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Diagram of a downs cell electrolyzing molten NaCl into chlorine gas and sodium metal. Downs' process is an electrochemical method for the commercial preparation of metallic sodium, in which molten NaCl is electrolyzed in a special apparatus called the Downs cell.
Diagram of Castner process apparatus. The Castner process is a process for manufacturing sodium metal by electrolysis of molten sodium hydroxide at approximately 330 °C. Below that temperature, the melt would solidify; above that temperature, the molten sodium would start to dissolve in the melt.
The first type, shown on the right and left of the diagram, uses an electrolyte of sodium chloride solution, a graphite anode (A), and a mercury cathode (M). The other type of cell, shown in the center of the diagram, uses an electrolyte of sodium hydroxide solution, a mercury anode (M), and an iron cathode (D). The mercury electrode is common ...
The chloralkali process (also chlor-alkali and chlor alkali) is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. It is the technology used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), [ 1 ] which are commodity chemicals required by industry.
Electrolysis of iron can eliminate direct emissions and further reduce emissions if the electricity is created from green energy. The small-scale electrolysis of iron has been successfully reported by dissolving it in molten oxide salts and using a platinum anode. [52] Oxygen anions form oxygen gas and electrons at the anode.
In molten sodium chloride (NaCl), when a current is passed through the salt the anode oxidizes chloride ions (Cl −) to chlorine gas, it releases electrons to the anode. Likewise, the cathode reduces sodium ions (Na +), which accepts electrons from the cathode and deposits them on the cathode as sodium metal.
Chlorine can be manufactured by the electrolysis of a sodium chloride solution , which is known as the Chloralkali process. The production of chlorine results in the co-products caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) and hydrogen gas (H 2). These two products, as well as chlorine itself, are highly reactive.
Sodium is now produced commercially through the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride (common salt), based on a process patented in 1924. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] This is done in a Downs cell in which the NaCl is mixed with calcium chloride to lower the melting point below 700 °C. [ 66 ]