This paper proposes two improvements for the separation chamber of an ionic exchange membrane (IEM) cell used in the chlor-alkali industry to improve the performance of the anode chamber. One is the installation of a round pipe at the center of the channel plate and the other is the opening of holes near the backboard. The performances of the anode chamber with and without improvements are studied by means of experiments and numerical simulations. The values of the liquid velocity in the anode chamber without improvement are measured by using the dye tracer method. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Results indicate that both improvements can reduce the accumulation of gas at the top of the anode chamber, increase the circulation volume of the liquid, and reduce the surface temperature of the membrane. Compared with the anode chamber without improvements, the installation of the round pipe and the opening of the holes can reduce the volume fraction of the gas at the top by 16.7% and 5.04%, respectively. (C) 2017 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.