Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Water supplied during polymer electrolyte water electrolysis is supplied to the anode where oxidation occurs to generate oxygen while hydrogen ions are moved into the cathode via passing through the electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen through a reduction reaction. The hydrogen ions that pass through the electrolyte membrane are moved in a hydrated state, and so they play a role in the transportation of water molecules to the cathode side. To overcome these shortcomings, a water supply system installed at the anode side and a discharge water management system installed at the cathode side in an existing polymer electrolyte water electrolysis device were replaced. Instead, a water supply system only at the cathode side and a water supply system-type polymer electrolyte water electrolysis device whose components were optimized was used to recover the reduced energy efficiency-optimized components. Accordingly, energy efficiency reduction due to cathode feeding was observed when the current exceeded 3A, and this electric energy loss quickly increased the temperature of 50 cm3 cathode supply water, thereby maximizing the energy efficiency. Furthermore, the investigation results regarding the optimum shape of the flow-passage opening showed that a square shape was the most appropriate and that the most appropriate ratio of width between the opening and non-opening was approximately 2:1.
Keywords: Anode, Cathode, Hydrogen Generator, Oxygen, Titanium Plate