Floating anodes

The electrorefining of many metals can be carried out using molten salt electrolytes, but these processes are usually expensive and have found Httie commercial use in spite of possible technical advantages. The only appHcation on an industrial scale is the electrorefining of aluminum by the three-layer process. The density of the molten salt electrolyte is adjusted so that a pure molten aluminum cathode floats on the electrolyte, which in turn floats on the impure anode consisting of a molten copper—aluminum alloy. The process is used to manufacture high purity aluminum. 

Figure 21-1 shows the object to be protected and the arrangement of impressed current anodes and reference electrodes. A central anode and two ring anodes of platinized titanium wire 3 mm in diameter provided with additional copper wire conductors are installed here. It is worth noting that the central anode is suspended from a float, whereas the ring anode is mounted on plastic supports. The zinc reference electrodes are also on floats near the inner side of the bell, while the 17 reference electrodes are mounted on plastic rods on the bottom of the cup and in the ring... 

Sodium metal is produced commercially on the kilotonne scale by the electrolysis of a fused eutectic mixture of 40% NaCl, 60% CaCh at 580°C in a Downs cell (introduced by du Pont, Niagara Falls, 1921). Metallic Na and Ca are liberated at the cylindrical steel cathode and rise through a cooled collecting pipe which allows the calcium to solidify and fall back into the melt. Chlorine liberated at the central graphite anode is collected in a nickel dome and subsequently purified. Potassium cannot be produced in this way because it is too soluble in the molten chloride to float on top of the cell for collection and because it vaporizes readily... 

Electrochemical performance of the modified carbons was examined by floating gas diffusion electrode [19] in an electrochemical cell with separated cathode and anode chambers at room temperature with PI-50-1.1 -potentiostat in IN KOH aqueous solution. 

For the production of superpurity aluminum on a large scale, the Hoopes cell is used. This cell involves three layers of material. Impure (99.35 to 99.9% aluminum) metal from conventional electrolytic cells is alloyed with 33% copper (cutcctic composition) which serves as the anode of the cell A middle, fused-salt layer consists of 60% barium chloride and 40% AlF 1.5NaF (chiolite), mp 72(TC. This layer floats above the aluminum-copper alloy. The top layer consists of superpurity aluminum (99.995%). The final product usually is cast in graphite equipment because iron and other container metals readily dissolve in aluminum. For extreme-purity aluminum, zone refining is used. This process is similar to that used for the production of semiconductor chemicals and yields a product that is 99.9996% aluminum and is available in commercial quantities. 

Electrical conductive-wire contacts, terminals, switch pans, bus bars Hardware cotter pins, nails, rivets, soldering copper, ball floats Other, anodes, chemical process equipment, kenles, pans, printing rolls, expansion plates, rotation bands, die-pressed forgings... 

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