Imperial College London

ProfessorGeoffKelsall

Faculty of EngineeringDepartment of Chemical Engineering

Emeritus Professor of Electrochemical Engineering
 
 
 
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Contact

 

g.kelsall Website

 
 
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Location

 

RODH 302Roderic Hill BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Summary

Biography

Date Role
2001- Professor of Electrochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.
2000-2001 Professor of Electrochemical Engineering, T.H. Huxley School, Imperial College London
1998-2000 NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Electrometallurgy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
1994-1998 Professor of Electrochemical Engineering, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Imperial College London
1979-1994 Lecturer, then Reader in Electrochemical Engineering, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Imperial College London.
1974-1978 Research Officer, Electricity Council Research Centre, Capenhurst, Chester.
1972-1974 Ph.D. in Electrochemical Engineering, University of Southampton, (Thesis: Fluidised Bed Electrodes)
1971-1972 M.Sc. Corrosion, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Manchester
1968-1971 B.Sc. Chemistry, University of Manchester

Research Interests

My research involves the conception, design, characterisation, modelling, and optimisation of electrochemical processes, consuming electrical energy to effect useful chemical change. Such processes are used for industrial production of Cl2 + NaOH, NaClO3, NaClO4, Al, Co, Cu, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Zn, adiponitrile, etc. Chlor-alkali electrolyses alone consume ca. 2 % of the total US electrical power output and one plant at Runcorn consumes ca. 1 % of UK electrical power. Hence, the energy efficiencies of such processes are economically and environmentally crucial, since energy costs dominate their overall running costs, and, though they are intrinsically clean in themselves, they cause pollution (CO2, SO2, NOx) at a distance if energised by power stations burning fossil fuels. Recently completed and present projects involve(d):

  • Modelling of spatial distributions of electric potentials, current densities / local reaction rates and concentrations in electrochemical reactors, for industrially relevant conditions.
  • Modelling of electrode kinetics, current efficiencies (i.e. the proportion of total current used in the required reaction) and specific electrical energy consumptions for electrochemical processes involving multiple electrode reactions. This enables improved understanding, possibly resulting in improved performance, of existing industrial processes, and in the longer term, could lead to improved reactor designs.
  • Conception, design, characterisation, modelling, and optimisation of novel processes for treatment of effluents and wastes (electronic scrap, catalysts etc.) containing a range of precious and base metals.
  • Measurements of the spatial distributions of bubbles in electrochemical reactors and of the coalescence kinetics of individual bubbles with planar electrolyte / gas interfaces. Most of the most industrially important electrolytic processes generate bubbles of chlorine or oxygen, and hydrogen, which accumulate with height, decreasing electrolyte conductivities, increasing specific electrical energy consumptions and distorting current density distributions.

Links

Publications

Journals

Jang I, Hankin A, Xie Z, et al., 2024, Structural Effects of 3D Inkjet-Printed Ni(O)-YSZ Pillared Electrodes on Performances of Solid Oxide Electrochemical Reactors., Small

Sadeek SA, Hale C, Bedoya-Lora FE, et al., 2024, Protectiveness and stability of iron carbonate films on carbon steel in mildly alkaline aqueous alkanolamine CO<inf>2</inf> environments, Corrosion Science, Vol:227, ISSN:0010-938X

Sadeek SA, Bedoya-Lora FE, Campbell KS, et al., 2022, Formation of protective surface films on carbon steel in mildly alkaline aqueous alkanolamine CO2 solutions, Corrosion Science, Vol:211, ISSN:0010-938X

Farandos NM, Jang I, Alexander JC, et al., 2022, 3-D inkjet printed solid oxide electrochemical reactors III. cylindrical pillared electrode microstructures, Electrochimica Acta, Vol:426, ISSN:0013-4686, Pages:1-10

Thesis Dissertations

Kallitsis E, 2023, Life-cycle modelling of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles

More Publications