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    electroquímica

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    92 views1 page

    Electrolytic Processing

    Uploaded by

    Miguel Angel Ramos Ruiz
    electroquímica

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    of 1
    hemical production via electrolysis was not piactical until the devel opment of the electrical dynamo in the 1870's. Z. 1. Gramme, a Belgian national working in Trance, built the first central-station- sized dynamo capable of continuous operation, Significant technical contri- butions by Weiner von Siemens in Germany and Wenstrom in Sweden led to a dynamo design in 1880 with the fundamental fearures currently prac ticed In the U.S., Edison patented a dc. generator in 1879 capable of con verting 80% of the applied horsepower to electricity compared ta. Siemens 554, All these efforts were directed at producing central station power tor lectrie are lighting.{1) The result of this activity was a massive power avall- ability for commercial electrolysis, the first major chemical industry in the US.2) Prior to this time, commercial eectro- Unemisuy consisted of tro. areas: galvanic cells and electroplating. Varia- tions of Volta’s original voltaic pile ‘which consisted of alternating layers uf copper and zinc interleaved with paste- board soaked brine were commercially available. Mlectroplating could be pow- fered by one of these voltaic piles, hand-cranked generators or by taking advantage of replacement plating, n 1867, the Leclanche dry cell appeazed, which was considerably more vonve: nient. (1) ‘Niagara alls, NY, was a center for the Hedghng electrolyue Industry i the United States. In 1886, a syndicate was granted authority to hamess up to 200,000 hp of the How of the Upper Niagara River. This dwarfed any other eletiic project in the world up until that time, The first contract customers for the Niagara power were the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (ater Alcoa) for aluminum metal production and Carborundum Compa ny for making SiC electrothermally. Both these projects were lured te the Upper Niagara by the promise of inexpensive power only. Later, abundant salt deposits were dis. covered and exploited by the fledgling bleach, and chlov-alkalt industries. (1) Other | mojor clectrolytic products betore the turn of the century included: bromine, sodium and potas- sium. (2) Electrolytic Processing by Richard D. Varjian In the ensuing years, electrolytic roures to a number of materials have heen practiced commercially. These are shown in Tabtt I. Most of the materials are strong oxidizing or reducing agents, for metals that are simply impractical t0 snnanulacture thermally. A few organic chemicals have been manutactured electrolytically beginning with manni- tol and sorbitol in the tiid-1930'3.03,4) ‘Today, the major electrolytic products arc aluminum, copper, chlorine and soctiuim hydroxide, Tab I lists the prominent electrolytic products, global production rate and valuc.(6) Por Comparison, ‘Tasie IML includes. non- clectrolytic products. It is evident that clectrolytic provesing. is somewhat smaller in scale than other products of the chemicals and metals industries (6) ‘he major electolytie products are basic building, blocks of a variety of Industrial, commercial and consumer industries, and as such touch our lives every day. Copper is the hase metal with the greatest electrical conductivity and is used in wire and electrical devices ofall kinds. Aluminum is prized for its light weight, corrosion. resistance and easy formahility. Chlorine and sodium Ihydioxide arc used widely in the chemi- ‘eal, petrochemical and paper industries. Electrolytic manufacturing embodies snany processes not mentioned in Tat TL. These processes are practiced on a smaller scale than those mentioned in ‘Taub, but they are ny Tess important to those who employ them, Water elec- trolysis to make high purity hydrogen and oxygen is widely practived in Furope A variety of organic chemicals are produced electrochemically at the rate of 100 tons per year.(/) Ihe largest volume product of electro-arganic syn- thesis Is adiponitile made by the ‘hydrodimerization of acrylonitrite. This fs the well known Monsanto process first demonstrated by Manuel Baizet in the laboratory and later improved by Don Danly. (12) Production is estimat- ced at 300,000 tons per year. (7) The electrorefining, of metal oxidizes {impure metal for re-

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