Storage module of distributed flow battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11081717-B2
Application number	US-201916591740-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2019
Priority date	Oct 3, 2019
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

A storage module of distributed flow battery is provided. An electrochemical reaction is processed with the positive and negative electrolytes to produce and/or discharge direct current and further output the positive and negative electrolytes after the reaction. The module comprises two end plates; two frames disposed between the two end plates; two current collectors disposed between the two frames; two complex cast polar plates disposed between the two current collectors; two electrodes disposed between the two complex cast polar plates; a membrane disposed between the two electrodes; and three gaskets. Therein, two of the gaskets are set to sandwich and enclose one of the two complex cast polar plates; and the other one of the gaskets is set between the other one of the two complex cast polar plates and an adjacent one of the current collectors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A storage module of a distributed flow battery, wherein an electrochemical reaction is processed with positive and negative electrolytes to generate and discharge direct current and further output said positive and negative electrolytes after said reaction and wherein said storage module comprises:
two end plates, wherein one of said end plates has an input connector connecting with a negative electrolyte source and an output connector connecting back to said negative electrolyte source and the other one of said end plates has an input connector connecting with a positive electrolyte source and an output connector connecting back to said positive electrolyte source;
two insulating frames of plastic material arranged between said end plates;
two current collectors, arranged between said frames and wherein an end of each one of said current collectors has a graphite paper;
two complex cast polar plates arranged between said current collectors and each comprising a graphite plate and a border plate integrally-molded on said respective graphite plate as a unipolar plate, wherein a surface of each said graphite plate has a plurality of electrolyte flow conduits and wherein, through said graphite paper, each said current collector contacts the other surface of said respective graphite plate at an opposite side having said electrolyte flow conduits so as to combine said current collector, said graphite plate, and said graphite paper; and wherein said border plate has a plurality of conduit branches and a plurality of manifold holes and said conduit branches of said border plate guide said positive and negative electrolytes to flow in and out said graphite plate;
a positive electrode and a negative electrode, each electrode made of plasma-modified carbon felt and arranged between the complex cast polar plates;
a membrane arranged between said electrodes and made of a membrane material of polysulfone (PSF) modified through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); and
three gaskets, wherein two of said gaskets sandwich and enclose one of said complex cast polar plates and the other one of said gaskets is arranged between the other one of said complex cast polar plates and an adjacent one of said current collectors.

2. The storage module according to claim 1 , wherein each said graphite plate has a thickness of at most 0.5 millimeters (mm).

3. The storage module according to claim 1 , wherein said border plate is made of a material selected from a group consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

4. The storage module according to claim 1 , wherein said membrane is fabricated through the following steps: (a) a coating solution of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) is applied to a PSF membrane characterized with pores to be modified through ATRP; (b) a peroxide is used to replace hydrogen atoms in said PSF membrane and PSS to obtain free radicals; and, (c) after processing a thermopolymerization reaction, said PSF membrane is polymerized and cross-linked with PSS to generate and grow hydrophilic groups on said pores and surface of said PSF membrane to further obtain said membrane modified to obtain high hydrophilicity.

5. The storage module according to claim 4 , wherein said PSF membrane is made of a material selected from a group consisting of polysulfone (PSF) and polyethersulfone (PES); and said PSF membrane is a membrane of a material selected from a group consisting of PES-PSS and PSF-PSS and is modified through ATRP.

6. The storage module according to claim 4 , wherein said peroxide is selected from a group consisting of sodium persulfate (Na 2 S 2 O 8 ) and potassium persulfate (K 2 S 2 O 8 ).

7. The storage module according to claim 4 , wherein said hydrophilic groups are sulfonate groups (SO 3− ).

Assignees

• Iner Aec Executive Yuan

Inventors

• Hsu Ning-Yih
• Lin Chien-Hong
• Chou Han-Wen
• Hsieh Chin-Lung
• Hu Yi-Hsin
• Zhuang Yu-De
• Tsai Yun-Shan
• Chen Qiao-Ya

Classifications

• H01M4/96

  Carbon-based electrodes · CPC title

• H01M8/242 Primary

  comprising framed electrodes or intermediary frame-like gaskets (H01M8/2425, H01M8/244 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/1088

  Chemical modification, e.g. sulfonation · CPC title

• H01M8/1081

  starting from solutions, dispersions or slurries exclusively of polymers · CPC title

• H01M8/1069

  characterised by the manufacturing processes · CPC title