Performance assessment of anion exchange membrane electrolyzer through mathematical modeling
Tez Türü: Yüksek Lisans
Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Makina Mühendisliği Ana Bilim Dalı, Türkiye
Tez Danışmanı: Can Özgür Çolpan; Yılser Devrim
Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2026
Tezin Dili: İngilizce
Desteklendiği Program: Diğer
Özet:
The anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) is a promising technology for green hydrogen production due to its ability to maintain high efficiency while using cost-effective transition metals. The objective of this thesis is to develop modeling approaches that evaluate the electrochemical, thermal, and system-level behavior of AEMWE. First, a zero-dimensional model was developed to evaluate the electrochemical performance of the AEMWE cell, then used to compare the performance of different polybenzimidazole-based membranes at various operating temperatures and membrane thicknesses. Following this, the heating behavior of the electrolyzer stack and electrolyte tank was analyzed at the system level using MATLAB/Simulink. Finally, a system with photovoltaics (PV) and metal hydride (MH) tanks was modeled, and the hydrogen production and storage performance under typical July and January conditions in Izmir was investigated. The findings indicate that thinner membranes and higher operating temperatures increase system efficiency. The highest efficiency of 83.89%, based on higher heating value, was achieved at a current density of 20,000 A/m2 using a 25 μm membrane operated at 80 °C in a 1 M potassium hydroxide solution. System-level results revealed that low tank mass and slower water inlet flow rates led to faster heating of the stack. The proposed PVAEMWE-MH system can produce 0.295 and 0.1656 kg of hydrogen daily during summer and winter, respectively. The analyses showed that low convection coefficients reduce storage efficiency, as the tank temperature exceeds its operational limits, and the impact of higher values is not pronounced after a certain point.