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Chlor-alkali electrolysis with oxygen depolarized cathodes: history, present status and future prospects

  • Reviews in Applied Electrochemistry Number 66
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Abstract

The historical development, current status and future prospects of chlor-alkali electrolysis with oxygen depolarized cathodes (ODCs) are summarized. Over the last decades, membrane chlor-alkali technology has been optimized to such an extent that no substantial reduction of the energy demand can be expected from further process modifications. However, replacement of the hydrogen evolving cathodes in the classical membrane cells by ODCs allows for reduction of the cell voltage and correspondingly the energy consumption of up to 30%. This replacement requires the development of appropriate cathode materials and novel electrolysis cell designs. Due to their superior long-term stability, ODCs based on silver catalysts are very promising for oxygen reduction in concentrated NaOH solutions. Finite-gap falling film cells appear to be the technically most mature design among the several ODC electrolysis cells that have been investigated.

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Acknowledgement

Part of this study was funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the klimazwei research programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Leibnizstrasse 17, 38678, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Imad Moussallem, Ulrich Kunz, Stefan Pinnow & Thomas Turek

  2. Technical Chemistry A, University of Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Strasse 66, 44227, Dortmund, Germany

    Jakob Jörissen

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  1. Imad Moussallem
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Correspondence to Thomas Turek.

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Moussallem, I., Jörissen, J., Kunz, U. et al. Chlor-alkali electrolysis with oxygen depolarized cathodes: history, present status and future prospects. J Appl Electrochem 38, 1177–1194 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9556-9

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