Tuesday, 2 October 2018: 16:40
Universal 3 (Expo Center)
The characterization of the reaction environment in continuous electrochemical reactors is necessary to optimize the operational conditions of electrolysis, such as hydrodynamics, current density, residence time, conversion of the electro-active species, among others. In this context the mathematical modeling followed by experimental trials permit to construct models of operation that guarantee the efficiency and yield of the desired reaction. In this work we are interested in the design of a filter-press flow cell to be used in the evaluation of a nickel deposit on a stainless steel cathode. The goal is to minimize the edge effects at the inlet and exit of the cell. To achieve the above, a plastic mesh that avoids the jet flows in the entrance was designed; such design also diminishes the distribution at the beginning of the electrodes. A theoretical analysis of tertiary current distributions was carried out using previous experimental data of nickel deposition in acidic media. Tertiary current distribution analysis was made coupling the RANS equations with the k-epsilon turbulence model and the Launder-Spalding-like equations using wall functions. Different geometric configurations and operational conditions (flow rate, applied current density, etc.) were evaluated founding that the turbulence promotor and flow distributors posses and important role in the performance of the cell. The cell and its components were printed in 3D from the CFD simulations. Close agreement between experimental and theoretical current density distributions were attained. Primary and secondary current distributions were also calculated. The solution of the above mentioned equations was obtained by using a commercial software via finite element method.