Parallel Plate Electrochemical Reactor Model: an Extension and a Time-Saving Approximation Method.

A previously presented parallel plate electrochemical reactor model with multiple electrode reactions is extended so it satisfies a material balance closure test for consistency, which is achieved by reformulating the previously presented methods used to calculate the average concentration and average current density. This model is simplified and referred to as a one step model by assuming that the current density along each electrode is fixed. The one step model provides a qualitative evaluation of cell performance and adds insight into understanding of the previous model, while requiring only 1/40th the computational time. The models are compared using a hypothetical case of the electrowinning of copper from a chloride solution. For the case of small aspect ratios (S/L), the models show that a set of the independent parameters for the system are cell potential (E//c//e//l//l), electrode area per reactor volume (1/S), and residence time (L/v//a//v//g).