The world is soon to enter a paradigm or inexpensive electrons and there is a need to store them in concentrated forms. To this end, redox flow batteries are increasingly being examined for use as an efficient storage technology that is deployable at scale. In this talk, we explore the issues related to the separators in these devices, where the transport phenomena is often complex dealing with concentrated electrolyte solutions as well ion-conducting membranes. We will explore the issues of transport through separators used in aqueous flow batteries including both theoretical descriptions and experimental observations. Multiscale modeling of transport will elucidate controlling phenomena on ion selectivity through the separators. Experimental data will provide understanding on the roles of size exclusion and electromotive forces in a typical perfluorosulfonic-acid RFB separator. Finally, time permitting, new results on the electrochemical partial oxidation of hydrocarbons will be detailed, which provides a new way in which inexpensive electrons can be harnessed in the future.

Transport phenomena in redox-flow-battery separators

256th National Meeting (2018)

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