A coated metal anode for the electrolytic recovery of metals is disclosed, whereby the working surface of this anode is represented by rods 4 which are arranged in a plane in spaced, parallel relationship to each other and which are electrically connected to a current supply rail 3.
To provide a coated metal anode of the identified type, which ensures an operation with acceptable current density and which permits with a simple constructive assembly an energy saving deposit of metal with high purity on the oppositely disposed cathode, the total surface FA of the rods 4 and the surface Fp assumed by the total arrangement of the rods 4 fulfills the relationship 6≧FA :Fp ≧2.
|
1. A coated metal anode for the electrolytic recovery of metals, the working surface of which is represented by rods which are arranged in a plane in spaced, parallel relationship to each other, and which are electrically connected to a current supply rail, wherein:
said rods lie in a plane with the current supply rail, so as to create a substantially planar rectangular, surface of the anode; said rods being arranged in such a manner that a larger portion of the area of said rods extends perpendicular to the arrangement plane assumed by said rods than is congruent with said plane; and said rods are connected to said current supply rail at one end face; and both the electrical and mechanical connection of each rod with said current supply rail takes place by means of at least one connecting strip extending parallel to said rod; and wherein one marginal region of said connecting strip is connected with said current supply rail and another marginal region is connected with said rods.
2. The anode according to
3. The anode according to
4. The anode according to
5. The anode according to
6. The anode according to
7. The anode according to
8. The anode according to
9. The anode according to
10. The anode according to
11. The anode according to
12. The anode according to
14. The anode according to
15. The anode according to
|
As shown by FIG. 1, a cell tank represented only schematically is indicated with 1. On bearing blocks 2 at the opening edge of the cell tank 1, a current supply rail 3 is positioned, which is connected via a contact rail 5 to the source of current. The current rail 3 bears a series of rods 4, which represents the working surface of the anode. The rods with the length LS have a rectangular cross-section with the width B and the depth T. In this respect, the rods are orientated such that their depth T extends perpendicular to the arrangement plane of FIG. 1. The surface assumed by the rods is defined by the length of the rods LS and by the distance LG of the outer sides of the two outer rods of the anode structure. The rods 4 are arranged with a clear distance A to each other.
The electrical and mechanical connection of the current supply rail, comprised e.g. of copper, with the rods 4, comprised e.g. of coated titanium, is best shown by FIG. 3. According to same, the current supply rails 3 and the rods 4 are arranged in a plane such that the upper end faces of the rods 4 border against the lower surface of the current supply rail 3. The connection of the current supply rail 3 with the rods 4 takes place via two connecting strips 6 arranged on both sides of the current supply rail and parallel thereto, whereby said strips 6 can also be of coated titanium. The connecting strips 6 are secured by means of screws 7a and nuts 7b to the current supply rail 3. The connection of the rods 4 with the connecting strips 6 takes place by welding spots 8. For the further stiffening of the anode structure, a plurality of crossbars 9, which are also of coated titanium, are connected to the rods 4 by spot welding. In this respect, the successive crossbars 9 are arranged alternatively on the one or the other side of the arrangement plane of the rods 4.
With the described construction, the rods 4 have a length LS of 1170 mm, whereas their width B is 2 mm and their depth T 12 mm. The clear distance A between two adjacent rods 4 is 8 mm. The entire length LG of the anode structure is 852 mm. 82 rods are provided.
The described anode is designed for a current of 600 A corresponding with an anode-side current density of 355 A/m2 (Fp). With a current of 600 A, merely an IR drop of about 100 mV occurs in the anode.
The anode construction is stiff and robust. This results not only from the described connection of the rods 4 with the current supply rail 3 by means of the connecting strips 6 and from the spot welding of the rods with these connecting strips 6, but also from the additional arrangement of the crossbars 9, which have a diameter of 4 mm in the embodiment. In this manner, each lamella-like rod 4 is held by seven welding spots.
The anode is simple in construction, relatively inexpensive to produce on account of the smallest possible amount of material, and has a very large geometrical surface. Without the current supply rail 3, it weighs about 12 kg. The total surface of the rods FA, to which the coating is applied, is about 3 m2, inclusive of the contacts. The working surface of the anode, i.e. that which immerses in the electrolyte, is about 2.4 m2, which provides at 600 A a DA value (anodic current density) of about 250 A/m2 (FA). The actual physical anode current density which results from the extremely large BET surface of the coating amounts to only a few 5%o of the DA value. Therefrom, and from the catalytic effectivity of the active components of the coating, a constant, low oxygen voltage results at the anode according to the invention for a long period of operation.
The coating of the anode surface which projects from the bath serves for the protection against corrosion of the component parts of the anode consisting of titanium.
The relatively small current load of the current supply rail 3 consisting of copper of about 0.8 A/mm2 with a current of 600 A at the anode permits the provision of nine bores 3a in the current supply rail 3 over a length LG of 852 mm. Each bore 6a in the connecting strip 6 has a partial current of about 33 A. On account of this small partial current in the contact zones and the good contact coating, the voltage drop in these regions remains constant for long periods of operation.
It should be understood that other modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of this invention, accordingly the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims which follow. We claim
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
3632498, | |||
3676325, | |||
3725223, | |||
4022679, | May 10 1973 | Heraeus Elektroden GmbH | Coated titanium anode for amalgam heavy duty cells |
4134806, | Jan 29 1973 | ELECTRODE CORPORATION, A DE CORP | Metal anodes with reduced anodic surface and high current density and their use in electrowinning processes with low cathodic current density |
4149956, | Jun 25 1969 | ELECTRODE CORPORATION, A DE CORP | Anode structure |
4273642, | Oct 17 1978 | Outokumpu Oy | Electrolytic cell |
Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jun 11 1984 | Conradty GmbH & Co. Metallelektroden KG | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Nov 29 2000 | ELTECH Systems Corporation | MELLON BANK, N A , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011442 | /0165 | |
Nov 29 2000 | ELTECH SYSTEMS FOREIGN SALES CORPORATION | MELLON BANK, N A , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011442 | /0165 | |
Nov 29 2000 | ELTECH SYSTEMS, L P , L L L P | MELLON BANK, N A , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011442 | /0165 | |
Nov 29 2000 | ELGARD CORPORATION | MELLON BANK, N A , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 011442 | /0165 | |
Mar 24 2003 | MELLON BANK, N A , AS AGENT | ELTECH Systems Corporation | RELEASE OF SECURITY AGREEMENT | 013922 | /0792 |
Date | Maintenance Fee Events |
Dec 31 1990 | M171: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 8th Year, PL 96-517. |
Jan 29 1991 | ASPN: Payor Number Assigned. |
Jan 15 1992 | ASPN: Payor Number Assigned. |
Jan 15 1992 | RMPN: Payer Number De-assigned. |
Dec 23 1994 | M185: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 12th Year, Large Entity. |
Feb 07 1995 | REM: Maintenance Fee Reminder Mailed. |
Jul 02 1995 | EXP: Patent Expired for Failure to Pay Maintenance Fees. |
Date | Maintenance Schedule |
Dec 15 1990 | 4 years fee payment window open |
Jun 15 1991 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Dec 15 1991 | patent expiry (for year 4) |
Dec 15 1993 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4) |
Dec 15 1994 | 8 years fee payment window open |
Jun 15 1995 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Dec 15 1995 | patent expiry (for year 8) |
Dec 15 1997 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8) |
Dec 15 1998 | 12 years fee payment window open |
Jun 15 1999 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Dec 15 1999 | patent expiry (for year 12) |
Dec 15 2001 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12) |