KR101609771B1 - Redox flow battery with enhanced operation efficiency - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a redox flow battery with enhanced operation efficiency. The redox flow battery enables the external observation of the flow of electrolytes flowing inside, by installing an oval transparent flowing pipe on a lateral side of a stack, allowing a user to instantly response to the formation of defects in the redox flow battery. Thus, stability and operation efficiency of the redox flow battery increase.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a redox flow battery,

The present invention relates to a redox flow cell having improved operating efficiency.

Currently, most of the energy is obtained from fossil fuels, but the use of such fossil fuels has serious adverse effects on the environment such as air pollution, acid rain and global warming, and there is a problem of low energy efficiency. In order to solve the problems associated with the use of fossil fuels, interest in renewable energy is increasing.

Although the recent renewable energy market has reached maturity in Korea and abroad, there is a problem that the amount of energy generated due to environmental influences such as time and weather changes greatly due to the characteristics of renewable energy. (Energy Storage System, ESS), which is a large-capacity energy storage system, is in great demand. There is a growing interest in Redox flow battery.

The redox flow battery is advantageous in that it can be easily produced and developed since both the anode and the cathode are maintained in an electrolyte state during charging and discharging, and can be reduced or enlarged to a desired energy storage capacity by controlling the size of the electrolyte reservoir.

The redox flow cell uses the same material as the active material of the anode and cathode electrolyte during charging and discharging. It is a secondary battery that performs charging and discharging through an electrochemical reaction. It is environmentally friendly because no carbon dioxide is generated at all. And it is stored in a tank which is a separated separate space, so that it is easy to install and there is an advantage that the installation place is limited.

In general, redox flow cells consist of stacks of cells where electrochemical reactions take place, tanks for storing electrolytes, and pumps for supplying electrolytes to the stack in an electrolyte tank. The stack consists of an ion exchange membrane, an anode and a cathode, and a frame And has a structure in which a plurality of cells are stacked.

The stack is one of the most important components that make up the redox flow cell, and the inside of the stack is designed to perform charging and discharging by exchanging electrons between the anode and cathode electrolyte. Further, the flow frame not only serves as a moving path of the electrolyte, but also serves as a place where the electrode actually performs an electrochemical reaction.

However, since the conventional redox flow cell can not observe the flow of the electrolyte flowing from the outside, it can not be confirmed in a short time when a defect occurs in each cell constituting the redox flow battery, And it takes a long time to charge the battery. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a technology for a redox flow battery that can compensate for this.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2015-0007750 (Published on 2015.01.21) Korean Patent No. 10-1394255 (Disclosure Date: May 20, 2014) Korean Patent No. 10-1443209 (Publication date: 2014.09.16) Korean Patent No. 10-1391269 (Publication date: Apr. 25, 2014)

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cell stack capable of observing the flow of electrolyte flowing from the outside, It is intended to provide a technical description of the redox flow cell.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising: a stack formed by repeatedly stacking a cell including an anode, an ion exchange membrane and a cathode, and a bipolar plate; A positive electrode electrolyte tank in which a positive electrode electrolyte supplied to the positive electrode of the stack is stored; And a negative electrode electrolyte tank storing a negative electrode electrolyte supplied to a negative electrode of the stack,

A cell located on the outermost surface of the stack is connected to an inlet line on one side thereof to supply the anode electrolyte and the cathode electrolyte stored in the anode electrolyte tank and the cathode electrolyte tank to the anode and the cathode respectively, The anode and the cathode of the plurality of cells connected to each other are connected to the outwardly projecting transparent flow pipe to flow the anode electrolyte solution and the cathode electrolyte solution to the adjacent cathode and anode stacked layers, And discharging the positive electrode electrolyte solution or the negative electrode electrolyte solution, which is connected to the outflow line and flowed through the flow pipe to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, into the positive electrode electrolyte tank and the negative electrode electrolyte tank, respectively.

The inlet line and the outlet line are respectively branched into a plurality of lines and are coupled to the anode and the cathode of the outermost cell at a plurality of points, respectively.

The inlet line is characterized in that the diameter of the inlet is larger than the diameter of the outlet.

Further, the outflow line is characterized in that the diameter of the outlet is larger than the diameter of the inlet.

In addition, the flow pipe may be made of a material such as styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), polyurethane (PU), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) Polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene-butadiene block (SBS), polyimide (PI), polyurethane (PU), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl chloride , Polycarbonate / acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC / ABS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PC), nylon, LDPE, HDPE, XLPE, tetraorthosilicate (TEOS), polyaniline, polythiophene, polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT), polyimide, polystyrene sulphate Nate (PSS), polypyrrole, polyacetyl , Polyphenylene sulfide, poly p-phenylene vinylene, polythiophene-polythienylenevinylene, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyethylene naphthalate, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) And at least one material selected from the group consisting of

Further, the flow pipe is characterized by being elliptical.

Further, the positive electrode electrolyte tank and the negative electrode electrolyte tank are placed at a position higher than the position where the stack is placed.

The redox flow cell according to the present invention is provided with an elliptic flow tube of transparent material on the side of the stack and can observe the flow of the electrolyte flowing into the anode and the cathode of the cell from the outside, It is possible to improve the stability and operation efficiency of the redox flow cell.

In the redox flow cell according to the present invention, the diameter of the inlet line inlet is larger than the diameter of the outlet port, and the diameter of the outlet line outlet is larger than the diameter of the inlet port. This leads to rapid charging / discharging of the electrolyte by increasing / can do.

1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a redox flow cell according to the present invention.
2 is a schematic view showing an inlet line and an outlet port of the (a) inlet line and (b) outflow line of the redox flow cell according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a redox flow cell according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. You will know.

In describing the present invention, it is to be noted that components having the same function are denoted by the same names and symbols, but are substantially not identical to those of conventional redox flow cells.

Furthermore, the terms used in the present invention are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Also, in the present invention, the terms such as "comprises" or "having ", and the like, are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component, But do not preclude the presence or addition of other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

The thickness and size of each layer in the drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically shown for convenience and clarity of explanation. Also, the size of each component does not entirely reflect the actual size.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention.

1, a redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention includes a cell 210 including a cathode 220, an ion exchange membrane 211 and a cathode 230, and a bipolar plate 270 Stacked stack 200; A positive electrode electrolyte tank 300 storing a positive electrode electrolyte supplied to the positive electrode 220 of the stack 200; And a negative electrode electrolyte tank (400) storing a negative electrode electrolyte supplied to the negative electrode (230) of the stack (200)

The cell 210 located on the outermost surface of the stack 200 is piped to one side of the inlet line 240 and 240 'to connect the anode electrolyte solution 300 stored in the anode electrolyte tank 300 and the anode electrolyte tank 400 And the anode 220 and the cathode 230 of the plurality of cells 210 repeatedly stacked on the stack 200 are supplied to the anode 220 and the cathode 230, The cells 210 are connected to the transparent flow pipes 260 and 260 'and flow through the anode 220 and the cathode 230, respectively. The anode electrolyte solution or the cathode electrolyte solution which is connected to the outgoing lines 250 and 250 'and flows respectively to the anode 220 and the cathode 230 through the flow pipes 260 and 260' ) And the negative electrode electrolyte tank (400).

The stack 200 is formed by repeatedly stacking a cell 210 and a bipolar plate 270 on both sides of which an anode of the anode 220 and an anode 230 of the anode 230 react with an electrolyte, A bipolar plate 270 and a current collector (not shown) are sequentially provided in each cell 210 located at the outermost side of the stack 200.

The cell 210 is supplied with a positive electrode electrolyte solution and a negative electrode solution to the positive electrode 220 and the negative electrode 230 to provide an active site for redox of the positive electrode electrolyte and the negative electrode electrolyte.

A felt electrode that effectively forms an active site may be used for the positive electrode 220 and the negative electrode 230 so that the redox reaction of the positive electrode electrolyte and the negative electrode electrolyte may be smoothly performed. The felt electrode may be a nonwoven fabric, Paper or the like can be used, and preferably, a carbon fiber felt electrode formed of polyacrylonitrile series or rayon series can be used.

As the bipolar plate 270, various known conductive plates may be used, and a conductive graphite plate and a graphite plate impregnated with phenol resin may be exemplified.

The current collector (not shown) is a passage through which electrons generated through the redox reaction of the positive electrode electrolyte and the negative electrode electrolyte move in the positive and negative electrodes 220 and 230, (Not shown) can be used without limitation as long as it is commonly used in the art. For example, copper or brass can be used.

The electrolyte solution supplied to the anode 220 of the cell 210 and the anode electrolyte and the cathode electrolyte supplied to the cathode 230 may be used without limitation as long as they are made of electrolytes composed of redox couples having different oxidized water, V ( ³⁺ / ²⁺ ) / V ( ⁴⁺ / ⁵⁺ ), Fe ( ²⁺ / ³⁺ ) / Cr ( ³⁺ / ²⁺ ) redox couple can be used as the electrolyte. Preferably, the redox couple uses a V ⁴⁺ / V ⁵⁺ couple for the positive electrode electrolyte and the V ²⁺ / V ³⁺ couple As shown in FIG.

The reoxidation flow cell 10 composed of the positive electrode electrolyte and the negative electrode electrolyte including the redox couple is oxidized at the anode 220 and reduced at the anode 230 during charging, It is determined by the difference in the standard electrode potential of the redox couple, which is the active material contained in the electrolyte solution.

The inlet lines 240 and 240 'are coupled to one side of the cell 210 to supply the positive and negative electrode electrolytes to one side of the cell 210, respectively.

The positive electrode electrolyte supplied to the positive electrode 220 of the outermost cell 210 of the stack 200 sequentially supplies the positive electrode electrolyte to the positive electrode 220 of the adjacent cell 210 through the flow pipe 260, The negative electrode electrolyte supplied to the negative electrode 230 of the outermost cell 210 of the stack 200 sequentially supplies the negative electrode electrolyte to the negative electrode 230 of the adjacent cell 210 through the flow pipe 260 ' And can serve to supply the positive electrode electrolyte and the negative electrode electrolyte to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, respectively, as a whole through the stacked cells 210.

At this time, the flow pipe 260 is connected to the plurality of cells 210 in a state of protruding outside the stack 200 as well as connecting the anode 220 or the cathode 230, and is made of a transparent material , The flow of the electrolyte flowing inside the cell 210 can be observed from the outside, so that the cell 210 in which the defect is generated can be confirmed quickly.

Accordingly, when a fault occurs in the redox flow cell 10, the cell 210 in which the defect is generated can be immediately confirmed without disassembling and confirming the entire redox flow cell 10, The stability and operating efficiency of the battery 10 can be improved.

To this end, the flow tubes 260 and 260 'may be formed of a material selected from the group consisting of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), polyurethane (PU), polymethylmethacrylate Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), acrylic (polyvinyl chloride), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinylidene chloride (ABS), polycarbonate / acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC / ABS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PEDOT), polycarbonate (PC), nylon, low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE), tetraorthosilicate (TEOS), polyaniline, polythiophene, ), Polyimide, polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), polypyrrole , Polyacetylene, poly p-phenylene, poly p-phenylene sulfide, poly p-phenylenevinylene, polythiophene-polythienylenevinylene, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyethylene naphthalate, polyvinyl alcohol PVA), or a mixture thereof.

The flow tubes 260 and 260 'may be connected to the anode 220 or the cathode 230 of the plurality of cells 210 in a curved state such as an ellipse or a circle so that the resistance when the electrolyte is supplied So that the electrolytic solution can be supplied in a smooth flow.

The redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention may be constructed such that the diameter of the inlet 241 formed in the inlet line 240 is larger than the diameter of the outlet 243 to make the anode electrolytic solution and the cathode electrolytic solution The effect of supplying each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode can be induced to induce rapid charging of the electrolyte by increasing the flow rate of the electrolyte (Fig. 2 (a)).

The outflow line 250 is formed in the outflow line 250 so that the diameter of the outflow port 251 is larger than the diameter of the inflow port 253 to increase the outflow speed of the electrolyte during the supply of the electrolyte, (Fig. 2 (b)).

1, the redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention is characterized in that the inlet lines 240 and 240 'and the outlet lines 250 and 250' are branched into a plurality of lines, Cell. ≪ / RTI >

As described above, the input lines 240 and 240 'and the outgoing lines 250 and 250' are connected to the cell 210 at a plurality of points in a branched form, The anode electrolyte and the cathode electrolyte supplied to the cathode 230 are distributed along the branched line and the electrolyte can be uniformly supplied even at a high rate of the electrolyte supply condition and the flow of the electrolyte is not concentrated in a certain section So that the electrode area can be utilized to the full extent and the efficiency of the redox flow cell 10 can be improved.

In the redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention, the positive electrode electrolyte tank 300 and the negative electrode electrolyte tank 400 may be positioned higher than the stack 200.

As described above, since the two electrolyte tanks are located higher than the stack 200, it is possible to prevent the reverse flow of the unpleasant electrolytic solution and to reduce the operating efficiency of the redox flow battery 10.

The stack 200 may be configured to include a plurality of cells 210 of the same type. As shown in FIG. 1, the cells 210 may be sequentially vertically arranged with respect to the bipolar plate 270 And the cells 210 may be formed by sequentially and horizontally arranging the cells 210 on the basis of the bipolar plate 270.

In addition, the stack 200 may be configured such that the cells 210 of the same shape are formed by being stacked or arranged at equal intervals and widths to divide the cells 210, It is possible to quickly replace the defective cell 210 in the middle cell 210 when a defect occurs.

As described above, the redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention is provided with the elliptical flow pipes 260 and 260 'made of transparent material on the sides of the stack 200, and the flow of the electrolyte flowing in the inside can be observed from the outside So that it is possible to immediately respond to defects in the redox flow battery 10, thereby improving the stability and operating efficiency of the redox flow battery 10.

In the redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention, since the diameter of the water intake lines 240 and 240 'is larger than the diameter of the water outflow lines 250 and 250', rapid charging of the electrolyte by increasing the water- .

The redox flow cell 10 according to the present invention is characterized in that the diameter of the inlet 241 of the inlet lines 240 and 240 'is greater than the diameter of the outlet 243 and the outlet 251 of the outlet lines 250 and 250' ) Diameter is larger than the diameter of the inlet 253, it is possible to induce rapid charging / discharging of the electrolyte by improving the flow rate of the electrolyte.

10: redox flow battery 200: stack
210: cell 211: ion exchange membrane
220: anode 230: cathode
240: incoming line 250: outgoing line
260: flow tube 270: bipolar plate
300: positive electrode electrolyte tank 400: negative electrode tank

Claims (7)

A stack in which a cell including an anode, an ion exchange membrane, and a cathode and a bipolar plate are repeatedly stacked;
A positive electrode electrolyte tank in which a positive electrode electrolyte supplied to the positive electrode of the stack is stored;
A negative electrode electrolyte tank storing a negative electrode electrolyte supplied to a negative electrode of the stack;
An inlet line connected to a cell located on an outermost surface of the stack to supply the anode electrolyte and the cathode electrolyte stored in the anode electrolyte tank and the cathode electrolyte tank to the anode and the cathode of the cell located on the outermost surface;
The anode electrolyte solution and the cathode electrolyte solution, which are piped to the cell located on the outermost surface of the stack and flowed through the transparent flow pipe to the anode and the cathode of the cell located on the outermost surface, respectively, are supplied to the anode electrolyte tank and the cathode electrolyte tank An outflow line; And
The anode and the cathode included in the plurality of cells of the stack protruding out of the stack are connected to each other by the same poles so that the anode electrolyte and the cathode electrolyte are sequentially flowed to the adjacent anode and cathode, And a transparent flow tube for passing the positive and negative electrode electrolytic solutions supplied respectively to the cells located on the outermost surface of the stack to cells located on the other outermost surface of the stack,
Wherein the input line and the outgoing line are respectively branched into a plurality of lines and are coupled to the anode and the cathode of the cell located at the outermost side of the stack at a plurality of points,
Wherein the inlet line has a diameter larger than the diameter of the outlet, and the outlet line has a diameter larger than a diameter of the inlet so that the flow rate of the electrolyte can be increased. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The transparent flow pipe may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), polyurethane (PU), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), poly 4-vinylphenol (P4VP) Butadiene block (SBS), polyimide (PI), polyurethane (PU), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Polycarbonate / acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC / ABS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) (PC), nylon, LDPE, HDPE, XLPE, tetraorthosilicate (TEOS), polyaniline, polythiophene, polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT), polyimide, polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), polypyrrole, polyacetyl , Polyphenylene sulfide, poly p-phenylene vinylene, polythiophene-polythienylenevinylene, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyethylene naphthalate, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) Wherein the redox flow cell is made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of redox flow cells. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the transparent flow tube is elliptical. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the positive electrode electrolyte tank and the negative electrode electrolyte tank are placed at a higher position than the position where the stack is placed.

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