Three-Dimensional CFD Simulation of the Tubular Electrochemical Reactor with Meshed Plate Electrodes

To deal with the drawbacks of tubular electrochemical reactors, a novel tubular electrochemical reactor with meshed plate electrodes is developed, wherein the electrolyte (wastewater) flows horizontally through the meshed plate electrodes, instead of parallel to the surface of electrodes. Computational fluid dynamics simulation is employed to visualize the hydrodynamics of the reactor. The simulation result is consistent with the particle image velocity observe. According to the simulation results, the meshed plate electrodes make a positive contribution to uniform the distribution of the liquid flow, and consequently enhance the mass transfer. About 30.27% of the back-mixing area forms in the reaction region. The effects of the inlet design on the liquid hydrodynamics, especially the distribution of the flow field along the reactor are considered. The best flow field distribution in the inlet region is obtained in the case of the tangential inlet, and the back-mixing area in the reaction region is reduced by 50%. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.