Patent ID: 7651602

Claim:
A method of cooling an electrolysis cell having a plurality of porous electrodes substantially vertically aligned in a stack, the method comprising: a. supplying fresh electrolyte to the cell via at least two spaced apart electrolyte inlets including a first electrolyte inlet supplying a major portion of fresh electrolyte from a first end of the stack of porous electrodes, a second electrolyte inlet supplying a first minor portion of the fresh electrolyte from a second opposite end of the stack of porous electrodes, the first minor portion of fresh electrolyte representing the remainder of all of fresh electrolyte being supplied; b. collecting spent electrolyte from the cell via at least two spaced apart electrolyte outlets adjacent a top end of the cell, the at least two spaced apart electrolyte outlets including a first electrolyte outlet collecting a major portion of the spent electrolyte from the second opposite end of the stack of porous electrodes, a second electrolyte outlet collecting the remainder of spent electrolyte from the first end of the stack of porous electrodes, the bulk of electrolyte flowing through the cell across the plurality of porous electrodes, the first minor portion of fresh electrolyte being shunted from the second electrolyte inlet to the first electrolyte outlet while removing heat from the cell, and a second minor portion of fresh electrolyte being shunted from the first electrolyte inlet to the second electrolyte outlet while removing heat from the cell, wherein the major portion of fresh electrolyte is greater than the first minor portion of fresh electrolyte.