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Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering

ISSN 2095-0179

ISSN 2095-0187(Online)

CN 11-5981/TQ

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Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.    2015, Vol. 9 Issue (4) : 522-531    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-015-1539-x
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Effects of operational and structural parameters on cell voltage of industrial magnesium electrolysis cells
Ze Sun(),Chenglin Liu,Guimin Lu,Xingfu Song,Jianguo Yu
National Engineering Research Center for Integrated Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
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Abstract

Electric field is the energy foundation of the electrolysis process and the source of the multiphysical fields in a magnesium electrolysis cell. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical model was developed and used to calculate electric field at the steady state through the finite element analysis. Based on the simulation of the electric field, the operational and structural parameters, such as the current intensity, anode thickness, cathode thickness, and anode-cathode distance (ACD), were investigated to obtain the minimum cell voltage. The optimization is to obtain the minimum resistance voltage which has a significant effect on the energy consumption in the magnesium electrolysis process. The results indicate that the effect of the current intensity on the voltage could be ignored and the effect of the ACD is obvious. Moreover, there is a linear decrease between the voltage and the thicknesses of the anode and cathode; and the anode-cathode working height also has a significant effect on the voltage.
Keywords finite element method      magnesium electrolysis cell      electric field     
Corresponding Author(s): Ze Sun   
Online First Date: 06 November 2015    Issue Date: 26 November 2015
 Cite this article:   
Ze Sun,Chenglin Liu,Guimin Lu, et al. Effects of operational and structural parameters on cell voltage of industrial magnesium electrolysis cells[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2015, 9(4): 522-531.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-015-1539-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2015/V9/I4/522
Direct Cell Anode Cathode ACD
x/m 1.87 0.95 0.95 –
y/m 2.91 0.15 0.05 0.07
z/m 1.40 1.14 1.05 –
Tab.1  Main parameters of 120 kA magnesium electrolysis cell [34]
Fig.1  Schematic and computational domains of 120 kA magnesium electrolysis cell
Anode /(Ω·m) Cathode /(Ω·m) Electrolyte /(Ω·m)
7.0 × 10−6 3.15 × 10−7 4.5 × 10−3
Tab.2  Materials resistivity of magnesium electrolysis cell [34]
Fig.2  Electric field contour of the 120 kA magnesium electrolysis cell
Fig.3  The relationship between the current intensity and voltage
Fig.4  The relationship between the anode thickness and voltage
Fig.5  The relationship between the cathode thickness and voltage
Fig.6  The relationship between the ACD and voltage
Fig.7  The relationship between the working height and voltage
Fig.8  The relationship between the working height and voltage drop in different working area
VPotential, V
qCharge density, C·m−3
εDielectric constant, F·m−1
ICurrent, A
RResistance, Ω
ρx, ρy, ρzMaterial resistivities in the x, y, z axial directions, Ω·m
Tab.1  
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