US759798A - Electrolytic apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No. 759,798. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

H. s. BLAGKMORE.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 22, 1903.

K0 MODEL.

1% humans Patented May 10, 1904:.

HENRY SPENCER BLAUKMORE, OE MOUNT VERNON, NE YORK.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,798, dated May 10, 1904. Application filed July 22, 1903. Serial No. 166,567. (No 11101101,)

To cal], whom it may concern,

Be it known that I, H ENRY SPENCER BLACK- MORE, a citizen of the United States, residing atMount Vernon, in the county of l/Vestchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electrolytic Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This apparatus is especially intended for the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of sodium chlorid upon a mercury cathode and the removal of the sodium from the resulting amalgam as sodium hydrate, being fully described. in pending United States application, Serial No. 85,099, filed December 7, 1901.

Referring to the acompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus, taken on lineI Iot' Fig. 2. Fig.

2 is a plan View, partly in horizontal section;-

and Fig. 3 illustrates a modification using a siphon 25 to draw off the alloy from the electrolytic cell, a body of liquid other than the electrolyte being used in the intermediate vessel 28-for example, carbon bisulfid, carbon tetrachlorid, &c.

The apparatus consists of the following parts:

A vessel 1 communicates by bottom outlet 2 with a chamber 3. Within chamber 3 is a ball-float 4, communicating by rod 5, lever 6, and link 7 with a valve 8 in outlet 2. This float feed mechanism serves to maintain a column of mercury at uniform level in chamber 3. An outlet-pipe 9, leading from the bottom of chamber 3, opens into a manifold 10, which in turn has several lateral outlet-pipes 11, opening into the bottom of electrolytic cell 12. The layer of mercury 13 thus introduced upon the bottom of electrolytic cell is connected to act as cathode. Supported upon cathode 13 is a body of an aqueous solution of sodium chlorid. or other electrolyte 14. The cover 15 of the electrolytic cell has a number of openings 16, arranged in parallel rows. Above each row of openings is a strip 17 of insulating material, which serves to support the stems 18 of anodes 19. The cover 15 has also a number of vertical outlet-pipes 20 for chlorin leading into a manifold. Upon each end of the electrolytic cell is arranged a receptacle 22 for solid sodium chlorid or other pipe- 32.

electrolyte. These receptacles are in open communication with the electrolyte in cell 13 by openings 23 and serve to maintain it in a saturated condition. From the side of cell 13 one or more sets of pipes 24 25 lead into one or more vessels 26, from the bottom of which in turn a valve-pipe 27 leads into the oxidizing vessel 28. Pipe 2 1 serves to put the elec trolyte into open communication with a similar body of liquid 29 in vessel 26, while pipe 25 is arranged to draw oil' the liquid amalgam produced by electrolysis as soon as the pipe rises above the normal level of the cathode.

The oxidizing vessel 28 is divided into a number of parallel compartments alternately communicating at opposite ends by vertical bathe-plates 35. The liquid amalgam is introduced by pipe 27 into one of the end compartments and flows back and forth through the succeeding compartments to an outlet- Adjacent to but above outlet 32 is an inlet-pipe 33 for water or other oxidizing agents. The introduced water ltlows over the surface of the amalgam and serves to remove therefrom the sodium or other easilyoxidizablc metals, the resulting sodium hydrate escaping through the valved outlet-pipe 34. The rate of oxidation of the sodium may be increased by placing electrodes 35, of carbon or other relatively electronegative material, in the water and putting them in electrical communication with the amalgam below, either directly or by connecting the amalgam with the positive lead of the electrolizing-current and the carbon electrodes with the negative lead, thereby utilizing the electrical energy generated in the oxidizing-cell to furnish current to the clectrolizing-ccll. Pipe 32 serves to carry the depleted alloy metal from the oxidizing-cell into an ad joining vertical cylinder 36, in the bottom of which is a valve-outlet 37, controlled by a float 38. A pipe 39 leads from outlet 37 into a receiving vessel 10. The mercury collected in vessel 10 is returned by pipes 11, including pump 42 or otherwise, to the reservoir 1. The movement of mercury and amalgam through the various vessels is effected solely by the differences of level of the various bodies of mercury and amalgam, and these differences are maintained by suit- 8 and float-controlled outlet 37 and of the height of the connecting-pipes. The connecting-pipes between the various vessels are preferably of hard rubber or vitrified earthenware to insulate the vessels from each other. The pipe 21 for removing chlorin is preferably connected with an exhaust device to maintain a slight vacuum over the electrolyte and facilitate the escape of chlorin. The maintenance of the electrolyte in a saturated condition tends to prevent the absorption of chlorin by it and prevents the charges of level which would otherwise occur. The outletpipe 34 for sodium hydrate should be somewhat larger than the water-inlet pipe 33 and serves to maintain a constant level of the water in the oxidizing-chambers.

By the use of vessels which are provided with heating means the apparatus may be adapted for the electrolysis of molten sodium chlorid upon a cathode of molten metal, such as lead, any suitable means being employed for oxidizing and removing the sodium, such as a stream of molten sodium hydrate flowing in contact with the lead-sodium alloy or injected into the body of the alloy, the resulting sodium oxid being-regenerated, if desired, by the action of steam.

The term alloy as used in the claims is intended to cover a solution of an oxidizable metal in any alloying metal, whether mercury or lead.

As is Well known, the addition of a comparatively small amount of an alkali or an alkaline-earth metal to mercury converts the latter into a pasty condition in which it does not readily flow. This diificulty may be avoided when mercury is employed as a cathode by applying heat to it, thereby maintaining the amalgam produced by electrolysis in fluent condition and enabling larger percentages of sodium to be absorbed without interfering with the continuous overflow of amalgam into the oxidizing vessel. Such heat may be supplied by a gas-burner 44 beneath the electrolytic cell, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

1. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode,a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of the cathode and a body of electrolyte supported by the cathode, and a feed device for supplying additional liquid metal to the oathode as the alloy produced by electrolysis flows ofl through said outlet, means whereby the feed device controlled by variations in the density of the cathode, as set forth.

2. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode, a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of the cathode, a body of electrolyte supported by the cathode, a saturator for maintaining the body of the electrolyte at uniform density, and a feed device for supplying additional liquid metal to the cathode as the alloy produced by electrolysis flows off through said outlet, means whereby the feed device controlled by variations in the density of the cathode as set forth.

3. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode,a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of the cathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by said cathode, an adjoining chamber containing a column of the liquid metal, said column in communication with the cathode and balanced by the weight of the cathode and superposed electrolyte, and meansforsupplying additional liquid metal to said column controlled by the variations in density of the cathode and maintaining its level substantially uniform, as portions flow into the electrolytic cell, as set forth.

4. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode, a liquid-metal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of the cathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by said cathode, an adjoining chamber containing a column of the liquid metal, said column in communication with the cathode and balanced by the weight of the cathode and superposed electrolyte, a reservoir of the liquid metal and an inlet from said reservoir to said chamber, having a float-feed controlled by the height ofthe column in said chamber, as set forth.

5. An apparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquid alloys comprising an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of the alloy, an oxidizing agent supported by said layer, an outlet device for the alloying metal controlled by the height of said layer, and a reservoir of the alloy communicating with the oxidizing vessel and arranged to automatically supply a fresh alloy as the depleted alloying metal flows from the oxidizing vessel, as set forth.

6. Anapparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquid alloy, comprising an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of the alloy, an oxidizing agent supported by said layer, an outlet for the alloying metal having a float-valve controlled by theheight of said layer, and a reservoir of the alloy communicating with the oxidizing vessel and arranged to supply fresh alloy as the depleted alloying metal flows from the oxidizing vessel, as set' forth.

7. An apparatus for oxidizing and removing metals from their liquid alloys, comprising a vessel having tortuous passage, an inlet for the alloy at one end of the passage, an outlet for the alloying metal at the other end of the passage, an inlet for a liquid oxidizing agent adjacent to but above the said outlet, and an outlet for the product of oxidation adjacent to the said inlet for alloy and arranged to maintain a uniform layer of the oxidizing agent above the alloy, as set forth.

8. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having liquid-metal cathode, an oxidizing vessel, an independent body of electrolyte between said cell and vessel, and

, passages arranged to carry the alloy produced by electrolysis through saidindependent body of electrolyte and into the oxidizing vessel, thereby preventing short-circuit between the cathode and the alloy in the oxidizing vessel, as set forth.

9. An electrolytic apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode, a liquidmetal cathode, and a body of electrolyte supported by the cathode, an oxidizing vessel containing a layer of liquid alloy produced by electrolysis, and an intermediate chamber having separate passages communicating with said electrolyte, cathode, and layer of alloy, as set forth.

10. An electrolytic apparatus comprising a reservoir of liquid metal, an electrolytic cell communicating with said reservoir and having a layer of said liquid metal as cathode and a body of electrolyte supported by said cathode, an outlet near the surface of said cathode leading to an oxidizing vessel, a layer of the liquid alloy produced by electrolysis in said oxidizing vessel and supporting an oxidizing agent, an outlet arranged to lead the depleted alloying metal into an adjoining chamber, said chamber and an outletfrom the bottom of said chamber controlled by the height of the alloying metal in said chamber, the bodies of metal, electrolyte, alloy, and oxidizing agent in the reservoir, electrolytic cell, oxidizing vessel and said chamber, being normally balanced, whereby electrodeposition of a light metal upon the cathode causes the resulting alloy to overflow into the oxidizing vessel, the depleted alloying metal to flow from the oxidizing vessel into said chamber and a further quantity of the alloying metal to flow from the reservoir into the electrolytic cell, as set forth.

11. An electrolyticapparatus,comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode, a liquidmetal cathode, an outlet near the upper surface of the cathode, and a chamber containing a body of liquid which is inert toward the alloy produced in the electrolytic cell, said chamber communicating with the outlet of said cell, whereby said inert liquid serves to countel-balance the weight of the electrolyte while permitting free outflow of the alloy produced by electrolysis, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IIENRY SPENCER Bl'iACKlllORll.

Witnesses:

O. C. WRIGHT, H. N. JENKINS.

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