Performance Evaluation of a Scaled-Up Membraneless Organic-Based Hybrid Flow Battery
Feilin Yu,
Wenbo Zhao,
Puiki Leung,
Mohd Rusllim Mohamed,
Lei Wei,
Akeel Shah,
Qiang Liao
Affiliations
Feilin Yu
Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, MOE, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Wenbo Zhao
Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, MOE, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Puiki Leung
Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, MOE, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Mohd Rusllim Mohamed
Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan 26600, Malaysia
Lei Wei
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, SUSTech Energy Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Akeel Shah
Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, MOE, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Qiang Liao
Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, MOE, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
This article presents an evaluation of the performance of a membrane-less organic-based flow battery using low-cost active materials, zinc and benzoquinone, which was scaled up to 1600 cm2, resulting in one of the largest of its type reported in the literature. The charge–discharge cycling of the battery was compared at different sizes and current densities, and its performance was evaluated under various mass transport and operating conditions. The results showed that the round-trip coulombic and voltage efficiencies were over 90% and 85%, respectively, for the laboratory-scale (1 cm2 electrode) cell, but these performances tended to deteriorate with the scaled-up (1600 cm2 electrode) cell due to inadequate mass transfer and sediment coverage of quinone, as well as the formation of a passivation film on the zinc anode. Despite this, the scaled-up batteries exhibited high coulombic and voltage efficiencies of up to 99% and 68.5%, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. The capital cost of this system is also estimated to be several times lower than those of commercially available all-vanadium flow batteries and zinc bromide flow batteries for demand charge management applications.
