JP2605708Y2 - Electrolytic cell - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolytic cell used in the electrochemical industry such as electrolysis and batteries.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various electrochemical cells are used in electrochemical processes such as water electrolysis, salt electrolysis, sodium salt electrolysis, seawater electrolysis, organic electrolysis, and fuel cells, depending on the purpose and application. The electrolyzer has a structure in which a plurality of unit electrolyzers are stacked in order to reduce the unit power consumption and the equipment cost (for example, JP-A-57-210980). It is desirable to reduce the thickness of the electrolytic cell as much as possible so as to reduce the size of the assembled electrolytic cell. On the other hand, nozzles and pipes are generally provided for gas-liquid circulation to the unit electrolytic cell, but the processing is complicated and expensive, and the presence of the nozzles and the like hinders the reduction of the distance between the electrodes and the thickness of parts. Has become. Furthermore, when assembling a laminated electrolytic cell using a conventional hard electrolytic chamber frame, it is necessary to pressurize in the laminating direction. Gaskets are installed in the space between
It takes time and effort to install the gasket, and the gasket is an obstacle to the miniaturization of the aforementioned electrolytic cell.

An object of the present invention is to provide various electrolytic cells for electrolysis as described above, which eliminate the above-mentioned factors which hinder the miniaturization of the electrolytic cell, and in particular reduce the number of parts and thereby simplify the structure. Aim.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a frame-shaped chamber.
An electrolytic cell which is characterized in that it comprises a frame and the chamber frame rim electrolyte inlet pipe and an electrolyte discharge pipe comprising a material having a large elastic modulus from penetrating chamber frame component material. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The chamber frame of the electrolytic cell according to the present invention has a function as a sealing material (gasket) by being combined with the chamber frame of the electrolytic cell having a pipe for introducing and discharging the electrolyte.
The step of separately installing the gasket is omitted, the number of parts is reduced, and the thickness of the entire apparatus when the electrolytic cell is assembled using the chamber frame is also reduced to reduce the size. I have. In order to realize this feature, the piping and the chamber frame, the ion exchange membrane and the peripheral edge of the chamber frame must be sufficiently adhered to each other so that leakage of the electrolytic solution and gas does not occur. Therefore, the material constituting the chamber frame and the piping is an elastic body, and the material is selected depending on the environment in which it is used. However, fluorine rubber is desirable from the viewpoint of corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance. In this chamber frame, a pipe through hole is formed or a groove for fixing the pipe is formed in the divided surface of the divided chamber frame. In the latter case, the pipe is positioned between the smooth divided surfaces and the unit electrolysis is performed. The formation of the groove may be omitted as long as it can be hermetically sealed by pressing in the laminating direction of the tank.

The piping material is selected from materials having a higher elastic modulus than the material of the chamber frame. In particular, the portion existing in the chamber frame is made of a material having resistance to the electrolytic solution and generated gas. These materials include metals and resins. When installing a plurality of pipes, it is preferable to use modularized pipes. It is desirable that the front end of the pipe on the chamber frame side is fixed so as to be positioned within the chamber frame within a range of several centimeters from the inner edge of the chamber frame. Further, as described later, in order to improve the sealing property when a plurality of unit electrolytic cells including the chamber frame are integrated by pressurizing, the pipe diameter t _P should be smaller than the chamber frame thickness t _G , preferably is designed in such a way that t _P × 1.5 <t _G.

The above-mentioned chamber frame having such a structure can be used as a unit member constituting an ordinary electrolytic cell or electrodialysis cell for electrolysis. In the case of a normal electrolytic cell, the electrode is installed except when it is used as an intermediate chamber in the case of a normal electrolytic cell. Use without. When installing an electrode, it is desirable to install so as to close the opening of the frame-shaped chamber frame, an electrode material corresponding to a predetermined electrolytic reaction, for example, a plate or an expanded metal coated with a platinum group metal oxide, etc. Use Note that a rigid spacer may be located between the chamber frames in order to keep the thickness of the unit electrolytic cell constant.

It is desirable that the chamber frames are laminated via an ion exchange membrane and pressurized in the laminating direction to be integrated to constitute an electrolytic cell. The integration can be performed, for example, by fastening between the fastening holes of the end walls located at both ends of the plurality of chamber frames with a tie rod. At the time of this fastening, in the conventional fastening of the chamber frame, a gasket is inserted between a pair of adjacent metal chamber frames to prevent the contact between the two chamber frames, but in the present invention, it is made of an elastic body. Since the chamber frame at the peripheral edge of the chamber frame also serves as a gasket, it is not necessary to separately provide a gasket, thereby reducing the number of parts and the thickness of the entire electrolytic cell.

Next, an electrolytic cell according to the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an electrolytic cell in which a chamber frame according to the present invention is laminated with electrodes and an ion exchange membrane, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a BB cross-sectional view. The unit electrolytic cell 1 is made of a material such as a frame-shaped fluororubber having an opening 2 and the unit electrolytic cell 1 is laminated with an adjacent unit electrolytic cell (not shown) by an ion-exchange membrane 3 having the same outer edge shape. Similarly, a plurality of unit electrolytic cells are stacked via an ion exchange membrane.

The chamber frame 4 of the unit electrolytic cell 1 is divided into two parts in parallel with the ion exchange membrane 3 to form a pair of half chamber frames 4a, and the upper and lower peripheral edges of the divided surface of the half chamber frame 4a. Each part is 3
A plurality of vertical semicircular grooves 5 are formed. A step 6 is formed at the periphery of one of the openings 2 (left side in FIG. 2) of the half chamber frame 4a, and the step 6 is coated with a platinum group metal oxide which is an electrode active substance. The periphery of the electrode structure 7, which is a titanium base material, is fixed. The two divided chamber frames 4a are in contact with their respective divided surfaces to form a circular through-hole by the pair of grooves 5, and the through-hole is formed of a hollow material having a higher elastic modulus than the chamber frame. The pipe 8 is inserted.

When a plurality of unit electrolytic cells 1 in FIG. 1 are pressurized in the laminating direction, each of the unit electrolytic cells 1 and the ion exchange membrane 3 are partially deformed and closely adhered to form an electrolytic cell. . Due to the deformation, the chamber frame 4 of the unit electrolytic cell 1 and the ion-exchange membrane 3 come into close contact with each other, and the pipe 8 is pressurized by the surrounding half-chamber frame 4a, so that both are formed in a tight airtight state. An electrolyzer with no leakage is constructed. FIG. 4 is a front view of a chamber frame according to another embodiment of the electrolytic cell of the present invention.
The five pipes of the unit electrolytic cell 1a are the same as the unit electrolytic cells of FIGS. 1 to 3 except that their base ends are bundled and modularized. In the unit electrolytic cell 1a of FIG. 4, the introduction and discharge of the electrolytic solution can be performed by the bundled main introduction pipe 8a and the main discharge pipe 8b, and performed for each pipe as in the unit electrolytic cells of FIGS. It is more advantageous because there is no need.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic views showing examples of assembling another electrolytic cell using the chamber frame according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diaphragm type monopolar electrolytic cell, and FIG. FIG. 7 shows a diaphragm type monopolar electrolytic cell having an intermediate chamber. In the electrolytic cell of FIG. 5, unlike the case of FIG. 1, the chamber frame 11 is not divided, and a hole (not shown) formed in the periphery of the chamber frame 11
A pipe 12 is inserted into the pipe. Each room frame 11 is from the left.
-Anode 13-Chamber 11-Ion exchange membrane 14-Chamber 11-Cathode 15-
The chamber 11 and the ion exchange membrane 14 are laminated in this order to constitute an electrolytic cell. The electrolytic solution supplied from the pipe 12 is electrolyzed in an electrode chamber formed between the adjacent ion exchange membranes 14 to provide a desired electrolytic product.

The chamber frame 11 of the electrolytic cell shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the chamber frame shown in FIG. 5, and is laminated in the order of electrode 16, chamber frame 11, electrode 16, chamber frame 11, electrode 16 and chamber frame 11 from the left side. Make up the tank. An electrolytic solution, for example, an aqueous sodium chloride solution supplied from the pipe 12 is electrolyzed to provide sodium hypochlorite. FIG.
5 and 6 are the same as those in FIGS. 5 and 6, and from the left, the ion exchange membrane 14, the chamber frame 11, the electrode 16, the chamber frame 11, the ion exchange membrane 14, the chamber frame 11, and the ion exchange membrane. 14-chamber 11-electrode 16
-Chamber 11-ion exchange membrane 14-Chamber 11-ion exchange membrane 14-
The electrolytic cells are stacked in the order of the chamber frame 11. In the case of this electrolytic cell, an electrolytic product such as sodium hydroxide is provided as in the case of conventional Glauber's salt electrolysis.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an experimental apparatus used in the test for sealing degree of the chamber frame of the present invention. Two upper and lower two polytetrafluoroethylene pipes 22 (outer diameter 2 mm, inner diameter 1 mm) are placed between two frame-shaped silicon rubber sheets 21 having a hardness of 50, a thickness of 2 mm, an outer dimension of 100 mm and an inner dimension of 80 mm. 10 mm / c, sandwiching both sheets 21 between 5 mm-thick iron plates so that the leading ends project 5 mm from the inner edge of the sheet.
It was tightened with a pressure of m ² . After confirming that air was sent in from the upper pipe 22 and air was discharged from the other pipe, the lower pipe 12 was closed to make the air in the sheet 21 3 atm, and the upper pipe was closed. There was no subsequent pressure change, and it was confirmed that the airtightness in the sheet was sufficiently maintained.

[0015]

The present invention comprises a frame-shaped chamber frame and an electrolyte introduction pipe and an electrolyte discharge pipe which penetrate the periphery of the chamber frame and are made of a material having a higher elastic modulus than the material constituting the chamber frame. An electrolytic cell characterized by the following. In the electrolytic cell of the present invention having such a configuration, the number of parts is reduced because the gasket of the conventional laminated electrolytic cell is also used, and the distance between the electrodes and the thickness of the chamber frame itself are reduced, thereby reducing the size of the apparatus. Since the piping and the chamber frame are made of an elastic material, there is no leakage of the electrolytic solution and generated gas.

Further, when the plurality of pipes are modularized, it is possible to supply the electrolyte to each pipe and to take out the electrolyte from each pipe, so that the supply to a single pipe and the discharge from the pipe are possible. And work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a unit electrolytic cell according to an embodiment of the electrolytic cell according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a unit electrolytic cell according to another embodiment of the electrolytic cell of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of assembling a diaphragm type bipolar electrolytic cell using the chamber frame according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of assembling a non-diaphragm type monopolar electrolytic cell using the chamber frame according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an example of assembling a diaphragm type monopolar electrolytic cell using the chamber frame according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an experimental apparatus used for a test of the degree of sealing of the chamber frame of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Unit electrolytic cell 2 ... Opening 3 ... Ion exchange membrane 4 ... Chamber frame 4a ... Half-chamber frame 5 ... Groove 6 ... Step part 7.
..Electrode structure 8 ・ ・ ・ Piping 8a ・ ・ ・ Main introduction pipe 8b ・ ・ ・ Main discharge pipe 11 ・ ・ ・ Room frame 12 ・ ・ ・ Piping
13 ・ ・ ・ Anode 14 ・ ・ ・ Ion exchange membrane 15 ・ ・ ・ Cathode
16 ・ ・ ・ Electrode 21 ・ ・ ・ Silicon rubber sheet 22 ・ ・ ・ Piping

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C25B 1/00-15/08 H01M 2/02 H01M 2/36 106 H01M 8/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A frame-shaped chamber frame and a penetrating edge of the chamber frame.
An electrolytic cell comprising: an electrolyte introduction pipe and an electrolyte discharge pipe made of a material having a higher elastic modulus than a chamber frame constituent material . 2. The piping according to claim 1, wherein the piping is modularized.
The electrolytic cell according to 1 .