Multidisciplinary research into linking renewable energy with utilising atmospheric carbon dioxide and with water desalination

将可再生能源与大气二氧化碳利用和海水淡化联系起来的多学科研究

• 批准号: EP/I004882/1
• 负责人: John Varcoe
• 金额: $ 151.56万
• 依托单位: University of Surrey
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2010 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FI004882%2F1
• 关键词: Multidisciplinary; research; into; linking; renewable

The applicant is an experienced energy researcher with particular expertise in polymer electrolytes and fuel cell testing using combined d.c. and a.c. electrochemical methods. He has made a major contribution to the establishment of enviable facilities at Surrey for energy research. The anion-exchange ionomers and membranes developed by the applicant have led to a significant increase in the (international) profile of anion-exchange membrane based energy systems. Important breakthroughs include novel alkaline polymers (membranes and ionomers) with high ionic conductivities (some developments deemed highly significant and led to the filing of a Patent). The applicant will use this opportunity to develop a broad range of interrelated disruptive technologies, to establish a focused portfolio of protected intellectual property and to further stimulate team-working between local, national, and international researchers in the associated fields; this is to draw together complimentary strands in disparate areas in a coherent manner where the commonalities are not readily obvious (a step-change move away from research that is targeted on a limited area).The proposed research (managed risk profile) is focused at the highlighted research theme of Energy (renewable generation) and fully addresses the training and supply of skilled people agenda. The background research will be to continue development of novel materials (including polymer electrolyte materials, ionomers and hybrid proton-/anion- membrane systems) for clean energy generation and storage (e.g. fuel cells and redox flow batteries). However, the principal aim of the Fellowship is to extend the above technologies and link them to water technologies and the utilisation of atmospheric CO2 [this latter is highly speculative but will address the grand challenge of utilising CO2 in synthesis and transforming the chemicals industry].The first specific work package will be to investigate low temperature metal-free carbonate-conducting anion-exchange membrane systems: Utilisation of these carbonate-containing AAEMs in fuel cells with hydrogen fuelled anodes and air/CO2 mixed feed cathodes can set up a carbonate cycle, where the CO2 is effectively pumped from the cathode to the anode to form a potentially useful carbon dioxide/hydrogen mixture for chemical synthesis [with concomitant generation of electricity]. This approach has a high impact potential, that is timely due to the only recently developed (by the applicant) high performance anion-exchange ionomeric materials; it is initially aimed at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1 - 4 in the innovation pipeline. The second specific research focus (targeted at TRLs 1 - 5) is to directly link energy technologies (biological and chemical) to water technologies by: (1) extending the biological fuel cell technologies and knowledge being developed in the Supergen programme [led by Surrey] to self powering desalination systems; and (2) by applying current membranes to, and developing new biofouling resistant electrolyte membranes for, reverse electrodialysis systems. The first involves three chamber cells containing both anion- and cation-exchange systems that can be used for desalination of aqueous salt solutions using biological catalysts and organic waste water streams to self power the systems and where the waste water is also treated with potentially zero grid electricity consumption. The second involves reverse electrodialysis where gradients in salinity are directly utilised to generate renewable electricity (i.e. UK electricity potential where river, brackish and sea waters meet).The research will also benefit from already established UK-China collaborations (resulting from an EPSRC funded Interact grant in 2006) and a newly established cross-disciplinary collaboration with the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India.

申请人是一位经验丰富的能源研究人员，在聚合物电解质和燃料电池测试方面拥有特别的专业知识。和AC。电化学法。他为在萨里建立令人羡慕的能源研究设施做出了重大贡献。申请人开发的阴离子交换离聚体和膜已导致基于阴离子交换膜的能源系统的(国际)轮廓显著增加。重要的突破包括具有高离子导电性的新型碱性聚合物(膜和离聚体)(一些发展被认为非常重要，并导致了专利申请)。申请者将利用这个机会开发广泛的相互关联的颠覆性技术，建立一个受保护的知识产权的重点组合，并进一步促进相关领域的地方、国家和国际研究人员之间的团队合作；这是在共同点不太明显的不同领域以一致的方式汇集互补的线索(从针对有限领域的研究迈出的一步)。拟议的研究(受控风险概况)侧重于突出的研究主题能源(可再生能源发电)，并充分解决技能人才的培训和供应议程。背景研究将继续开发用于清洁能源产生和储存的新材料(包括聚合物电解质材料、离聚体和质子/阴离子混合膜系统)(例如燃料电池和氧化还原液流电池)。然而，该奖学金的主要目的是扩展上述技术，并将它们与水技术和大气二氧化碳的利用联系起来(后者具有很高的投机性，但将解决在合成和改造化学工业中利用二氧化碳的巨大挑战)。第一个具体的工作包将是研究低温无金属碳酸盐导电阴离子交换膜系统：在燃料电池中使用这些含碳酸盐的AAEM，使用氢燃料阳极和空气/二氧化碳混合进料阴极可以建立碳酸盐循环，在这里，二氧化碳被有效地从阴极泵送到阳极，形成一种潜在有用的二氧化碳/氢混合物，用于化学合成[伴随着发电]。这种方法具有很高的影响潜力，这是及时的，因为只有最近开发的(由申请人)高性能阴离子交换离子材料；它最初针对的是创新管道中的技术准备水平(TRL)1-4。第二个具体研究重点(针对TRLS 1-5)是通过以下方式将能源技术(生物和化学)与水技术直接联系起来：(1)将超级发电计划[由萨里领导]中开发的生物燃料电池技术和知识扩展到自力式海水淡化系统；以及(2)将目前的膜应用于反向电渗析系统，并为其开发新的抗生物污染的电解质膜。第一个涉及三个室单元，其中包含阴离子和阳离子交换系统，可以使用生物催化剂和有机废水流来为系统供电，用于水盐溶液的淡化，并且废水也可以以潜在的零电网电力消耗进行处理。第二项涉及反向电渗析，即直接利用盐度梯度来产生可再生电力(即河流、咸水和海水交汇处的英国电势)。这项研究还将受益于已经建立的英国与中国的合作(源于EPSRC于2006年资助的InterAct赠款)，以及与印度哈拉格普尔印度理工学院物理系新建立的跨学科合作。

项目成果

International experts meet in Germany to discuss trends in anion exchange membranes

国际专家齐聚德国讨论阴离子交换膜的发展趋势

• DOI: 10.1016/s1464-2859(14)70294-9
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Fuel Cells Bulletin
• 作者: Germer W

Paradox phenomena of proton exchange membrane fuel cells operating under dead-end anode mode

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.04.086
• 发表时间: 2014-11-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
• 影响因子: 9.2
• 作者: Jiang, Dong;Zeng, Rong;Varcoe, John R.
• 通讯作者: Varcoe, John R.

Methylated polybenzimidazole and its application as a blend component in covalently cross-linked anion-exchange membranes for DMFC

• DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2014.04.004
• 发表时间: 2014-09-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
• 影响因子: 9.5
• 作者: Katzfuss, Anika;Poynton, Simon;Kerres, Jochen
• 通讯作者: Kerres, Jochen