Thin-Film Composite Membranes for Hydrogen Evolution with a Saline Catholyte Water Feed

Hydrogen gas evolution using an impure or saline water feed is a promising strategy to reduce overall energy consumption and investment costs for on-site, large-scale production using renewable energy sources. The chlorine evolution reaction is one of the biggest concerns in hydrogen evolution with impure water feeds. The “alkaline design criterion” in impure water electrolysis was examined here because water oxidation catalysts can exhibit a larger kinetic overpotential without interfering chlorine chemistry under alkaline conditions. Here, we demonstrated that relatively inexpensive thin-film composite (TFC) membranes, currently used for high-pressure reverse osmosis (RO) desalination applications, can have much higher rejection of Cl- (total crossover of 2.9 ± 0.9 mmol) than an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) (51.8 ± 2.3 mmol) with electrolytes of 0.5 M KOH for the anolyte and 0.5 M NaCl for the catholyte with a constant current (100 mA/cm2 for 20 h). The membrane resistances, which were similar for the TFC membrane and the AEM based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Ohm’s law methods, could be further reduced by increasing the electrolyte concentration or removal of the structural polyester supporting layer (TFC-no PET). TFC membranes could enable pressurized gas production, as this membrane was demonstrated to be mechanically stable with no change in permeate flux at 35 bar. These results show that TFC membranes provide a novel pathway for producing green hydrogen with a saline water feed at elevated pressures compared to systems using AEMs or porous diaphragms.

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Work Title Thin-Film Composite Membranes for Hydrogen Evolution with a Saline Catholyte Water Feed
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. L Shi
  2. X Zhou
  3. R F Taylor
  4. C Xie
  5. B Bian
  6. Derek Hall
  7. R Rossi
  8. M A Hickner
  9. Christopher A. Gorski
  10. Bruce E Logan
Keyword
  1. Green hydrogen evolution
  2. Water electrolyzer
  3. Saline water
  4. Thin-film composite membrane
  5. Ion transport control
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Environmental Science & Technology
Publication Date January 3, 2024
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c07957
Deposited October 12, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added 2024-Shi-etal-ES_T-alkaline-WE-accepted.pdf
  • Added Creator L Shi
  • Added Creator X Zhou
  • Added Creator R F Taylor
  • Added Creator C Xie
  • Added Creator A Emdadi
  • Added Creator B Bian
  • Added Creator B Bain
  • Added Creator Derek Hall
  • Added Creator R Rossi
  • Added Creator M A Hickner
  • Added Creator Christopher A. Gorski
  • Added Creator Bruce E Logan
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Green hydrogen evolution, Water electrolyzer, Saline water, Thin-film composite membrane, Ion transport control
    Publication Date
    • 2024-01-01
    • 2024-01-03
  • Updated Work Title Show Changes
    Work Title
    • Thin-film composite membranes in alkaline water electrolyzers.
    • Thin-Film Composite Membranes for Hydrogen Evolution with a Saline Catholyte Water Feed
  • Deleted Creator B Bain
  • Updated Creator Derek Hall
  • Updated Creator R Rossi
  • Updated Creator M A Hickner
  • Updated Creator Christopher A. Gorski
  • Updated Creator Bruce E Logan
  • Deleted Creator A Emdadi
  • Updated Creator B Bian
  • Updated Creator Derek Hall
  • Updated Creator R Rossi
  • Updated Creator M A Hickner
  • Updated Creator Christopher A. Gorski
  • Updated Creator Bruce E Logan