Analysis of liquid circulation and mixing in a partitioned electrolytic tank

The performance of an electrochemical process depends critically on the mobility of the reacting species or ions towards the electrode surface. In this work, a partitioned electrolytic cell is studied. Here the fluid flow is induced by gases which evolve at the electrode surface. The liquid circulation induced by the rising bubbles is primarily responsible for mixing. In this study, the liquid circulation in a cell where an alkaline solution of water is electrolyzed using different Nickel designs of electrodes is investigated using PIV. For each electrode, the optimum operating conditions such as voltage and concentration of electrolyte which resulted in good mixing are found. The flow-field is quantified by calculating time averaged velocity profiles along the horizontal line and by analyzing the temporal variation of liquid velocity at a point. It is found that there are differences in the circulation and hence vorticity in the two compartments, anode and cathode. The effect of gas evolution on mixing between the two chambers is studied by taking uric acid in the cathode half and NaOH in the anode half. The flow induced by the evolved gas bubbles leads to convective mixing in the two chambers. The mixing time is calculated by measuring the variation of current with time under potentiostatic conditions. This is verified by measuring the pH in anode and cathode compartments during the electrolysis.