Inventors:
Francisco Jose Freire - Wilmington DE
Edward Joseph Fahy - Wilmington DE
Dennie Turin Mah - Wilmington DE
Kenneth Bernard Keating - Wilmington DE
Douglas John Eames - Chamblee GA
William H. Zimmerman - Wilmington DE
James Arthur Trainham - Greenville DE
Clarence Garlan Law - West Trenton NJ
John Scott Newman - Kensington CA
Assignee:
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company - Wilmington DE
International Classification:
C25B 1500
Abstract:
The present invention relates to an electrochemical cell, system and process for converting essentially anhydrous hydrogen halide to essentially dry halogen gas. The process of the present invention is useful for converting anhydrous hydrogen halide, in particular, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen bromide and hydrogen iodide, to a halogen gas, such as chlorine, fluorine, bromine, or iodine. In particular, in the present invention, water is provided to the cation-transporting membrane at the cathode in various ways. The present invention allows for recovery of a released fluid at the cathode-side of the membrane and recycling of the released fluid back to the cathode side of the membrane. In this way, the recovered, released fluid may be recycled to continuously supply water to the membrane, thereby allowing the limiting current density of the cell to be increased and/or controlled.