Simulation der Elektrolytströmung in einer Kupfer Raffinationselektrolysezelle

A computational fluid dynamic simulation of the electrolyte flow in a full-scale copper electrorefining tankhouse cell has been performed. The electrolyte flow is effected by small scale events caused by concentration gradients very close to the electrode surfaces as well as by large scale events caused by the circulation of a fresh electrolyte. The electrolyte flow patterns in the tankhouse cell have been successfully modelled by using a hybrid global and local simulation approach. To verify the simulation model, a set of tracer experiments has been performed on an industrial tankhouse cell, and a very good agreement between the model and the experiments has been found.