STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF ELECTRODE RESISTANCE ON CURRENT-DENSITY DISTRIBUTION IN CYLINDRICAL ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTORS

The distribution of current density in a cylindrical electrochemical reactor was determined experimentally, a thin Pt wire, 0. 2 mm diameter and 500-600 mm long, being employed as central electrode. In these investigations two methods are used: (i) a reactor with a segmented counterelectrode; in this case, measurements of the current in each ring of the counterelectrode were made; (ii) a reactor with a bi-electrode probe; in this case, the distribution was obtained by measuring the ohmic drop in the solution phase, with the probe being positioned at different heights. A mathematical model to represent such reactors was developed assuming an axially constant electrolyte potential.