Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
INVESTIGATION ON WALL TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS DURING HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY ELECTROLYSIS
Submission Author:
Jeferson Diehl de Oliveira , RS , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Jeferson Diehl de Oliveira, Marcos Woyciekoski, Thomas Willians Leite , Elaine Maria Cardoso, Jacqueline Copetti
Presenter: Jeferson Diehl de Oliveira
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-0268
Abstract
This experimental study examined the wall temperature of the cathode during water electrolysis in an alkaline solution (30% wt KOH between 17 °C and 18 °C) under varying current densities. The research employed vertical electrodes with different gaps in a glass electrolyzer. A thermocouple E-type was attached to the cathode's outer wall to monitor temperature changes during nucleate onset and bubble release. The investigation focused on electric current densities ranging from 36.5 to 225 A/m². A CCD camera was used to analyze buoyancy-driven bubble dynamics along the cathode wall. The study observed increased velocity and vorticity fields, leading to heightened turbulence. The application of electric current led to an electrical resistance in the electrodes, causing the wall temperature to rise by up to 21.5 °C with fluctuations of approximately 0.5 °C. The presence of hydrogen bubbles on the wall further contributed to temperature increases, with fluctuations occurring due to bubble release over time. An optical flow method was implemented to investigate vorticity fields derived from the image sequence, as bubble-driven convection and convective mass transfer intensified with higher current densities. Turbulence-induced complex structures significantly impacted bubble dynamics. These findings enhance our understanding of the transport phenomena of hydrogen bubbles in the electrolyzer.
Keywords
Hydrogen Generation, renewable energy, Electrolysis, temperature fluctuations
