• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.722-727
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• 2023

There are various types of hydrogen production methods, but among them, the alkaline water electrolysis method produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water, and unlike other methods, it can produce green hydrogen that does not emit pollutants and greenhouse gases. There are many different potential risk factors inherent in the water electrolysis process. So it is necessary to predict an emergency situation in advance and to safely manage and take countermeasures according to the emergency situation. Korea Gas Safety Corporation (KGS) CODE AH271 stipulates legal matters to secure safety, but it is not detalied. Thus it is necessary to take measures to safely control and manage it according to the situation in which an emergency stop is required. In this study, based on KGS CODE and HAZOP for alkaline water electrolysis facilities, factors that can cause emergency situations were derived and countermeasures were prepared.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.575-580
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• 2023

An electrode was prepared by dip-coating NiFe₂O₄ powder on stainless steel (SUS) support for the application in the alkaline water electrolysis. The prepared electrode was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), and was evaluated for the voltage properties with the change of current density in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrgen evolution reaction (HER) using 1, 3 and 7 M KOH solution. From the SEM and EDXS analysis, it was confirmed that the prepared electrode had NiFe₂O₄ on the SUS support. In OER and HER, the voltage in the 7 M KOH solution had a value of 1.35 and -1.90 V at 0.2 and -0.2 A/cm² of the current density, respectively. It was considered that the prepared electrode could be use as an electrode in the alkaline water electrolysis from the experimental results.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2022

As interest in sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources is increasing due to various problems in the carbon society, a hydrogen economy using hydrogen as a main energy source is emerging. While the natural gas reforming method generates carbon dioxide, the water electrolysis method based on renewable energy is eco-friendly. The water electrolysis device currently being developed uses a 2 Nm³/hr class alkaline aqueous solution as an electrolyte and produces hydrogen based on renewable energy. In this study, risk assessment was conducted for these water electrolysis devices

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.17-23
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• 2024

As interest in sustainable and eco-friendly energy increases due to various problems in the carbon economy, a hydrogen economy that utilizes hydrogen as a main energy source is emerging. Among the methods of producing hydrogen, the water electrolysis method based on renewable energy produces environmentally friendly green hydrogen because it produces hydrogen from water. The water electrolysis facility currently under development produces hydrogen by receiving electricity directly from renewable energy and uses KOH(potassium hydroxide) as an electrolyte. In this study, HAZOP(Hazard and Operability Study), a qualitative risk assessment, was conducted on alkaline water electrolysis facilities to find problems and risk factors in the design and operation of water electrolysis facilities. Risks related to oxygen and KOH, an electrolyte, were identified as major risks, and it is believed that the safety of facilities and workers can be secured based on emergency action plans and safe operation procedures.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2016

The hydrogen has been recognized as a clean, nonpolluting and unlimited energy source that can solve fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution problems at the same time. Water electrolysis has been the most attractive technology in a way to produce hydrogen because it does not emit any pollutants compared to other method such as natural gas steam reforming and coal gasification etc. In order to improve efficiency and durability of the water electrolysis, comprehensive studies for highly active and stable electrocatalysts have been performed. The platinum group metal (PGM; Pt, Ru, Pd, Rh, etc.) electrocatalysts indicated a higher activity and stability compared with other transition metals in harsh condition such as acid solution. It is necessary to develop inexpensive non-noble metal catalysts such as transition metal oxides because the PGM catalysts is expensive materials with insufficient it's reserves. The optimization of operating parameter and the components is also important factor to develop an efficient water electrolysis cell. In this study, we optimized the operating parameter and components such as the type of AEM and density of gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the temperature/concentration of the electrolyte solution for the anion exchange membrane water electrolysis cell (AEMWEC) with the transition metal oxide alloy anode and cathode electrocatalysts. The maximum current density was $345.8mA/cm^2$ with parameter and component optimization.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2022

The anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis for high purity hydrogen production is attracting attention as a next-generation green hydrogen production technology by using inexpensive non-noble metal-based catalysts instead of conventional precious metal catalysts used in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis systems. However, since AEM water electrolysis technology is in the early stages of development, it is necessary to develop research on AEM, ionomers, electrode supports and catalysts, which are key elements of AEM water electrolysis. Among them, current research in the field of catalysts is being studied to apply a previously developed half-cell catalyst for alkali to the AEM system, and the applied catalyst has disadvantages of low activity and durability. Therefore, this review presented a catalyst synthesis technique that promoted oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using a non-noble metal-based catalyst in an alkaline medium.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2023

Although a lot of research and development has been conducted on the performance improvement of PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) water electrolysis, the research on durability is still in early stage. This study investigated effect of temperature on the water electrolysis durability when driving temperature of the PEM water electrolysis was increased to improve performance. Voltage change, I-V, CV (Cyclic Voltammetry), LSV (Linear Sweep Voltammetry), Impedance, and FER (Fluoride Emission Rate) were measured while driving under a constant current condition in a temperature range of 50~80 ℃. As the operating temperature increased, the degradation rate increased. At 50~65 ℃, the degradation of the IrO₂ electrocatalyst mainly affected the durability of the PEM water electrolysis cell. At 80 ℃, the polymer membrane and electrode degradation proceeded similarly, and the short resistance decreased to 1.0 kΩ·cm² or less, and the performance decreased to about 1/3 of the initial stage after 144 hours of operation due to the shorting phenomenon.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.202-207
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• 2023

In the case of driving water electrolysis by receiving surplus electricity from solar and wind power generation, operation and stopping must be repeated according to weather fluctuations. When the PEMWE(Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis) is driven and stopped, the PEM fuel cell is in the same state as the PEM fuel cell due to the residual hydrogen and oxygen, and the high potential of the water electrolysis formed during operation is highly likely to cause degradation of the electrode and membrane even during stopping. In this study, in order to check how much degradation of the electrode and membrane progresses during the repeated driving/shutdown process of PEM water electrolysis, the performance decrease was measured by changing the number of driving/shutdown for 144 hours. Changes in electrode catalyst active area, hydrogen permeability and fluorine emision rate of membranes were analyzed to measure changes in the properties of electrodes and polymer membranes. Overall, the PEMWE performance decreased as the number of stops increased. When stopped 5 times in 144 hours, the IrO_x catalyst activity decreased by more than 30%, and the hydrogen permeability increased by 80%, confirming that both the electrode and the membrane were deteriorated.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.56-63
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• 2023

The development of renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wave, and wind power, has led to the diversification of water electrolysis technologies, which can be easily coupled with renewable energy sources in terms of economics and scale. Water electrolysis technologies can be classified into three types based on operating temperature: low-temperature (<100 ℃), medium-temperature (300-700 ℃), and high-temperature (>700 ℃). It can also be classified by the type of electrolyte membrane used in the system. However, the concepts of thermodynamic and thermo-neutral voltages calculations and are very important factors in the evaluation of energy consumption and efficiency of water electrolysis technologies, are often confused. This review aims to contribute to a better understanding of the calculation of operating voltage and efficiency of PEM water electrolysis technologies and to clarify the differences between thermodynamic voltage and thermo-neutral voltage.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.381-386
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• 2019

Zn-air battery uses oxygen from the air, and hence, air holes in it are kept open for cell operation. Therefore, loss of water by evaporation through the holes is inevitable. When the water is depleted, the battery ceases to operate. There are two water consumption routes in Zn-air batteries, namely, active path (electrolysis) and passive path (evaporation and corrosion). Water loss by the active path (electrolysis) is much faster than that by the passive path during the early stage of the cycles. The mass change by the active path slows after 10 h. In contrast, the passive path is largely constant, becoming the main mass loss path after 10 h. The active path contributes to two-thirds of the electrolyte consumption in 24 h of cell operation in 4.0 M KOH. Although water is an important component for the cell, water vapor does not influence the cell operation unless the water is nearly depleted. However, high oxygen concentration favors the discharge reaction at the cathode.