Mass-transfer conditions at a cathode support plate in an electrochemical cell

Abstract

The presence of turbulence promoters in an electrochemical cell increases the intensity of local turbulence which enhances the limiting current density and hence the mass-transfer coefficient at the transfer surface. The regularity of their geometrical configuration induces a pseudo-uniformity of the spatial distributions of the local mass-transfer coefficients. Limiting current data have been obtained at point copper electrodes flush-fitting on a cathode support plate in the presence of rectangular turbulence promoters. The effect of the flow rate of the electrolyte, the height of the promoter and the spacing between the promoters have been studied. The data are best correlated by the following equation: J(D) = 390Re(0.87)(S/H)(-0.15) where S is the promoter spacing (m) and H the promoter height (m).