Parallel Plate Electrochemical Reactor Model: Material Balance Closure and a Simplification

Abstract

A material balance closure calculation is presented to test the consistency of a previously published model of a parallel plate electrochemical reactor. New expressions are used in this procedure to calculate the average concentration of species and the average current density for reaction from the predicted concentration and potential distributions. Also, the previously presented model equations are simplified by assuming that the axial concentration gradient for species can be approximated by a step change from the known feed concentration to the unknown outlet concentration. This one‐step model provides a qualitative evaluation of cell performance and adds insight into understanding of the previous model, while providing substantial savings in computer time. The models are compared using a hypothetical case of the electrowinning of copper from a chloride solution. For a small aspect ratio , the models show that a set of independent variables consists of the cell potential , the surface area of an electrode per unit of cell volume, and the residence time when the feed concentrations are fixed.