Quantitative analysis of the cell voltage of SO2-depolarized electrolysis in hybrid sulfur process

SO2-depolarized electrolysis (SDE) is the pivotal reaction in hybrid sulfur process. To date, the total cell potential for an SO2-depolarized electrolyzer has been identified to be controlled dominantly by the sulfuric acid concentration of the anolyte and electrolysis temperature. Potential loss in SDE can be separated into four components, i.e., equilibrium potential, anodic polarization overpotential, cathodic polarization overpotential, and ohmic loss. In this work, the potential individual components of SDE were measured and calculated. Results showed that the anodic polarization overpotential exhibited the highest ratio in the cell voltage of SDE reaction, and the kinetics of the anodic reaction was controlled by a distinct reaction process under different cell potentials. This study increases understanding on SDE and provides assistance to improve its performance.