Multi-stage rebalancing reactor for redox flow battery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11728497-B2
Application number	US-202017081695-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2020
Priority date	Nov 8, 2019
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A rebalancing reactor for a redox flow battery system may include a plurality of reactor vessels arranged in stages, each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels housing a catalyst bed. In one example, the rebalancing reactor is fluidly coupled to an electrolyte storage tank and configured to flow electrolyte through the plurality of reactor vessels, enabling a chemical rebalancing of electrolyte in the redox flow battery cell.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A redox flow battery system, comprising:
an electrolyte storage tank configured to supply an electrolyte to a battery cell of the redox flow battery system and separate gas from the electrolyte; and
a multi-stage rebalancing reactor fluidly coupled to the electrolyte storage tank, wherein each stage of the multi-stage rebalancing reactor is fluidly coupled to at least one adjacent stage, and wherein each stage of the multi-stage rebalancing reactor is formed of multiple reactor vessels that are individually housed, wherein each of the multiple reactor vessels are spaced apart from other reactor vessels of the multiple reactor vessels within a same stage, aligned with a vertical axis, and configured to facilitate reduction of an ion and oxidation of a gas.

2. The redox flow battery system of claim 1 , further comprising a catalyst bed arranged in each respective vessel of the multiple reactor vessels, wherein a height of the catalyst bed is less than a height of the respective vessel.

3. The redox flow battery system of claim 2 , further comprising an inlet at a bottom end of each vessel of the multiple reactor vessels, a distribution plate, and an outlet at an upper end of each vessel of the multiple reactor vessels, wherein the catalyst bed is positioned immediately above the inlet and distal from the outlet.

4. The redox flow battery system of claim 1 , further comprising a pump positioned downstream of the electrolyte storage tank and upstream of the multi-stage rebalancing reactor, wherein the pump is configured to flow the electrolyte from the electrolyte storage tank to at least one stage of the multi-stage rebalancing reactor.

5. The redox flow battery system of claim 4 , further comprising at least one injector positioned in a path of electrolyte flow between the electrolyte storage tank and the multi-stage rebalancing reactor, wherein the at least one injector is coupled to a gas line extending between a top of the electrolyte storage tank and the at least one injector, the gas line configured to siphon the gas from a head space of the electrolyte storage tank to the path of electrolyte flow.

6. The redox flow battery system of claim 5 , wherein the siphoned gas is mixed with the electrolyte upstream of the multi-stage rebalancing reactor and wherein a mixture of the gas and the electrolyte is delivered to each of the multiple reactor vessels.

7. A multi-stage rebalancing reactor, comprising:
a plurality of reactor vessels configured to facilitate reduction of dissolved cations and oxidation of a gas at each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels, the plurality of reactor vessels grouped into stages in a path of electrolyte flow, wherein each of the stages comprises multiple reactor vessels of the plurality of reactor vessels, and wherein an electrolyte flowing along the path of electrolyte flow is a mixture of the dissolved cations and the gas.

8. The multi-stage rebalancing reactor of claim 7 , wherein each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels includes an outer housing enclosing a catalyst bed, and wherein a height of the catalyst bed is 30-70% of a height of the outer housing.

9. The multi-stage rebalancing reactor of claim 8 , wherein a central axis of each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels is aligned parallel with a vertical axis and each respective vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels includes an inlet at a bottom of the respective vessel and an outlet at a top of the respective vessel, and wherein the catalyst bed is arranged within a lower region of the outer housing of each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels, proximate to the inlet and spaced away from the outlet.

10. The multi-stage rebalancing reactor of claim 9 , wherein the catalyst bed is a jelly-roll catalyst bed formed of a stack of at least one catalyst layer, a substrate layer, and a spacing layer, coiled into a roll, and wherein the jelly-roll catalyst bed is positioned within the outer housing of each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels with a central axis of the jelly-roll catalyst bed aligned with the central axis of each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels.

11. The multi-stage rebalancing reactor of claim 10 , wherein the jelly-roll catalyst bed is configured to direct electrolyte flow along an outer surface of the jelly-roll catalyst bed and along inner surfaces through an inner region of the jelly-roll catalyst bed.

12. An all-iron flow battery, comprising:
a rebalancing reactor formed of a plurality of reactor vessels, the plurality of reactor vessels grouped to form stages, wherein each of the stages comprises multiple reactor vessels of the plurality of reactor vessels, and wherein each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels encloses a catalyst bed;
a pump driving electrolyte flow from an electrolyte tank to the rebalancing reactor, the electrolyte tank also fluidly coupled to a battery cell of the all-iron flow battery; and
at least one gas line delivering gas from a head space of the electrolyte tank to the rebalancing reactor via at least one injector arranged upstream of the rebalancing reactor;
wherein electrolyte is flowed to each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels, the plurality of reactor vessels configured to chemically rebalance the electrolyte by reducing ferric ions and oxidizing hydrogen gas.

13. The all-iron flow battery of claim 12 , wherein each vessel of the plurality of reactor vessels is a separate, standalone structure, and wherein the plurality of reactor vessels is divided between at least a first stage and a second stage of the stages, the first stage arranged upstream of the second stage.

14. The all-iron flow battery of claim 13 , wherein each vessel in the first stage is not fluidly coupled to other vessels in the first stage and each vessel in the second stage is not fluidly coupled to other vessels in the second stage.

15. The all-iron flow battery of claim 14 , wherein the vessels in the first stage are not fluidly coupled to the vessels in the second stage.

16. The all-iron flow battery of claim 12 , wherein each of the plurality of reactor vessels is enclosed within a respective outer housing.

17. The all-iron flow battery of claim 12 , wherein at least a portion of the gas delivered via the at least one gas line is injected into the electrolyte upstream of the pump.

18. The all-iron flow battery of claim 12 , wherein the at least one gas line is configured to simultaneously deliver the gas to more than one of the stages directly from the head space of the electrolyte tank by actively operating the at least one injector coupling the at least one gas line to the electrolyte flow upstream of the rebalancing reactor.

19. The all-iron flow battery of claim 18 , wherein an amount of the gas delivered to the rebalancing reactor is increased when a speed of the pump is increased and/or a number of the at least one injector actively operating to inject the gas into the electrolyte flow is increased.

20. The all-iron flow battery of claim 12 , wherein a set of the multiple reactor vessels in a same stage are not fluidly to connected to each other.

Assignees

• Ess Technology Inc

Inventors

• Song Yang
• Evans Craig E
• Mcdonald Timothy J
• Fisher Kenneth
• Kissick Sean

Classifications

• H01M8/04276 Primary

  Arrangements for managing the electrolyte stream, e.g. heat exchange · CPC title

• H01M8/04186

  of liquid-charged or electrolyte-charged reactants · CPC title

• H01M8/188 Primary

  by recharging of redox couples containing fluids; Redox flow type batteries · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title