US1315982A

US1315982A - Process fob

Info

Publication number: US1315982A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1919-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1936-09-16

Description

E. MOULTON.

PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING METALS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 18. 1915.

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PROCESS FUR EXTE/AGTING METALS.

Specification or Letters Patent. t t s a 1 119 I Application filed April 1t, 1916; Serial No. 91,902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LEnnnsr Mournron, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salt Lake Cityfiin the county of Salt Lake and State of tah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Extracting Metals; and T do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for separating zinc/ from zinc sulfate and zinc chlorid.

The object of the present invention is to provide a process and an apparatus for separating zinc from acid solutions such as zinc sulfate and zinc chlorid and it is adapted to enable low grade ores to be advantageously worked.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing-and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departin from the spirit or sacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of a double cell constructed in accordance with this invention for carrying out the process,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of one of the porous walls of the inner receptacle,

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating an-.

other form of filtering or porous packing.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawing.

in the accompanying drawingv is illustrated the embodiment of a preferred form of apparatus for carrying out the process of this invention. This apparatus comprises in this constructionn double cell consisting of an outer receptacle or tank 1 and an inner receptacle or tank 2 which is constructed separate from and arranged within the outer tank or receptacle 1 to enable it to be readily placed therein and removed therefrom. Theouter tank or receptacle 1 forms a compartment 3 for the reception of an acid solution of zinc and the inner receptacle forms an inner compartment l for the reception of an alkaline solution of zinc but instead of forming the separate compartment by diflerent receptacles, one placed within the other they may be partitioned 0d in other desired manner as will be readily understood, the arrangement illustrated in the drawings being preferable as it permits the current to flow inwardl into the central receptacle from opposite si es thereof thereby increasing the capacity of the apparatus.

The inner receptacle is provided with opposite walls 5 consisting of frames composed of inner and. outerwall plates or members 6 and 7 provided at intervals with registering

openings

8 and 9 and spaced apart to form a recess or pocket 10 for the reception of a porous packing or diaphragm composed of sheets 11 of porous material such as filter paper, canvas, burlap or the like and a stratum 12 of granular material such as sand, saw-dust or the like. Urdinary sand may be employed and also sand from the tailings from leaching tanks may be utilized. The sand may be used with or without the sheets of porous filtering material and when sand is employed independently of the sheets of filtering material coarse sand 12 will be arranged adjacent to the frame plates pr members 6 and 7 and finer sand 12 between the coarse as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. The porous packing or diaphragm separates the acid and alkaline solution and while permitting thepassage of the electric current through the electrolyte it will prevent the mixing of the acid and alkaline solutions. The upper ends of the pockets 10 are open to permit theapplication and removal of the porous packings or diaphragms.

The outer compartment contains a pair of electrodes 13 of carbon with which are connected wires 14 and the central or intermediate compartment contains an electrode 15 consisting of a zinc, copper or iron plate and connected to the other terminal of the electric circuit. The wires 14 branch from a common wire 17 and the electric current of carbon and copper, zinc or iron plates, electrodes of any other suitable materialof suflicient difi'erence in polarity may of course be employed. The inner and :outer tanks or receptacles may be constructed of wood or metal and will be painted or otherwise coated to render them acid proof.

The zinc formed by the decomposition in the anode chamber migrates into the oathode chamber through the diaphragm, which in consequence of the well known action of zinc solution and of alkaline zinc solution in particular upon paper has been converted into a kind of vegetable parchment, thereby effectivelypreventing a ready diflusion of the two electrolytic liquids into each other. In the cathode chamber the zinc is converted first into zincate, or in the case of lead into plumbate, from which, by decomposition the metal is separated and deposited upon the cathode, hydrogen being also formed and collecting upon the cathode. By this means it has been found that a more coherent and more uniform deposit is formed than it is possible to obtain by using exclusively acid solution of the metal as an electrolyte. The alkaline solution also causes hydrids to be formed, which protect the metal deposit. The employment of an alkaline catholyte has the advantage, moreover, that such foreign metals as iron, aluminum, calcium and the like are precipitated and are prevented from entering the zinc deposit as impurities.

The process and apparatus enable low grade zine ore to be worked profitably, and may also be employed for extracting lead and other metal.

What is claimed is 1. The hereindescribed process of separating metals, consisting in separating an acid and an alkaline solution of a metal so as to prevent the mixing of the solutions and to permit the passage of an electric current from one solution to the other. and in subjecting the solutions to the action of an electric current'through the medium of a cathode in the alkaline solution and an anode in the acid solution.

2. The hereindescribed process of extracting metals which consists in immersing the terminals of an electric circuit respectively in an acid solution and in an alkaline solution of the metal and passing the electric current through said terminals.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST MOULTON.

Witnesses:

W. A. STUMM, LOUIS C. KIMBALL.