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Effect of leakage currents on the secondary current distribution in bipolar electrochemical reactors

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Abstract

The secondary current distribution in an electrochemical stack with one bipolar electrode was experimentally determined and compared with the theoretical prediction according to the Laplace equation. A close agreement between both results is reported. The parameters acting upon the current distribution were lumped into a dimensionless variable, called the bipolar Wagner number, and its effect on the current distribution and predictive suitability of the theoretical treatment is discussed.

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Abbreviations

a i :

Constants in Eq. 9

A :

Transverse section of the electrolyte manifold (m2)

b i :

Tafel slope of the ith reaction (V)

d r :

Mean relative deviation given by Eq. 16 (%)

D :

Weighting factor in Eq. 11

E 0 :

Reversible electrode potential (V)

G :

Length of the electrolyte manifold (m)

h :

Distance between two nodes in the potential grid (m)

j i,k :

Current density of the ith reaction (i = a or c) at the kth electrode (k = A, B or C) (A m−2)

j mean :

Mean current density (A m−2)

j 0 :

Exchange current density (A m−2)

I :

Total current (A)

I*:

Leakage current (A)

I B :

Total current at the bipolar electrode (A)

L :

Electrode length (m)

n :

Number of bipolar electrodes

N :

Number of experimental values in Eq. 16

R :

By-pass resistance (Ω)

Tol:

Tolerance of the calculation

U :

Applied voltage to the reactor (V)

U 0 :

Reversible cell voltage (V)

W :

Electrode width (m)

WaBi :

Bipolar Wagner number

x :

Axial coordinate (m)

y :

Axial coordinate (m)

η :

Overpotential (V)

ρ :

Electrolyte resistivity (Ω m)

σ :

Standard deviation

ϕ :

Potential (V)

ϕ 0 :

Potential in the solution phase adjacent to an electrode surface (V)

a :

Anodic reaction

c :

Cathodic reaction

exp:

Experimental value

m:

Metal phase

s:

Solution phase

th:

Theoretical value

A:

Terminal anode

Bk :

kth bipolar electrode

C:

Terminal cathode

r :

iteration number

References

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL) of Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Electroquímica Aplicada e Ingeniería Electroquímica (PRELINE), Facultad de Ingeniería Química (UNL), Santiago del Estero 2829, S3000AOM, Santa Fe, Argentina

    E. R. Henquín & J. M. Bisang

Authors
  1. E. R. Henquín
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  2. J. M. Bisang
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Correspondence to J. M. Bisang.

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Henquín, E.R., Bisang, J.M. Effect of leakage currents on the secondary current distribution in bipolar electrochemical reactors. J Appl Electrochem 38, 1259–1267 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9550-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9550-2

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