Balancing Water Dissociation and Current Densities to Enable Sustainable Hydrogen Production with Bipolar Membranes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Xu Wang; Ruggero Rossi; Zhifei Yan; Wulin Yang; Michael A. Hickner; Thomas E. Mallouk; Bruce E. Logan

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b05024

Balancing Water Dissociation and Current Densities to Enable Sustainable Hydrogen Production with Bipolar Membranes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Xu Wang, Ruggero Rossi, Zhifei Yan, Wulin Yang, Michael A. Hickner, Thomas E. Mallouk, Bruce E. Logan

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hydrogen production using two-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is usually adversely impacted by a rapid rise in catholyte pH because of proton consumption for the hydrogen evolution reaction. While using a bipolar membrane (BPM) will maintain a more constant electrolyte pH, the large voltage loss across this membrane reduces performance. To overcome these limitations, we used an acidic catholyte to compensate for the potential loss incurred by using a BPM. A hydrogen production rate of 1.2 ± 0.7 L-H₂/L/d (j_max = 10 ± 0.4 A/m²) was obtained using a Pt cathode and BPM with a pH difference (ΔpH = 6.1) between the two chambers. This production rate was 2.8 times greater than that of a conventional MEC with an anion exchange membrane (AEM, 0.43 ± 0.1 L-H₂/L/d, j_max = 6.5 ± 0.3 A/m²). The catholyte pH gradually increased to 11 ± 0.3 over 9 days using the BPM and Pt/C, which decreased current production (j_max = 2.5 ± 0.3 A/m²). However, this performance was much better than that obtained using an AEM as the catholyte pH increased to 10 ± 0.4 after just one day. The use of an activated carbon cathode with the BPM enabled stable performance over a longer period of 12 days, although it reduced the hydrogen production rate (0.45 ± 0.1 L-H₂/L/d).

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	14761-14768
Number of pages	8
Journal	Environmental Science and Technology
Volume	53
Issue number	24
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b05024
State	Published - Dec 17 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Chemistry(all)
Environmental Chemistry

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10.1021/acs.est.9b05024

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@article{cb710a00b55e45879215b3bf7d22819c,

title = "Balancing Water Dissociation and Current Densities to Enable Sustainable Hydrogen Production with Bipolar Membranes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells",

abstract = "Hydrogen production using two-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is usually adversely impacted by a rapid rise in catholyte pH because of proton consumption for the hydrogen evolution reaction. While using a bipolar membrane (BPM) will maintain a more constant electrolyte pH, the large voltage loss across this membrane reduces performance. To overcome these limitations, we used an acidic catholyte to compensate for the potential loss incurred by using a BPM. A hydrogen production rate of 1.2 ± 0.7 L-H2/L/d (jmax = 10 ± 0.4 A/m2) was obtained using a Pt cathode and BPM with a pH difference (ΔpH = 6.1) between the two chambers. This production rate was 2.8 times greater than that of a conventional MEC with an anion exchange membrane (AEM, 0.43 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d, jmax = 6.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). The catholyte pH gradually increased to 11 ± 0.3 over 9 days using the BPM and Pt/C, which decreased current production (jmax = 2.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). However, this performance was much better than that obtained using an AEM as the catholyte pH increased to 10 ± 0.4 after just one day. The use of an activated carbon cathode with the BPM enabled stable performance over a longer period of 12 days, although it reduced the hydrogen production rate (0.45 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d).",

author = "Xu Wang and Ruggero Rossi and Zhifei Yan and Wulin Yang and Hickner, {Michael A.} and Mallouk, {Thomas E.} and Logan, {Bruce E.}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council (no. 201706275155), Penn State University, the National Major Project of Water Pollution Control and Treatment (no. 2017ZX07204004-01) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2042018kf0244). Work on the synthesis and characterization of BPMs by Z.Y. and T.E.M. was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Energy Biosciences Department of Energy, under contract DE-FG02-07ER15911. Funding Information: This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council (no. 201706275155), Penn State University, the National Major Project of Water Pollution Control and Treatment (no. 2017ZX07204004-01), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2042018kf0244). Work on the synthesis and characterization of BPMs by Z.Y. and T.E.M. was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Energy Biosciences, Department of Energy, under contract DE-FG02-07ER15911. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2019 American Chemical Society.",

year = "2019",

month = dec,

day = "17",

doi = "10.1021/acs.est.9b05024",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "53",

pages = "14761--14768",

journal = "Environmental Science & Technology",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Balancing Water Dissociation and Current Densities to Enable Sustainable Hydrogen Production with Bipolar Membranes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

AU - Wang, Xu

AU - Rossi, Ruggero

AU - Yan, Zhifei

AU - Yang, Wulin

AU - Hickner, Michael A.

AU - Mallouk, Thomas E.

AU - Logan, Bruce E.

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council (no. 201706275155), Penn State University, the National Major Project of Water Pollution Control and Treatment (no. 2017ZX07204004-01) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2042018kf0244). Work on the synthesis and characterization of BPMs by Z.Y. and T.E.M. was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Energy Biosciences Department of Energy, under contract DE-FG02-07ER15911. Funding Information: This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council (no. 201706275155), Penn State University, the National Major Project of Water Pollution Control and Treatment (no. 2017ZX07204004-01), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2042018kf0244). Work on the synthesis and characterization of BPMs by Z.Y. and T.E.M. was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Energy Biosciences, Department of Energy, under contract DE-FG02-07ER15911. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2019/12/17

Y1 - 2019/12/17

N2 - Hydrogen production using two-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is usually adversely impacted by a rapid rise in catholyte pH because of proton consumption for the hydrogen evolution reaction. While using a bipolar membrane (BPM) will maintain a more constant electrolyte pH, the large voltage loss across this membrane reduces performance. To overcome these limitations, we used an acidic catholyte to compensate for the potential loss incurred by using a BPM. A hydrogen production rate of 1.2 ± 0.7 L-H2/L/d (jmax = 10 ± 0.4 A/m2) was obtained using a Pt cathode and BPM with a pH difference (ΔpH = 6.1) between the two chambers. This production rate was 2.8 times greater than that of a conventional MEC with an anion exchange membrane (AEM, 0.43 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d, jmax = 6.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). The catholyte pH gradually increased to 11 ± 0.3 over 9 days using the BPM and Pt/C, which decreased current production (jmax = 2.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). However, this performance was much better than that obtained using an AEM as the catholyte pH increased to 10 ± 0.4 after just one day. The use of an activated carbon cathode with the BPM enabled stable performance over a longer period of 12 days, although it reduced the hydrogen production rate (0.45 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d).

AB - Hydrogen production using two-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is usually adversely impacted by a rapid rise in catholyte pH because of proton consumption for the hydrogen evolution reaction. While using a bipolar membrane (BPM) will maintain a more constant electrolyte pH, the large voltage loss across this membrane reduces performance. To overcome these limitations, we used an acidic catholyte to compensate for the potential loss incurred by using a BPM. A hydrogen production rate of 1.2 ± 0.7 L-H2/L/d (jmax = 10 ± 0.4 A/m2) was obtained using a Pt cathode and BPM with a pH difference (ΔpH = 6.1) between the two chambers. This production rate was 2.8 times greater than that of a conventional MEC with an anion exchange membrane (AEM, 0.43 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d, jmax = 6.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). The catholyte pH gradually increased to 11 ± 0.3 over 9 days using the BPM and Pt/C, which decreased current production (jmax = 2.5 ± 0.3 A/m2). However, this performance was much better than that obtained using an AEM as the catholyte pH increased to 10 ± 0.4 after just one day. The use of an activated carbon cathode with the BPM enabled stable performance over a longer period of 12 days, although it reduced the hydrogen production rate (0.45 ± 0.1 L-H2/L/d).

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ER -

Balancing Water Dissociation and Current Densities to Enable Sustainable Hydrogen Production with Bipolar Membranes in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

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