Using Flow Electrodes in Multiple Reactors in Series
for Continuous Energy Generation from Capacitive Mixing
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Abstract
Efficient
conversion of “mixing energy” to electricity
through capacitive mixing (CapMix) has been limited by low energy
recoveries, low power densities, and noncontinuous energy production
resulting from intermittent charging and discharging cycles. We show
here that a CapMix system based on a four-reactor process with flow
electrodes can generate constant and continuous energy, providing
a more flexible platform for harvesting mixing energy. The power densities
were dependent on the flow-electrode carbon loading, with 5.8 ±
0.2 mW m<sup>–2</sup> continuously produced in the charging
reactor and 3.3 ± 0.4 mW m<sup>–2</sup> produced in the
discharging reactor (9.2 ± 0.6 mW m<sup>–2</sup> for the
whole system) when the flow-electrode carbon loading was 15%. Additionally,
when the flow-electrode electrolyte ion concentration increased from
10 to 20 g L<sup>–1</sup>, the total power density of the whole
system (charging and discharging) increased to 50.9 ± 2.5 mW
m<sup>–2</sup>