Study on bubble visualization of gas-evolving electrolysis in forced convective electrolyte

Electrolysis has been applied to many industrial fields because of the simple configuration and various usages. The bubble on the surface of electrodes is one of the most important factors that reduce the transport of electrons in the channel. In this study, the nucleation process of bubbles on electrodes against the time and the characteristics of bubble motion right after departure from the electrode were analyzed according to the Reynolds number of convective electrolytes. To verify the influence of the flow convection, the bubble behavior such as size and motion was analyzed by image processing. For an efficient configuration, the length of the electrode could be designed using empirical equations about the thickness of the bubble layer. Graphic abstract Contour of bubble layer for Re = 900 with current density of (a) 400 A/m 2 , (b) 800 A/m 2 , and (c) 1200 A/m 2 at steady state (W = 0.008 m and L = 0.18 m)