Considerable volumes of produced water are generated along with hydrocarbons in oil & gas fields worldwide. Such vast quantities of produced water can be transformed from a waste stream that requires handling and disposal to a valuable resource that generates significant economic and environmental benefits. If this produced water can be recycled and utilized for low-carbon energy applications, it becomes a game changer to promote circular water economy, sustainability, and support the energy transition. Green hydrogen, the optimal energy carrier, plays a crucial role in connecting smart grids and scaling up low-carbon energy generation. This study experimentally investigates the feasibility of using treated produced water obtained from zero liquid discharge (ZLD) desalination technology for H2 generation using proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) and anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) systems. For evaluating the quality of treated produced water, the current density was measured by I-V measurement at controlled temperature (60°C). Also, it was measured with and without additional purification process to evaluate the suitability of treated produced water as direct resource for H2 production. The results from PEMWE showed different measured voltages with (1.8 V at 1.5 A/cm2) and without (2.5 V at 1.5 A/cm2) additional purification process. This finding indicates that impurities in treated produced water will have a negative effect on the performance of the PEMWE to lower the energy efficiency. On the other hand, the measured voltage from AEMWE showed consistent performance with (2.3 V at 1.5 A/cm2) and without additional purification process. Such result confirms the robustness of AEMWE to generate H2 with almost similar energy efficiency using treated produced water with and without further purification, when compared to PEMWE. This means the treated produced water of ZLD technology can be directly used with AEMWE without any additional purification process to sustain the operation costs and H2 production efficiency. The results obtained from durability test and optimized electrode materials were also presented to demonstrate the long-term reliability of AEMWE for enhancing H2 production efficiency with treated produced water. This first-ever laboratory study demonstrates the successful and direct utilization of treated produced water using the AEMWE for green H2 production. The upscaling of AEMWE technology has huge potential to recycle produced water and it can also become a win-win technological solution to promote circular water/carbon economies and support the ongoing energy transition initiatives in the industry.
標題:利用產出水進行綠氫生產之陰離子交換膜水電解槽(AEMWE)系統 英文摘要: 全球油氣田在開採碳氫化合物的過程中產生大量產出水。這些龐大数量的產出水可從需進行處理與處置的廢物流,轉化為具顯著經濟與環境效益的寶貴資源。若此類產出水能夠回收並應用於低碳能源領域,將成為推動循環水經濟、可持续发展的關鍵變革,並支撐能源轉型。綠氫作為理想的能源載體,在連接智慧電網及擴大低碳能源發電方面扮演關鍵角色。本研究以實驗方式探討利用零液體排放(ZLD)脫鹽技術處理後之產出水,於質子交換膜水電解槽(PEMWE)及陰離子交換膜水電解槽(AEMWE)系統中進行氫氣生產之可行性。為評估處理後產出水之品質,本研究透過伏安測量(I-V measurement)於控制溫度(60°C)下測定電流密度,並於是否採用額外純化程序兩種條件下進行量測,以評估處理後產出水作為氫氣生產直接資源之適用性。PEMWE系統之量測結果顯示,有無額外純化程序呈現不同電壓值(1.5 A/cm²時分別為1.8 V及2.5 V)。此發現表明處理後產出水中的雜質將對PEMWE性能產生負面影響,進而降低能源效率。另一方面,AEMWE系統之量測電壓顯示,不论是否採用額外純化程序(1.5 A/cm²時均為2.3 V),皆呈現一致的性能表現。此結果證實了AEMWE系統具有高度穩健性,即使使用是否經過進一步純化之處理後產出水,其能源效率幾乎相同,相較於PEMWE系統展現更優異的適用性。這意味著ZLD技術處理後的產出水可直接搭配AEMWE系統使用,無需進行額外純化程序即可維持操作成本及氫氣生產效率。本研究亦呈現耐久性測試及優化电极材料之結果,以證明AEMWE系統使用處理後產出水提升氫氣生產效率之長期可靠性。本首創實驗室規模研究成功展示利用AEMWE系統直接使用處理後產出水進行綠氫生產之可行性。AEMWE技術之放大應用具有巨大潛力,不僅可實現產出水回收,更可成為促進循環水經濟與循環碳經濟之双赢技術解決方案,並支持業界正在進行的能源轉型計畫。
Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) offers a sustainable and reliable solution for large-scale energy storage applications. This study represents the first investigation into the comprehensive data-driven analysis of inter-parameter correlation and prediction of the energy efficiency of VRFBs utilizing the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model. Namely, 420 VRFB datasets were collected from the literature, whereas 10 structural and 2 operational features are considered input parameters. Indeed, in the VRFB cells with the greater active area, i.e., pilot-to-commercial-scale applications, the Serpentine flow field configuration, higher electrolyte concentration, thicker electrodes, and higher felt compression are more prevalent. The outcomes reveal that the current density, membrane type, and electrode treatment with the respective Pearson correlation coefficient values of −0.4167, 0.2862, and 0.1546 significantly affect the VRFBs' energy efficiency. Besides, the developed ML models can accurately result in the associated energy efficiency in the VRFBs, with the highest accuracy of the GPR- Matern5/2. The training and testing R2 values are 0.9933 and 0.9565, respectively, indicating near-perfect accuracy, making it a reliable model. This research paves the way for improving VRFB performance, advancing its practical application, and providing key insights into AI-driven battery design.
標題:利用人工智慧技術對全釩氧化還原液流電池(VRFB)能源效率之洞察 摘要:全釩氧化還原液流電池(VRFB)為大規模能源儲存應用提供永續且可靠的解決方案。本研究首次針對使用高斯過程迴歸(GPR)模型的全釩氧化還原液流電池(VRFB)之參數間相關性及其能源效率預測,進行全面資料驅動分析。亦即,自文獻中收集了420筆VRFB資料集,並將10項結構特性與2項操作特性作為輸入參數。實際上,在具有較大活性面積的VRFB單元(即先導至商業規模之應用)中,蛇形流場配置、較高電解液濃度、較厚电极以及較高氈層壓縮更為常見。結果顯示,電流密度、隔膜類型與电极處理對VRFB能源效率有顯著影響,其皮爾森相關係數分別為‑0.4167、0.2862及0.1546。此外,所開發的機器學習模型能夠精確預測VRFB相應之能源效率,其中以GPR‑Matern5/2模型之準確率最高。其訓練集與測試集之R²值分別為0.9933與0.9565,顯示近乎完美的準確率,使其成為可靠模型。本研究為提升VRFB效能、加速其實際應用及提供人工智慧驅動之電池設計關鍵洞察奠定基礎。