• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.20-32
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• 2022

This study implemented a chelating agent (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, EDTA) in purification to obtain high-purity vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) for use in VRFB (Vanadium Redox Flow Battery). V₂O₅ (powder) was produced through the precipitation recovery of ammonium metavanadate (NH₄VO₃) from a vanadium solution, which was prepared using a low-purity vanadium raw material. The initial purity of the powder was estimated to be 99.7%. However, the use of a chelating agent improved its purity up to 99.9% or higher. It was conjectured that the added chelating agent reacted with the impurity ions to form a complex, stabilizing them. This improved the selectivity for vanadium in the recovery process. However, the prepared V₂O₅ powder exhibited higher contents of K, Mn, Fe, Na, and Al than those in the standard counterparts, thus necessitating additional research on its impurity separation. Furthermore, the vanadium electrolyte was prepared using the high-purity V₂O₅ powder in a newly developed direct electrolytic process. Its analytical properties were compared with those of commercial electrolytes. Owing to the high concentration of the K, Ca, Na, Al, Mg, and Si impurities in the produced vanadium electrolyte, the purity was analyzed to be 99.97%, lower than those (99.98%) of its commercial counterparts. Thus, further research on optimizing the high-purity V₂O₅ powder and electrolyte manufacturing processes may yield a process capable of commercialization.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.308-313
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the electrocatalytic effects of the N and O co-doping of Graphite Felt (GF) electrode for the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) at the cathode and the anode reaction, respectively. The electrodes were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with $NH_3-O_2$ at 773 K, and its effects were compared with an electrode prepared by an O doping treatment. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrocatalytic properties of these electrodes were characterized in a VRFB single cell comparing the efficiencies and performance of the electrodes at the cathode, anode, and single cell level. The results exhibited about 2% higher voltage and energy efficiencies on the N-O-GF than the O-GF electrode. It was found that the N and O co-doping was particularly effective in the enhancement of the reduction-oxidation reaction at the anode.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2018

The redox flow battery (RFB) is a large-capacity energy storage equipment, and the vanadium redox flow cell is a typical RFB, but VRFB is expensive. Iron-chrome RFBs are economical because they use low-cost active materials, but their low performance is a urgent problem. In this study, the crossover of iron and chromium ion through Nafion membrane and the stability of Nafion membrane in HCl solution were investigated. The permeability of iron and chrome ion through Nafion were $5.5{\times}10^{-5}$ and $6.0{\times}10^{-5}cm^2/min$, respectively, which was 18.9~20.7 times higher than that of vanadium ion ($2.9{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/min$). The crossover of iron and chromium ions were shown to be a cause of performance decrease in Iron-chrome RFB. As the temperature increases, the crossover increases rapidly (activation energy 38.8 kJ/ mol), indicating that operation at low temperature is a methode to reduce the performance loss due to crossover. Nafion membranes were relatively stable in 3 M HCl solution.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.292-299
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• 2014

In this study, nitrogen doped carbon felt (CFt) is prepared using thermal oxidation and liquid phase ammonia treatment to improve the efficiency for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB). The electrochemical properties of prepared CFt electrodes are investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge/discharge test. The XPS result shows that the increase of liquid phase ammonia treatment temperature leads to the increased nitrogen functional group on the CFt surface. Redox reaction characteristics using CV reveal that the liquid phase ammonia treated CFt electrodes are more reversible than the thermally oxidized CFt. When CFt is treated by the liquid phase ammonia at $300^{\circ}C$, VRFB cell energy efficiency, voltage efficiency, and current efficiency are increased about 6.93%, 1.0%, and 4.5%, respectively, compared to those of the thermally oxidized CFt. These results are because nitrogen functional groups on CFt help to improve the electrochemical properties of redox reaction between electrode and electrolyte interface.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.372-377
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• 2016

The carbon felt used as the electrode of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) requires imprived electrochemical activity for better battery performance and efficiencies. Many efforts have been tried to improve electrochemical activity of the carbon felt as electrodes. In this study the alkali solution, KOH, is applied on surface treatment of the carbon felt electrode. The carbon felts were treated with KOH under room temperature and $80^{\circ}C$. The isopropyl alcohol was applied to improve wettability of the carbon felt during KOH treatment. The KOH treated carbon felt was analyzed by using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS analysis of carbon felt electrode revealed on increase in the overall surface oxygen content of the carbon felts after KOH treatment. Also, cyclic voltametry tests showed electrochemical characteristics enhancement of the carbon felt.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.721-727
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• 2011

All vanadium redox-flow battery (VRFB) has been studied actively as one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems for a wide rage of applications such as electric vehicles, photovoltaic arrays, and excess power generated by electric power plants at night time. In this study, carbon felt electrodes were treated by electrochemical oxidation with KOH, and the cyclic voltammetry were studied in order to investigate redox reactivity of vanadium ion species with carbon felt electrodes. Besides the effect of electrochemical oxidation on the surface chemistry of carbon felt electrodes were investigated using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). After electrochemical oxidation, XPS analysis of PAN based GF20-3 carbon felt electrode revealed on increase in the overall surface oxygen content of the carbon felts after electrochemical oxidation. Redox reaction characteristics using cyclic voltammetry (CV) were ascertained that the electrochemical treated electrode were more reversible than the untreated electrode.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2020

Liquid air energy storage (LAES) using gas liquefaction has attracted considerable attention because of its mature technology, high energy density, few geographical constraints, and long life span. On the other hand, LAES has not yet been commercialized and is being developed recently. Therefore, few studies have performed an economic analysis of LAES. In this study, the levelized cost of electricity was calculated and compared with that of other energy storage systems. As a result, the levelized cost of electricity of LAES was $371/MWh. This is approximately $292/MWh, $159/MWh, $118/MWh, and $3/MWh less than that of the LiCd battery, VRFB battery, Lead-acid battery, and NaS battery. In addition, the cost was approximately $62/MWh and $195/MWh more than that of Fe-Cr flow battery and PHS. Sensitivity analysis of the levelized cost of electricity according to the main economic factors was performed, and economic uncertainty analysis was performed through a Monte-Carlo simulation. The cumulative probability curve showed the levelized cost of electricity of LAES, reflecting price fluctuations in the air compressor cost, electricity cost, and standing reserve hourly fee.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.598-602
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• 2018

This study examined the characteristics of the waste catalyst used in the petroleum refinery operations. The total pore volume, specific surface area, and average pore size of the spent catalyst used in the petroleum refinery operations were 3.96cc/g, 13.81m2/g, and 1.15A, respectively. The weight loss observed in the range from $25^{\circ}C-700^{\circ}C$ for the spent catalysts using TG and DTA was approximately 23 wt. %. EDS analysis of the waste catalyst sample showed that the five major components were vanadium, nickel, manganese, iron, and copper. The extraction system is attractive for liquid-liquid extraction. In this study, Cynex 272 was used to extract vanadium from waste catalyst. The electrochemical characteristics of the extracted vanadium solution were measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). As a result, an oxidation / reduction peak appeared, indicating the potential of an electrolytic solution.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2019

The redox flow battery (RFB) is a large-capacity energy storage equipment, and the vanadium redox flow cell is a typical RFB, but VRFB is expensive. Iron-chrome RFBs are economical because they use low-cost active materials, but their low performance is an urgent problem. One of the reasons for the low performance is the crossover of the active materials. In this study, the sulfonated Poly (ether ether ketone) (sPEEK) membrane, which is a hydrocarbon membrane, was used instead of the fluorine membrane to reduce the crossover of the active materials. The chromium ion permeability of the sPEEK membrane was $1.8{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/min$, which was about 1/33 of that of the Nafion membrane. Thus, it was shown that the use of the sPEEK membrane instead of the fluorine membrane could solve the high active material crossover problem. The activation energy of iron diffusion through the sPEEK membrane was 24.9 kJ/mol, which was about 66% of Nafion membrane. And that the e-PTFE support in the polymer membrane reduces the active material crossover through Iron-Chrome Redox Flow Battery (ICRFB).