Cell grounding

Grounding is primarily used to carry away stray currents and reduce electrocorrosion. If it is not connected, it can more easily lead to accelerated perforation of the metal pipes.

It directs the stray current away to prevent electrochemical corrosion; the current level should not exceed 1A. If it is not connected, excessive stray current may cause slight fluctuations in the flow rates within the electrolyzer. This is a theoretical possibility, but it has not occurred in practice.

Oh, it shouldn’t have an impact on the electrolyzer or the ion membrane, right?

It has been disassembled for 2 years, with no obvious abnormalities observed.

The absence of grounding and corrosion is relative; generally, in grounding designs, a zero-potential grounding approach is adopted, that is, the material inlets and outlets are designed to be at zero potential, in order to reduce leakage current. However, this cannot be achieved in actual production, as the zero potential keeps changing due to factors such as operating time, operating conditions, different types of ion exchange membranes, and variations in the performance of individual cells. Corrosion does not occur even in the absence of grounding, mainly because there is virtually no current leakage, and the inlet and outlet of the electrolyzer are exactly at or very near zero potential. But as long as the potential drifts, there will definitely be an impact. If it is a metal pipe, it will corrode the pipe; if it is a non-metallic pipe, it will corrode the pump. Our company once failed to pay attention to a broken grounding wire for the anode imports; three days later, the impeller of the anode solution circulation pump became corroded and was unable to achieve the required flow rate, forcing the plant to shut down.