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A study of the production of glyoxylic acid by the electrochemical reduction of oxalic acid solutions

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Abstract

An investigation has been made of the formation of glyoxylic acid by the electrochemical reduction of oxalic acid/sulphuric acid aqueous solutions at various temperatures and cathode potentials using lead electrodes.

It has been found that for a given quantity of electricity passed greater current efficiencies are obtained at higher electrode potentials and lower temperatures. The current efficiency decreased with increasing quantity of electricity passed.

A simple analysis for the process has been made in which glyoxylic acid is assumed to be reduced to glycollic acid. By incorporation of a variable factorf, to take into account electrochemical parameters for the two reactions, satisfactory predictions of the current efficiency have been obtained. The electrokinetic interpretation of thef-factor is also briefly discussed.

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Abbreviations

C A,C B,C C :

Molar concentrations of species A, B, and C respectively (mol cm−3)

C A0 :

Initial concentration of A (mol cm−3)

F :

Faraday = 96 500 Coulombs (As)

f :

Current efficiency correction factor (=i A/i B)

I :

Cell current (A)

i A,i B :

Current densities for reactions A → B and B → C respectively (A cm−2)

\(i_{0_A } , i_{0_B } \) :

Exchange current densities for reactions A⇌B and B⇌C respectively (A cm−2)

Q :

Quantity of electricity passed (=It) (As)

t :

Time (s)

V :

Catholyte volume (cm3)

α A,α B :

Transfer coefficients for reactions A→B and B→C respectively

η A,η B :

Overpotentials associated with reactions A→B and B→C respectively (V)

η :

Cathode overpotential (V)

γ :

Current efficiency for reaction A→B

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Author notes

  1. K. S. Yap

    Present address: Chemistry Department, The City University, London

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, UK

    D. J. Pickett & K. S. Yap

Authors
  1. D. J. Pickett
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  2. K. S. Yap
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Pickett, D.J., Yap, K.S. A study of the production of glyoxylic acid by the electrochemical reduction of oxalic acid solutions. J Appl Electrochem 4, 17–23 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00615902

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