The effect of the electrodes shape in water electrolysis on the production of hydrogen

This article presents a comparative study of the production of hydrogen by the electrolysis of water using two forms of electrodes; cylindrical and flat. The objective of this comparison is to select the best type of electrolyzer to produce hydrogen for the same volume of water and the same operating voltage. An analytical study and experimental tests were carried out on a cylindrical electrolyser consisting of two concentric cylindrical electrodes separated by a variable thickness e (3.5 mm, 4 mm, 5.5 mm, 8.5 mm and 9 mm), then a flat electrolyser consisting of two flat electrodes spaced by a distance d (2 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm and 15 mm). For each cylindrical electrolyser there corresponds a single electrolyser with flat electrodes. The preliminary study revealed that the production of hydrogen in an electrolyzer is significantly affected by the distance separating the two electrodes and their shapes. Indeed, the comparative electrolysis results show that in each case the electrolyzer with cylindrical electrodes clearly prevails over its counterpart with flat electrodes for the same operating conditions and for the same quantity of water injected into the electrolysis.