Journal of The Electrochemical Society You may also like Editorial: Industrial Electrolysis - Fiftieth Anniversary: The ChlorAlkali Industry, 1902–52 Deane O. Hubbard To cite this article: William Cecil Gardiner 1952 J. Electrochem. Soc. 99 293C - Closure to “Discussion of ‘Diaphragm Type Amalgam CausticChlorine Cell’ [Chas. Potter and A. L. Bisio (pp. 158–161)]” A. L. Bisio and C. Potter View the article online for updates and enhancements. - Some Practical Aspects of Copper Refining in a Multiple System Tank House M. A. Mosher This content was downloaded from IP address 37.76.33.80 on 01/12/2023 at 14:33 Editorial 0 Industrial Electrolysis THEIndustrial Electrolytic Division is happy to join in celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of The Electrochemical Society. A few of the industries represented in the Division are older than the Society but most are younger. The Industrial Electrolytic Division was organized to serve the interests of those eleetroehemists manufacturing chemicals and winning metals by the electrolytic method. Fifty years ago, salt was already being electrolyzed to make caustic soda and chlorine by both the mercury cell and diaphragm cell process. Sodium chlorate was also being made. Hall had developed his process for aluminum, and sodium was being made by electrolyzing fused sodium hydroxide. This list of products has grown during the life of the Society with sodium perchlorate and hydrogen peroxide among the chemicals. Electrolytic sodium hypochlorite has occasionally been made. Sodium is now made from fused salt rather than fused caustic soda. Other metals obtained eleetrolytically include beryllium, bismuth, calcium, cadmium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, indium, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, silver, tin, uranium, and zinc. Will titanium and some of the "rare" metals join the group? Members of the Division have prepared eight review articles covering various fields. The aluminum industry is covered historically and, in addition, recent technical advances in Europe are brought to our attention. The biography of an early but little known experimenter in aluminum, Augustus J. Rogers, is given in the Feature Section. The magnesium and sodium industries were reviewed individually while other metals were reviewed as a group. Reviews were obtained on alkali-chlorine, chlorates and perchlorates, and hydrogen peroxide. The Division is indebted to the individual authors. Several of these industries were operated almost as secret processes for many years. The great expansion during World War II required the licensing of many (Continued on next page) 293C Editorial (continued) processes and passing on of "know-how" to licensees. The technology became so widely known that publication policies became more liberal. German processes were investigated after the war and details published so that a great deal of information is now generally available. The Division has been able to arrange symposia on a number of subjects of m u t u a l interest. One of the common interests of those in the Industrial Electrolytic Division is cheap direct current. Power is one of the major costs in most of these industries. Motor generators and synchronous converters served the industry for m a n y years. Conversion efficiencies were of the order of 80 and 90 per cent, respectively, depending on the circuit voltage. Cell circuits were built up with a number of cells in series to arrive at the efficient operating voltage and the desired production capacity. The mercury arc rectifier was developed in the thirties and improved efficiencies were obtainable, if circuit voltage of 500 to 700 volts could be used. Practically all of the electrolytic expansion during World War II was with the ignitron type of mercury arc rectifier. This required special safety precautions because of the high voltage. At the end of the war, it was found that the Germans had been developing a mechanical rectifier of even higher efficiency. The high efficiency extends from 50 to a top-operating voltage of about 400 volts. Machines of advanced design are now being built in the United States and several high-amperage installations have been in successful operation for several years. High efficiency without the hazards of high voltage seems like the answer to the industrial electrochemist's prayer. Another trend in electrochemical circuits has been toward larger and larger -cells. Electrolytic cells require a considerable amount of individual control and maintenance. A large cell can be controlled as readily as a smaller one so labor costs can be reduced by increasing cell size. The largest units are in the aluminum industry where one hears of 100,000 ampere "pots." Magnesium cells have been operated at 75,000 amperes and mercury type caustic-chlorine cells are operating at 50,000 amperes. Cells of such a size can't equal the daily production of a blast furnace but they are working in the right direction. --WILLIAM CECIL GARDINER 294C
