Sustainable hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in the energy transition, as it offers a way to store and deliver usable and clean energy while avoiding direct carbon dioxide emissions at the point of use. The objective of this thesis is to propose strategies to enhance the performance of alkaline water electrolysis and thereby contribute to the development of more efficient electrolyser designs. To this end, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are used to investigate transport phenomena within water electrolysis cells at both laboratory- and prototype-scales. At laboratory-scale, the incorporation of flow-engineered, laterally graded bilayer electrodes within laboratory cells is considered under forced electrolyte flow conditions. Complex three-dimensional (3D) materials, such as metallic foams and triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) structures, are investigated through a pore-resolved CFD approach. At prototype-scale, flow distribution is quantified using residence time distribution (RTD) analyses. Single-phase flow simulations are used to study flow uniformity and the presence of recirculation regions depending on the inlet configuration and the porous transport layer (PTL). Multiphase flow simulations are subsequently introduced to account for electrogenerated hydrogen bubbles and to investigate the influence of cell geometry on gas distribution and evacuation. Overall, the findings presented here suggest that unlocking the full potential of industrial alkaline water electrolysers will require a more integrated approach to electrolyser design, in which flow fields, porous electrodes, gas evacuation pathways, and cell architectures are co-designed. Such an approach provides a pathway towards more uniform liquid distribution, improved gas evacuation, and more efficient use of the active electrode area, thereby supporting the development and scale-up of high-performance alkaline water electrolysers.
Membres du jury :
- Prof. Joris PROOST (UCLouvain)(Promoteur)
- Prof. Aude SIMAR (UCLouvain) (Président)
- Prof. Juray DE WILDE (UCLouvain) (Secrétaire)
- Prof. Alessandro MONTEVERDE (Politecnico di Torino)
- Prof. Benoit SCHEID (ULB)
Soutenance publique également accessible par visio-conférence via le lien (TEAMS) :
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3384295413583438?p=R65BqdXQbIKZUkHibx
