries. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1149/2.0081711jes.
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Darling, Robert M., Shiau, Huai-Suen, Weber, Adam Z., & Perry, Mike L. The Relationship between Shunt Currents and Edge Corrosion in Flow Batteries. United States. doi:10.1149/2.0081711jes.
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Darling, Robert M., Shiau, Huai-Suen, Weber, Adam Z., and Perry, Mike L. Tue . "The Relationship between Shunt Currents and Edge Corrosion in Flow Batteries". United States. doi:10.1149/2.0081711jes. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1506267.
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@article{osti_1506267,
title = {The Relationship between Shunt Currents and Edge Corrosion in Flow Batteries},
author = {Darling, Robert M. and Shiau, Huai-Suen and Weber, Adam Z. and Perry, Mike L.},
abstractNote = {Shunt currents occur in electrochemical reactors like flow batteries, electrolyzers, and fuel cells where many bipolar cells that are connected in series electrically contact a mobile electrolyte through one or more common fluid distribution manifolds. Shunt currents reduce energy efficiency, and can cause unwanted side reactions including corrosion and gas generation. Equivalent-circuit models have been widely used to examine shunt currents in multi-cell electrochemical reactors. However, a detailed investigation of the interesting electrochemical processes occurring at the edges of the active areas has not been presented. In this work, the generation of shunt currents and their tendency to drive corrosion at the edges of positive electrodes in the most positive cells in a reactor stack are investigated with a comprehensive numerical model. An analytical model based on the penetration of current into a semi-infinite electrode, that can be used in conjunction with traditional equivalent-circuit models to assess the tendency for shunt currents to drive corrosion, is developed and compared to the numerical model. The models provided here can be used to set requirements on maximum allowable port currents in order to achieve a particular durability goal.},
doi = {10.1149/2.0081711jes},
journal = {Journal of the Electrochemical Society},
number = 11,
volume = 164,
place = {United States},
year = {2017},
month = {4}
}
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DOI:  10.1149/2.0081711jes
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    • Reynard, Danick; Vrubel, Heron; Dennison, Christopher R.
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    • DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201802895

    Electrochemical energy storage for renewable energy integration: zinc-air flow batteries
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    • Amunátegui, B.; Ibáñez, A.; Sierra, M.
    • Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol. 48, Issue 6
    • DOI: 10.1007/s10800-017-1133-7

    Rechargeable redox flow batteries: flow fields, stacks and design considerations
    journal, January 2018

    • Ke, Xinyou; Prahl, Joseph M.; Alexander, J. Iwan D.
    • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 47, Issue 23
    • DOI: 10.1039/c8cs00072g

    Electrolyte Compositions in a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Measured with a Reference Cell
    journal, January 2019

    • Yang, Z.; Darling, R. M.; Perry, M. L.
    • Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 13
    • DOI: 10.1149/2.1161913jes

    General Simplified Model to Calculate Current Distribution in Electrochemical Reactors with N Bipolar Electrodes
    journal, January 2019

    • Rodríguez-Torres, I.; Henquín, E. R.
    • Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 8
    • DOI: 10.1149/2.1291906jes

    A One-Dimensional Stack Model for Redox Flow Battery Analysis and Operation
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