(774b) Microporous Separators On Fe/V Redox Flow Battery: A Valuable Opportunity for Cost Reduction | AIChE

(774b) Microporous Separators On Fe/V Redox Flow Battery: A Valuable Opportunity for Cost Reduction

Authors 

Wei, X. - Presenter, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Luo, Q., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Li, B., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Nie, Z., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Shao, Y., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Chen, F., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Chen, B., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Xia, G., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Li, L., UniEnergy Technologies, LLC
Yang, Z., UniEnergy Technologies, LLC
Wang, W., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory


Microporous Separators on
Fe/V Redox Flow Battery: A Valuable Opportunity for Cost Reduction

Wei, Xiaoliang; Luo, Qingtao; Li, Bin; Nie, Zimin; Shao, Yuyan; Chen, Feng;
Chen, Baowei; Xia, Gordon; Li, Liyu; Yang, Z Gary; Wang, Wei

Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, 902
Battelle Boulevard, PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99354

Redox flow
batteries are considered as one of the most promising medium-to-large scale energy
storage technologies and have attracted much attention both academically and
industrially.[1],[2] A number of redox chemistries
have been proposed, and significant progress has been achieved by today.[3],[4]
However, broad market penetration of redox flow batteries is still hindered by their
intrinsic limitations such as high cost and low durability of components, narrow
operational temperature range, limited solubility of active species, and/or low
electrochemical activity.[5]
The recently invented iron-vanadium (Fe/V) redox flow battery employing Fe2+/3+
? V2+/3+ redox couples have shown to be a promising option for
stationary energy storage.[6],[7] The Fe/V flow battery
demonstrated stable cycling performance with a nearly 100% utilization ratio
over a broad temperature range of 0-50oC.

The
positive charged species, Fe3+, is a relatively weak oxidant. Therefore,
hydrocarbon-based ion exchange membranes and/or separators are possible options
for use in Fe/V flow battery system. This contribution investigated the cycling
performance of a variety of polyethylene microporous separators on Fe/V flow
cell. Among them, some separators exhibited energy efficiency of around 70% at
temperatures ranging from 5-50oC and at current densities up to
80mA/cm2. Because these separators are very inexpensive, their use
significantly reduces the capital cost of Fe/V flow battery, delivering great
potential for developing a low-cost energy storage system.

Figure 1 Flow cell cycling efficiencies (CE, VE, and
EE) of microporous separators A, B, C, D, and E.




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