The present invention provides an electrochemical apparatus (300a) comprising an
electrolytic cell (100) for producing an
electrolysis product (50, 60) and a reaction vessel (200) for consuming at least some of the
electrolysis product (50, 60) as a
reagent in an exothermic
chemical reaction. The
electrolytic cell (100) comprises an electrochemical device, itself comprising an
electrode (10) and a conduit (20). The
electrode (10), which is configured as an
electrode (10, 70) of the
electrolytic cell (100), has a first part for immersion in an
electrolyte, a second part for making electrical contact with a current-carrying conductor, and a third part between the first and second parts for making
thermal contact with a
heat transfer fluid (HTF). The conduit (20) is arranged to bring the
heat transfer fluid (HTF) into
thermal contact with the third part of the electrode (10). The electrode (10) is made of carbon, which has reduced electrical resistivity and
thermal conductivity at temperatures above ambient. Therefore, if the third part of the electrode (10) is heated by means of the HTF, its electrical resistivity and
thermal conductivity are reduced. The former enables more efficient flow of
electrical current between the first and second parts of the electrode and therefore reduces the total
internal resistance of the electrolytic
cell (100). The latter reduces the flow of heat between the first and second parts of the electrode (10) and therefore helps to prevent heat loss from the electrolytic
cell (100) via the electrode (10) to the current-carrying conductor. Both effects make the electrolytic
cell (100) more energy efficient. The apparatus (300a) further comprises a product transfer pathway (110) arranged to transfer the
electrolysis product (50, 60) from the electrolytic cell (100) to the reaction vessel (200), and a first
heat exchanger (210) arranged to transfer heat (Q) from the reaction vessel (200) to the
heat transfer fluid (HTF) in the conduit (20). The electrochemical device may therefore be used to inject
waste heat from the exothermic
chemical reaction into the electrolytic cell (100). This reduces the electrical
power consumption of the electrolytic cell and also makes the combination of the electrolytic cell (100) with the exothermic
chemical reaction supplying the heat (Q) more energy efficient overall. The invention also provides methods of operating such an electrochemical apparatus. The invention is particularly suited to producing Group 1 and Group 2 metals by electrolysis with increased energy efficiency.