Design of membraneless gas-evolving flow-through porous electrodes

Abstract

Flow-through electrolyzers, with flow parallel to the current, are used in a wide range of industrial applications. The presence of flow avoids concentration gradients but can also be used to separate evolved gases, allowing membrane-less operation. In this work, we propose a simple multiphase flow-through electrode model. We derive and experimentally validate an analytical expression for the minimum velocity required to ensure effective gas separation. From this relation, we analytically derive design parameters that show that significant energy savings can be made using flow, compared to a physical separator.

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