Knitted Mesh for Electrolytic Hydrogen Production & Chlor-Alkali Production

In hydrogen production industry, knitted mesh is often used in polymer electrolyte, proton exchange membranes (PEM), ion exchange membranes (IEM) and also in the extremely harsh conditions associated with alkaline zero-gap electrolycer applications.

• Common Knitted Mesh Products
  • Flat knitted mesh. It is a high tensile, flexible material consisting of a series of interlocking metal wires or wire loops.
    

    Flat knitted mesh wire diameter inspection

    

    Flat knitted mesh aperture inspection

  • Compressed knitted mesh. Various wires are knitted by knitting machine and then compressed by special equipment.
    

    Compressed knitted mesh diameter inspection

    

    Compressed knitted mesh thickness inspection

  • Crimped knitted mesh. When the knitted mesh production is finished, special process is adopted to produce crimped knitted mesh, forming waveform profiles.
    

    Crimped knitted mesh

    

    Crimped knitted mesh details

  • Tinned copper knitted mesh. The copper wire surface is coated with a thin layer of metal tin to prevent copper wire from being exposed to the air, easily oxidized and form verdigris. The verdigris has poor electrical conductivity and will increase the electrical resistance.
    

    Tinned copper knitted mesh

    

    Tinned copper knitted mesh wire diameter inspection

• Roles of Knitted Mesh in Hydrogen Production Industry
  • Work as electrode material for hydrogen production from electrolytic water to improve electrolysis efficiency and stability.
  • Act as catalyst carrier for fuel cells to enhance the dispersion and activity of catalyst.
  • Function as filter material for hydrogen to remove impurities and moisture and improve the purity of hydrogen.
  • Work as storage material for hydrogen and take advantage of porous structure to absorb and release hydrogen for low pressure hydrogen storage.
• Advantages of Knitted Mesh in Hydrogen Production Industry
  

  Flexible & Malleable

  

  Energy Absorbing

  

  Variable Porosity

  

  Harsh Environments

  

  High Resilience

  

  High Strength

  

  Encapsulates & Protects

  

  EMC & RFI Shielding

  

  Cost Efficient

  

  Electrically Conductive

  

  Environmentally Friendly

  

  Material Versatility

  

  High Surface Area

• Properties of Knitted Mesh in Hydrogen Production Industry
  • Electrical Resistance

    In the process of hydrogen production, electrical resistance within electrolyzers reduces their efficiency and increases operating costs. In conventional designs, knitted mesh is in direct contact with bipolar plates, expanded metal and other additional components.

    In response to the industry drive for enhanced efficiency, Boedon adopts mesh-jointing technology to weld knitted mesh to every contact point of metal plate or adjacent components (bipolar plates, expanded metal, etc.) to form a single bonded structure.

    This welding process produces an homogenous joint that reduces internal cell resistance while significantly improving electrical conductivity.

    

    Knitted mesh voltage vs current density

    

    Knitted mesh resistance vs pressure

  • Mechanical Performance

    Compressed knitted mesh lately developed by Boedon can effectively extend the service life of electrolyzers and maintain stable operation under thermal cycle and harsh working conditions. It has outstanding levels of resilience and can resistant compressibility losses through load cycling. The 2 charts below display the compression range and performance changes of compressed knitted mesh.

    

    Knitted mesh load vs compression

    

    The change of knitted mesh under load cycling conditions