Industrie De Nora S.p.a.

De Nora Permelec S.p.a.

Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe Srl

De Nora Elettrodi S.p.a

Montedison S.p.a.

Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc.

De Nora S.p.a.

S.e.r.e. S.r.l.

Uhdenora Technologies S.r.l.

Uhdenora S.p.a.

Giuseppe Faita

Luciano Iacopetti

Carlo Traini

Corrado Mojana

Fulvio Federico

Claudio Mantegazza

Lawrence Gestaut

Giuseppe Bianchi

Luca Merlo

Alice Calderara

Giovanni Meneghini

Giorgio Pagani

Antonino Toro

Enrico Ramunni

Alessandro Fiorucci

Angelo Ottaviani

Rub&eacute;n Ornelas Jacobo

Rubén Ornelas Jacobo

Zhi Yang Xue

Claudio Manteggaza

Gaetano Porcino

Ubaldo Grassini

The invention relates to a process of abatement of the organic content of a depleted brine coming from epoxy compound production involving a vapour stripping step and a mineralisation with hypochlorite in two steps, at distinct pH and temperature conditions.

Method and apparatus for treatment of effluents from production plants of epoxy compounds

The invention relates to a cell for metal electrowinning equipped with a device useful for preventing the adverse effects of dendrite growth on the cathodic deposit. The cell comprises a porous conductive screen, positioned between the anode and the cathode, capable of stopping the growth of dendrites and preventing them from reaching the anode surface.

Electrolytic cell for metal electrowinning

A membrane fuel cell delimited by bipolar plates comprising a cathodic compartment and an anodic compartment, said cathodic compartment comprising means for feeding air from the bottom to the top, said anodic compartment comprising means for feeding a hydrogen-containing fuel from the top to the bottom, at least one of said cathodic and anodic compartment comprising a flow distributor consisting of a porous material and a method of operating cell said.

Membrane fuel cell countercurrent-fed with non-humidified air

The present invention concerns an anodic compartment for metal electrowinning cells delimited by a frame-shaped skeleton comprising an envelope including a permeable separator secured to said frame-shaped skeleton by means of a frame-shaped flange, at least one anode obtained starting from a valve metal substrate coated with at least one corrosion-resistant catalytic layer, said anode being inserted inside said envelope, and a demister located above said anode and delimited by said separator and said skeleton. The invention also concerns an electrochemical cell for metal electrowinning comprising at least one such anodic compartment.

Anodic compartment for metal electrowinning cells

The invention relates to a salt solution electrodialysis cell for production of the relevant acids and bases by means of a process with reduced or nil consumption of electrical energy. The cell comprises an anodic chamber fed with hydrogen and a cathodic chamber fed with oxygen or air, provided with the relevant gas-diffusion electrodes; the driving power of the electrodialysis process is given by the oxidation and reduction chemical potentials of hydrogen and oxygen fed to the two chambers.

Cell for depolarised electrodialysis of salt solutions

An electrolytic cell for the production of hydrogen peroxide with faradic efficiency and a method for the production of highly pure hydrogen peroxide with high faradic efficiency are disclosed. The cell is provided with a separator of high hydraulic permeability and is equipped with an oxygen-fed gas-diffusion cathode and with an anode activated with a catalyst for oxygen evolution. The high faradic efficiency of hydrogen peroxide generation is allowed by the dilution of product hydrogen peroxide by the anolyte crossing the permeable separator, and by keeping the operating temperature at values below 50&#xb0; C.

Electrolysis cell for hydrogen peroxide production and method of use

The invention is relative to an electrode for gas evolution in electrolytic and electrometallurgical industrial applications, made of a metal substrate having a surface morphology characterized by a combination of micro-roughness and macro-roughness which favors high adherence of a superficial catalytic layer in order to prevent detachment of the same and passivation of the substrate even under critical operating conditions.

Electrode characterized by highly adhering superficial catalytic layer

The invention relates to an anode comprising a titanium alloy substrate coated with noble metals by thermal decomposition of precursors thereof. The alloy of the substrate includes elements which can be oxidised during the thermal decomposition step, allowing electrical energy savings and a prolonged duration in industrial electrolytic processes. The anode of the invention is suitable for chlor-alkali electrolysis, allowing to produce chlorine with a lower oxygen content and a lower energy consumption than the anodes of the prior art.

Anode for electrolysis

A membrane electrolysis cell comprising an anodic compartment and a cathodic compartment is described, wherein at least one of the two compartments contains an electrode fed with gas and a porous planar element is interposed between the membrane and the gas-fed electrode. A flow of chemically aggressive electrolyte crosses the porous planar element downwards under the effect of the gravity force. The planar element consists in a plastic element withstanding the aggressive operative conditions: The use of perfluorinated plastics such as ECTFE, PTEFE, FEP, PFA is preferred, even though they are strongly hydrophobic. When the gas-fed electrode is a cathode and the gas contains oxygen, the gas crosses the cathodic compartment upwardly so as to minimize the risk of hydrogen build up. The cell equipped with the oxygen cathode is particularly advantageous for the sodium chloride electrolysis.

Electrolysis cell with gas diffusion electrode

The invention describes a method and the relevant devices for permitting an operation stable with time of a stack of membrane fuel cells fed with air and a gas containing hydrogen and at least 100 ppm of carbon monoxide, characterised in that it provides for an oxidising condition at the anodes of said cells in a self-adjusting continuous way or sequentially discontinuous way. Different embodiments of the invention are illustrated wherein the oxidising condition is obtained by adding to the gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide, oxygen produced in an electrolysis cell integrated to the fuel cell stack, or by flowing air through porous areas obtained in the bipolar plates or by resorting to high gas diffusion rate membranes, wherein the air flow rate is regulated in both cases by adjusting the pressure differential existing between air and the gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. According to a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the oxidising condition is obtained by sequentially short-circuiting the fuel cell stacks provided with external contacts connected to a control unit.

Methods for operating fuel cells fed with a gas containing hydrogen and carbon oxide, and devices relating thereto

The invention relates to an improved design of electrolyzer, in particular to the design of a diaphragm electrolyzer for the production of chlorine and alkali from aqueous solutions of alkali chlorides, comprising at least one anode fixed to an anodic base and in electrical contact therewith by means of a current collecting stem separated from the electrolyte circulating in the anodic compartment by means of a hydraulic seal system, wherein a conductive and deformable contact element is interposed between said current collecting stem and said anodic base, and wherein the hydraulic seal system comprises at least one O-ring.

Diaphragm electrolyzer

Electrode characterized by highly adhering superficial catalytic layer and method for its production

The invention describes a method for the direct connection of fuel cells to electrolyzers of electrochemical plants producing hydrogen as a by-product. The by-product hydrogen is fed to the fuel cells and the electric energy thereby produced is transferred to the electrolyzers, with the consequent saving of the overall energy consumption. The direct coupling avoids the need for DC/AC converters or voltage adjusters and may be effected either in series or in parallel. In the latter case the fuel cell are assembled in modules, the number and voltage of which is regulated by means of interrupters activated by a computerised control and supervision system. As an alternative, the voltage of the modules may be varied by varying the pressure of the air fed to the fuel cells.

Method for the integration of fuel cells into electrochemical plants

Electrolyzer for the electrolysis of a solution of a salt for the production of a solution containing an acid and a solution of a base, said electrolyzer comprising at least one elementary cell divided into three compartments by two cation-exchange membranes, the first of said compartments contains the first of said membranes and a cathode for hydrogen evolution and the production of the base, a central compartment is defined by said cation-exchange membranes and has an inlet for the solution of the salt and has an outlet for the withdrawal of the solution containing the acid, a third compartment contains the second of said cation exchange membranes and an anode, said anode comprises a porous electrocatalytic sheet for hydrogen ionization and a porous rigid current collector, said third compartment further has an inlet for a hydrogen-containing gaseous stream and an outlet for the venting of the rest of gas characterized in that said current collector has a multiplicity of contact points and said porous electrocatalytic sheet is flexible and is held in contact with said second membrane and said rigid current collector by pressure without bonding.

Apparatus and process for electrochemically decomposing salt solutions

The improved method for the production of chlorine from aqueous solutions of hydrochloric acid in a membrane electrolysis cell comprises a cathode compartment equipped with a gas diffusion cathode fed with air or enriched air or oxygen and an anodic compartment with an anode provided with an electrocatalytic coating for chlorine evolution. Said anode compartment is fed with an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid having a maximum concentration of 20% and a maximum temperature of 60.degree. C., and containing an oxidizing compound having a redox potential of at least 0 Volts NHE and preferably 0.3-0.6 Volts NHE. A suitable oxidizing compound is trivalent iron in concentrations comprised in the range of 100-10,000 ppm. Both the anodic and cathodic compartment of the cell and their internal structures are made of titanium or alloys thereof, such as 0.2%. titanium-palladium. The parts made of titanium in which crevices may be present are provided with a protective coating based on metals of the platinum group, their oxides as such or as a mixture of the same.

Growing community of inventors

Novara, Italy

Giuseppe Faita