Ohmic Drop and Heat Generation

The ohmic drop in the electrochemical cell is related to the potential field in the electrolyte, which depends on the geometry and the arrangement of electrodes and 

Heat is generated in the electrochemical cell by means of electrical power loss related to the cell voltage, referred to as Joule heating, and also mechanical power loss related to the electrolyte flow. The Joule heating of the system is given by [2] 

The ohmic drop frequently represents an important fraction of the cell voltage and plays a major role in the heat generation terms. This is especially true in organic electrosynthesis where current densities are high and electrolyte conductivities low. A major concern in electrochemical engineering is clearly linked to the design of cells with minimum ohmic drops. 

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