Design and modeling of electrolyte pumping power reduction in redox flow cells

Because of flexible design, long life, and low‐cost maintenance, redox flow cell has been recognized as one of the reliable energy storage techniques in remote power systems. In redox flow cells, electrolyte circulation through carbon felt is necessary in order to produce effective ion exchange during the charge and discharge operations. Pumping power required for electrolyte circulation could be significant, especially for multi‐stack cell, due to low permeability of the porous carbon felt. Moreover, effective method for transporting bubbles formed inside the electrode is necessary for increasing the effective area of reaction of the electrodes. To further improve the overall performance of the redox flow cells, we proposed several novel designs of electrolyte inlet/outlet port and flow passage in carbon felt intending to reduce the electrolyte pumping power and to increase the effective area. Based on our numerical modeling, it is found that pumping power can be reduced by appropriate inlet/outlet port design and carbon felt with flow channel. The non‐uniform flow pattern may cause the bubbles to be carried away from the electrodes effectively. The proposed designs can be applied not only for the single‐stack cell but also applicable for the multiple‐ stacked cells.