• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.183-196
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• 2017

The research efforts directed at advancing water electrolysis technology continue to intensify together with the increasing interest in hydrogen as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels. Among the various water electrolysis systems reported to date, systems employing a solid polymer electrolyte membrane are known to display both improved safety and efficiency as a result of enhanced separation of products: hydrogen and oxygen. Conducting water electrolysis in an alkaline medium lowers the system cost by allowing non-platinum group metals to be used as catalysts for the complex multi-electron transfer reactions involved in water electrolysis, namely the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER, respectively). We briefly review the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and electrocatalysts developed and applied thus far in alkaline AEM water electrolysis (AEMWE) devices. Testing the developed components in AEMWE cells is a key step in maximizing the device performance since cell performance depends strongly on the structure of the electrodes containing the HER and OER catalysts and the polymer membrane under specific cell operating conditions. In this review, we discuss the properties of reported AEMs that have been used to fabricate membrane-electrode assemblies for AEMWE cells, including membranes based on polysulfone, poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phylene) oxide, polybenzimidazole, and inorganic composite materials. The activities and stabilities of tertiary metal oxides, metal carbon composites, and ultra-low Pt-loading electrodes toward OER and HER in AEMWE cells are also described.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.470-476
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• 2021

In the near future, with the urgent requirement of environmental protection, hydrogen based energy system is essential. However, at the present time, most of the hydrogen is produced by reforming, which still produces carbon dioxide. This study proposes a high-power electrolytic hydrogen production system based on solid oxide electrolysis cell with no harmful emissions to the environment. Besides that, the parametric study and optimization are also carried to examine the effect of individual parameter and their combination on system efficiency. The result shows that the increase in steam conversion rate and hydrogen molar fraction in incoming stream reduces system efficiency because of the fuel heater power increase. Besides, the higher Faraday efficiency does not always result a higher system efficiency.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.162-167
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• 2024

Fossil fuels have been main energy source to people. However, enormous amount of CO₂ was emitted over the world , resulting in global climate crisis today. Recently, solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) is getting attention as an effective way for producing H₂, a clean energy resource for the future. Also, SOEC could be applicable to reverse water-gas shift reaction process due to its high-temperature operating condition. Here, SOEC system was utilized for both H₂ production and CO₂ reduction process, allowing product gas composition change by controlling operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.489-493
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• 2016

Scandia ($Sc2O_3$)-stabilized zirconia (ScSZ) electrolyte-supported symmetrical solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs), in which lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (LSCF)-gadolinia ($Gd_2O_3$)-doped ceria (GDC) composite materials are used as both the cathode and anode, were fabricated and their high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) performance was investigated. Current density-voltage curves were obtained for cells operated in 10% $H_2O$/90% Ar at 750, 800, and $850^{\circ}C$. It was possible to determine the ohmic, cathodic, and anodic contributions to the total overpotential using the three-electrode technique. The HTSE performance was significantly improved in the symmetrical cell with LSCF-GDC electrodes compared to the cell consisting of an Ni-YSZ cathode and LSCF-GDC anode. It was found that the overpotential due to the LSCF-GDC cathode largely decreased and, at a given current density, the total cell voltage decreased, which resulted in the enhanced hydrogen production rate in the symmetrical cell.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2006

High temperature electrolysis is a promising technology to produce massively hydrogen using renewable and nuclear energy. Solid oxide fuel cell materials are candidates as the components of steam electrolysers. However, the polarization characteristics of the typical electrode materials during the electrolysis have not been intensively investigated. In this study, NiO electrode was deposited on YSZ electrolyte by spin coat process and firing at $1300^{\circ}C$. Pt electrode was applied on the other side of the electrolyte to compare the polarization characteristics with those by NiO during electrolysis. The $H_2$ evolution rate was also monitored by measuring the electromotive force of Lambda probe and calculated by thermodynamic consideration. At low current density, Pt showed lower cathodic polarization and thus higher current efficiency than Ni, but the oxidation of Ni into NiO caused the increase of anodic resistance with increasing current density. High overpotential induced high power consumption to produce hydrogen by electrolysis.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2020

There is a growing interest in hydrogen energy utilization since an alternative energy development has been demanded due to the depletion of fossil fuels. Hydrogen is produced by the reforming reaction of natural gas and biogas, and the electrolysis of water. An solid oxide electrolyte cell (SOEC) is reversible system that generates hydrogen by electrolyzing the superheated steam or producing the electricity from a fuel cell by hydrogen. If the water can be converted into steam by waste heat from other processes it is more efficient for high-temperature electrolysis to convert steam directly. The reasons are based upon the more favorable thermodynamic and electrochemical kinetic conditions for the reaction. In the present study, steam at over 180℃ and 3.4 bars generated from a boiler were converted into superheated steam at over 700℃ and 3 bars using a cylindrical steam superheater as well as the waste heat of the exhaust gas at 900℃ from a solid refuse fuel combustor. Superheated steam at over 700℃ was then supplied to a high-temperature SOEC to increase the hydrogen production efficiency of water electrolysis. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted on the effects of the number of 90° elbow connector for piping, insulation types and insulation layers of pipe on the exit temperature using a commercial Fluent simulator. For two pre-heater injection method of steam inlet and ceramic wool insulation of 100 mm thickness, the highest inlet temperature of SOEC was 744℃ at 5.9 bar.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.596-604
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• 2020

Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) attracts much attention because of its high energy efficiency among many water-electrolysis technologies. SOEC operates at temperatures above 700℃, so that the water required for water-electrolysis must be supplied in the form of steam. When the steam to be supplied to the SOEC is generated by the SOEC system itself, an enormous amount of latent heat is required to vaporize the water, so additional energy must be supplied to the SOEC system. On the other hand, if the steam can be supplied from the outside, a small amount of energy is required to raise the temperature of the low temperature steam, so that the SOEC system can be operated without additional energy supply from outside, which enables efficient water-electrolysis. In this study, we figure out the size of heat exchanger for various steam temperature and effectiveness of heat exchanger, and propose the energy efficiency of the system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.1037-1051
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• 2024

This paper presents the construction results and design of the UNIST Reactor Innovation platform for small modular reactors as a versatile testbed for exploring innovative technologies. The platform uses simulant fluids to simulate the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a reference small modular reactor design, allowing for cost-effective design modifications. Scaling analysis results for single and two-phase natural circulation flows are outlined based on the three-level scaling methodology. The platform's capability to simulate natural circulation behavior was validated through performance calculations using the 1-D system thermal-hydraulic code-based calculation. The strategies for evaluating cutting-edge technologies, such as the integration of a solid oxide electrolysis cell for hydrogen production into a small modular reactor, are presented. To overcome experimental limitations, the hardware-in-the-loop technique is proposed as an alternative, enabling real-time simulation of physical phenomena that cannot be implemented within the experimental facility's hardware. Overall, the proposed versatile innovation platform is expected to provide valuable insights for advancing research in the field of small modular reactors and nuclear-based hydrogen production.