Thermal and electrochemical analyses of a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer

Abstract

In this paper, the electrochemical performance and temperature distribution of a polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) are studied using a numerical model. The effect of three important parameters including operating pressure, operating temperature, and thickness of the membrane on the thermal and electrochemical performance of the electrolyzer are investigated. The results of numerical modeling are verified against experimental data. Higher temperature is observed over the anode because the exothermic process at the anode is dominant in PEMWE. By increasing the operating temperature and decreasing the operating pressure, the temperature distribution is more uniform and the performance of the electrolyzer improves. By increasing temperature from 333 K to 353 K, the mean temperature difference decreases by 4.5%. In addition, by increasing membrane thickness from 127μm to 254μm, the mean temperature difference of the electrolyzer cell increases by 0.18 K, and the voltage of the electrolyzer increases by about 3.63%. © 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC