New and Useful Improvements in the Apparatus for the Production of Oxygen and Hydrogen by Electrolysis.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 13th Feb., 1397
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New and Useful Improvements in the Apparatus for the Production
of Oxygen and Hydrogen by Electrolysis.
We РOMPEO GARUTI, Professor and RICCARDO POMPILI Proprietor both of
Via Foggia No. 11 Naples Italy, do hereby declare the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of our present invention is to introduce a new and useful improvement
already patented (No. 16588 of 1892) for the production of oxygen and hydrogen
by means of electrolysis.
This improvement consists in the use of metallic diaphragms of a suitable
resistance, which are perforated in their lower part by numerous small holes.
By this means the resistance to the decomposition of the water is much
diminished which forms a very great advantage in the producebleness of the
apparatus.
In order to render this improvement more conceivable it is necessary to give a
brief description of the electrolysing apparatus and to illustrate the same by the
annexed drawings in which
Figure 1. shows a longitudinal vertical section through the centre of the
apparatus.
Figure 2. is a corresponding horizontal section of one end of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the same.
Figure 4 is a broken plan view of the conductors and electrodes.
Figure 5 is a section on line to-v of Figure 54.
Figure 5 is a lateral view of Fig. 5.
Figure 5B is a section on line x-y of Figure 5.
Figure 6 is a prospect view of the forks
same.
Figure 6A is a section on line Z-Z of Fig. 6.
with a. longitudinal section of the
Figure 7 is a vertical projection of the metallic perforated diaphragm.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts of the apparatus.
The apparatus of our invention with its new improvement is constructed as
follows.
In a tank A of wood or other material lined internally with an iron plate a―the
same can be also inade altogether of iron, is placed the electrolizing apparatus
immersed in the liquid to be electrolized. The tank is isolated from the ground by
the insulators M.
The electrolyzing apparatus consists of a case A' turned upside down which by
means of longitudinal diaphrams n divides internally into cells E.
The case is made of iron steel or other metal and is open only at the bottom so
as to permit the water to enter in the cells.
The anodes b and the cathodes c are placed one in each cell alternately
taking care that each anode is between two cathodes and each cathode between
two anodes. This disposition prevents thus the mixing of the gases which as
they form pass the oxygen only in the anode cells and the hydrogen in the
cathodes.
The cells E have openings F at the top, through which the, gases escape
and enter in the chambers G, situated at the top of the apparatus. There are

page_text: two chambers G, one serves to receive the oxygen and communicates with all
the anodes cells, the other receives the hydrogen and communicates with the
cathode celle.
On the chambers G are mounted small copper pipes 9. which are connected to
the big distributing pipes by means of the insulating tubes h made of glass or
porcelain.
To the tops of each chamber is soldered a reeptacle H of sufficient diameter
and height which forms a hydraulic closing preventing the escape of gas at the
junction of the said tube g with the tube A.
Two conductors one positive B. and one negative c rest over the top of the tank
and extending down to the bottom of the apparatus enter through chambers D
without having electrical contact therewith. Arms branch off from the con-
ductors and connect themselves with the electrodes. These conductors in their
passage through the water are covered with a coating of caoutchouc & insulating
them from the liquid and their extremities terminate in a junction of copper &
where the current enters. The chambers D serve to collect the gas that forms on
the surface of the conductors the gas passing through an opening made at the upper
part of the said chamber into the cells that contain the same gas.
The electrodes are isolated form the diaphragms a by combs I made of wood or
other non conducting material, the teeth of which enter into the cells and fill out
the spaces between the electrodes and the diaphragms to prevent them from
coming into contact, one with the other the combs are fastened to longitudinal
beams J. lying on the bottom of the tank and are cut out at the points of the teeth
so as to allow free passage of the gases to the top of the cells E.
The electrolyzing apparatus does not extend quite to the bottom of the tank but
rest upon transversal beams-as shown in the drawings, so that any sediment
which the water deposits does not interfere with the working of nor damage the
apparatus.
To prevent the electrodes from tonching the top of the cells every electrode has
at each end at the top a fork 7 of material similar to that of the combs I. this forkl
has two teeth T between which the electrode enters. The whole fork resting
between two diaphragms occupies transversally the whole width of the cell touching
the top of the cell.
In order to be able to lift out the apparatus out of the tank there are two
handles L.
In the apparatus of our invention with its improvements of which will be spoken
hereafter, in relation with the diaphragms we use an alkaline electrolyte that is;
drinking water or rain water with 25 p.c. of soda, or caustic potash.,
The water in the tank must be always level with the top of the chamber G so as
to give to the gases the requisite pressure.
The complete immertion of the apparatus permits to detect quickly any contact
between the electrodes, and the diaphragms' such contact being indicated by gas
bubbles rising to the surface of the liquid in the tank.
In an electrolyzing apparatus the superficial extension of the electrodes must be
calculated according to the force of the current.
In the apparatus above described in order to obtain a perfect working the
electrode must have one half square decimeter of surface for each ampere of current
and must have a height not exceeding 0.14 m.
Having thus described our electrolysing apparatus we describe now in what
consists the new improvements introduced in the same. According to the above
description the metallic diaphragm is uninterrupted and forms therefore from the
top to the bottom a complete division of the cells and the electrodes forming thus
a resistance not to the passage of the current but to the decomposition of the
molecules of the water. Generally the electrodes do not extend to the full height
of the cells, but terminate at some distance from the top of the same if therefore
instead of the electrodes there is a direct communication of the liquid between the
cells, the said resistance is much diminished. To obtain this very important object

page_text: we modify the structure of the diaphragms by piercing in its lower part up to a
little height, practically of 0.05 m. small holes of one millimetre of diameter these
holes must be as near as possible one to the other without weakening too much the
iron plate of the diaphragms n. This modification facilitates the orientation of the
molecules of the water during the phenomenum of the electrolysis diminishing
the resistance to the decomposition of the water conserving the same the perfect
division of the two gases.. Figure 7 shows a part of the diaphragm n perforated by
small holes as described above.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
In an apparatus of our invention as described above for the production of oxygen
& hydrogen by means of electrolysis the metallic diaphragms which are perforated
in their lower part up to a little height by small holes as near as possible to each
other as substantially described and illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 23rd doy of October 1896
GEORGE BARKER,
77 Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent.