Factors influencing the formation of sodium hydroxide by an ion exchange membrane cell

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the factors that influence the formation of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) by means of an electrolytic cell with ion exchange membranes. To achieve this experiment, the NaOH production cell had to be designed and built inexpensively, using graphite electrodes. The operational parameters in our study were: initial NaOH concentration, applied voltage, and temperature. All experiments were carried out using model NaCl solutions with a concentration of 40 g/L for 150 min. The results of the experiment were that the NaOH concentration, conductivity, and pH presented an increasing linear trend with the electrolysis time. Finally, it was possible to obtain the efficiency level of the electric current in our investigation, which was an average of 80.2%, that indicated good performance of the built cell.