China Nonferrous Metallurgy

The bubbles generated on the anode side wall during the rare earth electrolysis process will affect the stable operation of the electrolytic cell. According to the similarity principle, the low temperature experiment of water electrolysis was designed according to the geometric ratio of 1∶2 to the rare earth electrolytic cell, and the microelectrode was prepared by the method of platinum wire embedded in epoxy resin. The experimental results show that the process of bubble nucleation, growth and detachment on the side wall of vertical microelectrode conforms to the classical formula of bubble growth law. In order to observe the coalescence and detachment behavior between bubbles, three nucleation sites were designed on the surface of the microelectrode. Through high-speed camera shooting, it was found that the two bubbles below and in the middle of the microelectrode surface first coalesced into a bubble, and then attracted the bubbles above to coalesce with it. Finally, the three bubbles merged into a large bubble and detached from the microelectrode. Based on the numerical simulation method, the coalescence process between bubbles is further explained.