The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 01, 2015
Filed:
Apr. 14, 2010
Gerardine G. Botte, Athens, OH (US);
Gerardine G. Botte, Athens, OH (US);
Ohio University, Athens, OH (US);
Abstract
A method of purifying water is provided that includes applying a voltage to an electrolytic cellthat includes an anode, a cathodeand an alkaline electrolyte composition having a pH value of about 11 or less. The alkaline electrolyte compositionincludes at least one waste metal ion to be reduced, and a sacrificial reductant, such as urea, ammonia or a combination thereof, to be oxidized. According to the disclosed method, the voltage is applied across the cathodeand the anodeand is sufficient to reduce the at least one waste metal ion to form at least one elemental metal species at the cathode, and to oxidize the sacrificial reductant at the anode. Additionally, the applied voltage does not affect the generation of hydrogen at the cathodeand/or oxygen at the anode