Integrated scrubber for enhanced purity of alkaline electrolyzed water system

Xie Yufei; Qin Wu; Xiao Xianbin; Zheng Zongming

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2025.09.029

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Integrated scrubber for enhanced purity of alkaline electrolyzed water system

Updated：2026-05-14

- Integrated scrubber for enhanced purity of alkaline electrolyzed water system
- Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 90, Issue 2, Pages: 45-58(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  School of New Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
  School of Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing at Karamay, Karamay 834000, China
- Author bio：
  
  Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: 15738780841@163.com (Y. Xie)
  qinwu@ncepu.edu.cn(W. Qin).
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1016/j.cjche.2025.09.029
  CLC：
- Received：20 June 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-08-15，
  
  Accepted：16 September 2025，
  
  Online First：25 November 2025，
  
  Published：2026-02
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Xie Yufei, Qin Wu, Xiao Xianbin, et al. Integrated scrubber for enhanced purity of alkaline electrolyzed water system[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 90(2): 45-58.
DOI：

Xie Yufei, Qin Wu, Xiao Xianbin, et al. Integrated scrubber for enhanced purity of alkaline electrolyzed water system[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 90(2): 45-58. DOI： 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.09.029.

摘要

Abstract

This study addresses gas entrainment challenges in alkaline water electrolysis (ALK) hydrogen production through an integrated scrubbing-purification solution and establishes a thermodynamic-electrochemical multi-physics coupled model to optimize system performance. A complete hydrogen production system model with a hydrogen production capacity of 2.5 m

·h

-1

was established

focusing on the synergistic effect of key parameters such as current density (0.1—0.4 A·cm

-2

)

operating pressure (0.7—0.9 MPa) and electrolysis temperature (40—80℃) on system performance. The study shows that compared with the traditional system

the system coupled with the scrubbing and purification device can increase the hydrogen purity from 94.5% to more than 99.5%

meeting the industrial storage and transportation standards. Parametric analysis reveals that elevated temperatures enhance water conversion efficiency but inversely affect purity

while increased pressure improves purity linearly. A critical current density equilibrium point was identified

below which the integrated system outperforms traditional setups in efficiency. The Aspen plus model proves that the efficiency difference between the integrated system and the traditional system is only at the order of 10

-5

. This work resolves the efficiency-purity trade-off in ALK systems

offering a viable pathway for industrial-scale high-purity hydrogen production. Future studies should integrate techno-economic assessments to advance scalable

sustainable electrolysis technologies.

关键词

Keywords

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