The limits of the analogy between boiling and gas evolution at electrodes

The processes of gas evolution at electrodes in electrochemical reactors and of boiling belong to strongly different fields in chemical engineering and for a long time were investigated separately. Nonetheless, they exhibit numerous common features. The analogies of both processes have been made use of giving rise to transfer findings obtained in one field to the other one. However, the analogy is limited, and the limitations have not yet attracted sufficient interest. A brief review on the analogies is given. The discrepancies in the fields of initial nucleation, the upper bound of operation and the different mechanisms controlling the transport of substance and of heat in both processes are discussed. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.