Modeling and Optimization of an Alkaline Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production

Depleting fossil fuel resources and climate crises due to greenhouse gas emissions have urged people to adopt new sources of power and energy. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is an effective way to produce green hydrogen as a substitute for fossil fuels. By building a two-dimensional (2D) model via COMSOL software, we simulate the operation of a single AWE cell, accounting for both liquid and gas phases. Polarization curves are utilized to evaluate the changes of energy consumption and hydrogen productions when varying temperature, diaphragm distance, and electrolyte weight concentration. Given these results, we further optimize the operating conditions as parameters for the alkaline water electrolysis to maximize hydrogen production.