SBIR Phase I: Advanced alkaline electrolyzer stack for hydrogen peroxide onsite production

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是过氧化氢生产的重大进步。该项目如果成功，将产生一种现场电解生成方法，与传统的集中式化学工艺相比，该方法可将过氧化氢生产成本降低50%。通过降低成本，过氧化氢可以作为氧化剂更广泛地应用于漂白、废水处理等过程，最终通过取代氯基氧化剂来降低氯污染。造纸/纸浆和纺织工业尤其将受益于漂白化学品成本的降低和污水处理成本的降低。电解法减少了对环境的污染，省去了爆炸性高浓度过氧化氢的运输。用于过氧化氢生产的创新电解槽设计将增强如何构建支持多相流的改进电极结构的科学知识基础，并可能在其他工业电解系统中得到应用，包括氯碱过程。该STTR一期项目拟演示一个放大的高效碱性过氧化氢电解槽系统。扩大规模所要克服的最困难的挑战是电极的制造过程。电极是通过在导电基板上涂覆含有催化剂的油墨制成的。油墨的成分不规范，没有进行商业规模的涂布。第一阶段的研究将包括对油墨配方、涂层和氧还原电极卷对卷制造的加工条件的详细调查。这种卷对卷制造的电极将在中试规模的硬件中进行测试，以证明其耐用性和性能。制造友好型多层涂层将被开发和研究，以克服与多相流相关的挑战。在完成中试规模的电极制造后，电解槽堆将在实验漂白设施中进行组装和测试，以确保电解产生的碱性过氧化物可以用作漂白化学品。一期项目中多相电极的开发将使使用多相流的其他电解工艺得到改进。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a significant advance in the production of hydrogen peroxide. The project, if successful, will yield an on-site electrolytic generation method that reduces the cost of peroxide production by up to 50% compared to the traditional centralized chemical process. By reducing cost, hydrogen peroxide can be used more widely as an oxidizer in bleaching, wastewater treatment, and other processes, ultimately lowering chlorine pollution by replacing chlorine-based oxidizers. The paper/pulp and textiles industry in particular will benefit from lower cost bleaching chemicals and reduced effluent treatment costs. The electrolytic method reduces environmental pollution and eliminates the need for transportation of explosive high concentration hydrogen peroxide. The innovative electrolyzer design used for hydrogen peroxide production will enhance the scientific knowledge base on how to build improved electrode structures that support multiphase flow, and may have applications in other industrial electrolysis systems, including the chlor-alkali process. This STTR Phase I project proposes to demonstrate a scaled-up high efficiency alkaline hydrogen peroxide electrolyzer system. The most difficult challenge to overcome for scale-up relates to the electrode manufacturing process. The electrodes are made by coating a catalyst-containing ink onto a conductive substrate. The composition of the ink is non-standard, and has not been coated at commercial scale. The Phase I research will involve detailed investigations of ink formulation, coating, and processing conditions for roll-to-roll manufacturing of the oxygen reduction electrode. The roll-to-roll manufactured electrodes will be tested in pilot-scale hardware to demonstrate their durability and performance. Manufacturing-friendly multilayer coatings will be developed and investigated to overcome challenges associated with multiphase flow. After completing pilot-scale electrode manufacturing, the electrolyzer stack will be assembled and tested at an experimental bleaching facility to ensure that the electrolytically-generated alkaline peroxide can be used as a bleaching chemical. The development of the multiphase electrode in this Phase I project will enable improvements in other electrolytic processes using multiphase flows.