A new high-temperature, high-pressure electrochemical test station to support the development of processes that produce sustainable fuel

Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Luke J. Venstrom

College

Engineering

Discipline(s)

Engineering, Chemistry

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-27-2023

Abstract

Hydrogen is an important energy vector and storage medium poised to play a prominent role in the energy transition, either as a fuel to produce electricity in fuel cells or carbon-free process heat. Many electrochemical processes can produce hydrogen and other clean fuels, which could benefit from being performed at higher temperatures and high pressures. This poster demonstrates how a high-pressure and temperature setup was created to answer questions regarding the solar thermal decoupled electrolysis process to create hydrogen.

Research has shown that at higher temperatures, the kinetics are more rapid, leading to a higher current density. Another advantage of producing hydrogen at higher pressure is that it does not need to be later pumped mechanically up to pipeline pressures for distribution, reducing the needed infrastructure for distribution.Currently, a custom high-pressure, high-temperature electrochemical test platform created to study electrochemical processes for hydrogen production at temperatures up to 200°C and pressures up to 10 bar is being utilized for experimentation. Results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments of the electrochemically reversible ferri-ferrocyanide redox couple are shown that validate that the test station is in control. Particular attention is given to the repeatability of the CV data in the ferri-ferrocyanide system when gold and platinum working electrodes are employed. Parameters in the Butler-Volmer model of the system are extracted from the CV data and shown to match previously published values within experimental uncertainty.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

  • David-Paul Schulze, Kade Kovarik, Demetria Zoldak and Bradley are all mechanical engineering students at Valparaiso University. David-Paul Schulze became interested in the study of renewable energy fuel production after a class on sustainable energy and heat transfer. Kade Kovarik enjoys the manufacturing and assembling behind the high-T and high-P setup which has several different complexities. Bradley Davis has only recently joined the team this spring '22 semester and has been learning all about the modeling behind the electrochemistry for which the setup is used. Demetria Zoldak recently joined the team in fall ‘22 and has been working on improvements in data parsing, handling and validation routines for the needed data analysis.

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