Although alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is the most widespread technology for hydrogen production by electrolysis, its electrochemical and fluid dynamic optimization has rarely been addressed simultaneously using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. In this regard, a two-dimensional (2D) CFD model of an AWE cell has been developed using COMSOL^® software and then experimentally validated. The model involves transport equations for both liquid and gas phases as well as equations for the electric current conservation. This multiphysics approach allows the model to simultaneously analyze the fluid dynamic and electrochemical phenomena involved in an electrolysis cell. The electrical response was evaluated in terms of polarization curve (voltage vs. current density) at different operating conditions: temperature, electrolyte conductivity, and electrode-diaphragm distance. For all cases, the model fits very well with the experimental data with an error of less than 1% for the polarization curves. Moreover, the model successfully simulates the changes on gas profiles along the cell, according to current density, electrolyte flow rate, and electrode-diaphragm distance. The combination of electrochemical and fluid dynamics studies provides comprehensive information and makes the model a promising tool for electrolysis cell design.

A simple and low-cost alternating current (AC)-based method, without electrolyte correction, is proposed (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)-Zero Gap Cell) for the determination of ohmic contribution of diaphragms. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology was evaluated by using a commercial Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) diaphragm (Zirfon^®). Furthermore, the results were compared with two conventional electrochemical methodologies for calculating the separator resistance, based on direct current (DC), and AC measurements, respectively. Compared with the previous techniques, the proposed approach reported more accurate and precise values of resistance for new and aged samples. Compared with the manufacturer reference, the obtained error values for new samples were 0.33%, 5.64%, and 41.7%, respectively for EIS-Zero gap cell, AC and DC methods, confirming the validity and convenience of the proposed technique.

Alkaline water electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources is one of the most promising strategies for environmentally friendly hydrogen production. However, wind and solar energy sources are highly dependent on weather conditions. As a result, power fluctuations affect the electrolyzer and cause several negative effects. Considering these limiting effects which reduce the water electrolysis efficiency, a novel operation strategy is proposed in this study. It is based on pumping the electrolyte according to the current density supplied by a solar PV module, in order to achieve the suitable fluid dynamics conditions in an electrolysis cell. To this aim, a mathematical model including the influence of electrode-membrane distance, temperature and electrolyte flow rate has been developed and used as optimization tool. The obtained results confirm the convenience of the selected strategy, especially when the electrolyzer is powered by renewable energies.