IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i11p2771-d1664981.html

Impact of Multiple Inlet and Outlet Structures of Bipolar Plate Channel on the Mass Transport in ALK Electrolyzers

Author

Listed:
  • Wanxiang Zhao

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Chengjie Xu

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Mingya Chen

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Shuiyong Wang

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Lin Yang

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Yimin Zhang

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Mengqi Luo

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    National Nuclear Power Plant Safety and Reliability Engineering Technology Research Center, Suzhou 215004, China)

  • Zishuo Li

    (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215004, China
    School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Zhiyuan Wang

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

Abstract

The flow channel structure in alkaline electrolyzers critically impacts electrolyte distribution uniformity, influencing stagnant zones, gas bubble accumulation, and electrode reactions. Conventional concave–convex bipolar plates cause uneven flow and reduced current density. Therefore, a scaled-down-sized multiple inlet setup coupled with the bipolar plate channel of three typical concave–convex structures was designed to improve the uniformity of electrolyte. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics was employed to analyze the flow characteristics in the channels. The results indicated that in the single inlet/outlet model, the velocity near the center axis along the mainstream direction was higher than at the edge of the channels, resulting in a non-uniform flow distribution. The vorticity intensity gradually decreased along the flow direction, while the multiple inlet/outlet structure strengthened the intensity. The multiple inlet model allowed for the electrolyte flow across more areas along the channel and enhanced the velocity uniformity. According to the velocity uniformity evaluation criteria, the flow uniformity index of the three-inlet square concave–convex structure was the highest, reaching 0.80 at the middle cross-section normal to the incoming flow and 0.88 parallel to the flow. This study may help provide a useful guide for the design and optimization of efficient electrolyzer in alkaline water electrolysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Wanxiang Zhao & Chengjie Xu & Mingya Chen & Shuiyong Wang & Lin Yang & Yimin Zhang & Mengqi Luo & Zishuo Li & Zhiyuan Wang, 2025. "Impact of Multiple Inlet and Outlet Structures of Bipolar Plate Channel on the Mass Transport in ALK Electrolyzers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:11:p:2771-:d:1664981
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2771/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2771/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huang, Danji & Xiong, Binyu & Fang, Jiakun & Hu, Kewei & Zhong, Zhiyao & Ying, Yuheng & Ai, Xiaomeng & Chen, Zhe, 2022. "A multiphysics model of the compactly-assembled industrial alkaline water electrolysis cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sakas, Georgios & Ibáñez-Rioja, Alejandro & Pöyhönen, Santeri & Järvinen, Lauri & Kosonen, Antti & Ruuskanen, Vesa & Kauranen, Pertti & Ahola, Jero, 2024. "Sensitivity analysis of the process conditions affecting the shunt currents and the SEC in an industrial-scale alkaline water electrolyzer plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    2. Qiu, Xiaoyan & Zhang, Hang & Qiu, Yiwei & Zhou, Yi & Zang, Tianlei & Zhou, Buxiang & Qi, Ruomei & Lin, Jin & Wang, Jiepeng, 2023. "Dynamic parameter estimation of the alkaline electrolysis system combining Bayesian inference and adaptive polynomial surrogate models," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    3. Al Dhahri, Haitham & Hussain, Murid & Ghani, M.A.A. & Inayat, Abrar & Al-Muhtaseb, Ala'a H. & Al-Haj, Lamya & Jamil, Farrukh, 2026. "Green hydrogen production via electrolysis: Materials innovation, system integration, and global deployment pathways," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    4. Musa, Nur Nadhirah Syafiqa Binti Mohammad & Tijani, Alhassan Salami, 2025. "Effect of exchange current density and charge transfer coefficient on performance characteristics of voltage of alkaline electrolysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 394(C).
    5. Kawrani, Sara & Abi Almona, Ossama & Ibrahim, Mira & Ibrahim, Moustafa & Obeid, Emil, 2026. "A comprehensive review of green hydrogen production via electrolysis and thermolysis, and the prediction of potential natural hydrogen (aka gold hydrogen) presence using machine learning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    6. Feng, Zuhao & Zheng, Longyun & Wang, Guangchao & Guo, Kai & Liu, Chunjiang, 2025. "Investigation of the electrochemical performance in alkaline water electrolysis cells based on a 3D multiphysics model: Effect of flow field and electric field," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:11:p:2771-:d:1664981. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.