Numerical Simulation of the saline water electrolysis process using electromagnetic waves

Abstract

The electromagnetic waves have been used to accelerate chemical reactions in comparison of conventional reactions. In this article, a numerical method has been used to compare saline water electrolysis (EL) and saline water electromagnetic electrolysis reactor (EMER) in order to realize the effect of electromagnetic waves on electrolysis process. At the first, the effect of electromagnetic waves on the ion separation has been investigated. In the following, influence of main operating parameters such as cell potential (10-16 v), salinity (110-440 mol/m³ NaCl), electrode diameters (8-20 mm), and microwave frequency (0.3-2.4 GHz) on the ion concentrations have been investigated numerically for an up-flow axisymmetric cylinder. The ion separation in EMER process has been improved dramatically in comparison with EL process. Also, the ion separation has been enhanced linearly by increasing the cell potential and initial salinity.