Electrolytic cell with membrane and method of operation

Abstract

Describes electrolytic cell with dimensionally stable anodes, non-porous ion-selective membranes separating said anodes from the cathode compartment, and a porous, static bed of loose, conducting cathodic material in the cathode compartment, extending between the conductive walls of the cathode compartment and the membrane and contacting the conductive walls of the cathode and said membranes to carry current between the walls of the cathode compartment and said membranes. This construction reduces the electrodic gap to substantially the thickness of the membranes and presses the membranes against the anodes. It produces greater uniformity of current density over the entire electrodic area, substantially free from localized differences of current density which tend to cause deterioration of membranes by the creation of localized mechanical and electrical stresses in other types of cells, and provides a method for carrying current from the effective cathodic surface to the walls of the cathode compartment.