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DOE OSTI · 2274969

Electrochemical Reaction Engineering: A Lost (and Found) Art

Thornburg, Nicholas E. (ORCID:0000000246802733)
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Abstract

The heart (or, perhaps more appropriately, the stomach) of any chemical manufacturing process is the reactor, where chemical and physical transformations occur under precisely controlled conditions. For non-electrochemical industrial processes, the design, optimization and operation of chemical reactors are extremely well developed, drawing upon the principles of chemistry, physics, calculus and economics. However, electrolytic processes face a dearth of well documented reaction engineering principles and design practices. This tutorial-style poster presentation introduces electrochemistry students and industrial practitioners to the "lost art" of reaction engineering and its organic extensions to electrochemical devices. Electrochemical reactor fundamentals and illustrative design equations are presented alongside a proposed five-step generalizable methodology for electrochemical reactor scale-up. Overall, this contribution seeks to educate electrochemistry researchers on practical means of reducing laboratory technologies to commercial practice.

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electrochemistryelectrolysisINORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRYreaction engineeringscale-uptransport phenomena

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Thornburg, Nicholas E. (ORCID:0000000246802733). 2023-12-27. Electrochemical Reaction Engineering: A Lost (and Found) Art. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2274969

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