FOOD-GRADE H2
FOOD-GRADE H2Our NiCo Electrode for Food-Grade Hydrogen
Food processing uses hydrogen for oil hydrogenation and reduction reactions. Our bifunctional NiCo electrode supplies the hydrogen side at 91.4% energy efficiency at 0.5 A/cm2 in an AEM cell with a commercial Zirfon separator.
Polarization (RT vs 60 °C)
TESTBEDSteady supply for continuous processing
1000 hours at 0.5 A/cm2 / 40 deg C with bifunctional NiCo and commercial Zirfon: 21 uV/hr drift. Food processing lines benefit from consistent supply.
Industrial current density
AEM cell with bifunctional NiCo and commercial Zirfon: 0.5 A/cm2 at 1.62 V at 60 deg C (91.4% efficiency).
Bifunctional architecture
Same electrode on HER and OER. 80 mV / 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm2 (no IR correction).
Compact for distributed food plants
Ni foam in the 100 to 1000 cm2 range supports distributed plant footprints.
Hydrogen in food processing
Food-industry hydrogen is used principally for partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. The hydrogen must meet food-grade purity requirements. Most food-grade hydrogen today is procured from bulk gas suppliers; on-site electrolyzers offer an alternative for producers wanting supply continuity and traceable origin.
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode on Ni foam (100 to 1000 cm2), electroless-deposited, is the electrochemical converter. The same coated electrode acts as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm2 in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction).
0.5 A/cm2 @ 60 deg C
0.5 A/cm2 @ RT
Cell-level performance
In a 5 cm2 AEM cell with bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 um), 0.5 A/cm2 at 1.62 V at 60 deg C (91.4% efficiency) and 1.81 V at room temperature (82%).
Stability for production-line use
Production lines run for long, steady stretches. 1000-hour chronopotentiometry on bifunctional NiCo + commercial Zirfon at 0.5 A/cm2 / 40 deg C: 21 uV/hr voltage drift.
Purity step downstream of the electrolyzer
Food-grade purity is achieved via downstream drying and deoxygenation. The bifunctional NiCo electrode's contribution is the electrochemical hydrogen generation; downstream cleanup is a separate system per product-grade specification.
PV-derived current profile
9 DAYSWind-derived current profile
100 HRFrequently asked questions
Why use a bifunctional NiCo electrode for food-grade hydrogen?
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode operates as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm² in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction). For food-grade hydrogen, using a single electrode SKU on both sides simplifies stack BOM and qualification.
What cell-level performance is published?
In a 5 cm² AEM cell with bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 µm) at zero-gap, the cell logs 0.5 A/cm² at 1.81 V at room temperature (82% efficiency) and 1.62 V at 60 °C (91.4%). At 1.0 A/cm²: 2.05 V at RT and 1.79 V at 60 °C.
What is the stability baseline?
Continuous 1000-hour chronopotentiometry at 0.5 A/cm² and 40 °C in 30 wt% KOH (bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides, commercial Zirfon separator) showed voltage drift of 21 µV/hr. Before/after linear-sweep polarization curves differ by 30 mV at the operating point.
Is the electrode validated for renewable-coupled operation?
Yes. PV-irradiance-derived current schedules applied for 9 continuous days (peaks ~570 mA/cm²) and wind-variation-derived schedules for 100 hours (0 to 0.78 A/cm²) on the same cell. ΔV at 0.5 A/cm² before and after the 100-hour wind run: 20 mV.
What substrate sizes ship?
The bifunctional NiCo electrode is produced on Ni foam in the 100 to 1000 cm² size range. Bench-scale 5 cm² coupons matching the published test cell are also available so customers can reproduce numbers on their own rig before scaling up.
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