Radial diffusion and entrance effects in porous flow-through electrodes

Abstract

Radial diffusion has two effects on the performance of a flow-through electrode: (a) it may limit the maximum experimentally attainable degree of conversion, and/or (b) the polarization at a certain current output may be lower for smaller than for larger pores. A dimensionless groupwas developed as a criterion of reactant conversion under certain conditions of flow rate, pore diameter and diffusion coefficient. The lengths of both diffusional and hydrodynamic entrance regions are calculated. The ratio between the length of the diffusional entrance region and the electrode thickness is related to the criterion of reactant conversion . It was shown that in all conditions of fully developed laminar flow inside the pores, radial diffusion must be fast with respect to axial convection: hence complete reactant conversion is possible. The effect of radial hydrodynamic dispersion is briefly outlined. It increases the rate of radial mass transfer, hence the degree of conversion and decreases the length of the diffusional entrance region. The length of the hydrodynamic entrance region would normally be much shorter than the diffusional entrance length. They become comparable only when the radial dispersion coefficient is of the same order as the kinematic viscosity of the electrolyte.