Dynamic control strategy for the electrolyte flow rate of vanadium redox flow batteries

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) is considered to be one of the most promising technologies for large-scale energy storage, with the electrolyte flow rate capable of significantly affecting the mass transfer, temperature rise, and pump power losses of the VRB system. Although the flow-rate optimization under constant current has been addressed in the literature, few studies have investigated the control strategy for the electrolyte flow rate under varying (dis-)charge power that is common in practical applications. Moreover, fewer studies have considered the concentration discrepancy of the active species in the tank and stack in the flow-rate optimization. In this paper, the electrolyte flow-rate optimization is investigated by incorporating the influences of the flow rate on the mass transfer, temperature rise, and required pump power. A transient model of the VRB system is developed to derive the total power losses (by which the overall system energy efficiency is determined; include losses resulting from overpotentials, ohmic drops, and required pump power) as a function of the applied current, concentration of the active species in the stack, and flow rate of the electrolyte. Based on this model, a dynamic flow-rate control strategy is proposed for determining the optimal flow rate under varying (dis-)charge power and state-of-charge conditions. The simulation results show that the proposed control strategy can deliver a high VRB system efficiency of 87.7%, and manage the electrolyte temperature to the safe range during mild summer days. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.