Improvements in or relating to Electrical Batteries.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 11th May, 1891-Accepted, 13th June, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Electrical Batteries.
I, EUGENE BUFFET of 37 Rue Philippe-le-Bon Brussels in the Kingdom of
Belgium do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The expenditure or loss involved in the employment of electrical batteries mainly
consists in the consumption of zinc, and in the insignificance of the marketable
value of the sulphate of zine or chloride of zinc resulting from such consumption.
This expenditure may be reduced by converting the zinc, while the battery is in
operation into oxide of zinc the marketable valve of which is greater than that of
zinc itself.
To accomplish this result I employ pure water as the exciting liquid while the
depolarizing liquid consists of a solution of nitrate of soda with the addition of an
amount of sulphuric acid just sufficient to convert the nitrate into sulphate and
consequently to allow only such a quantity of nitric acid to pass into the exciting
liquid as is necessary for the combustion of the hydrogen without sulphuric acid.
Thus the liquid in which the zinc is immersed is neutral from the first and
continues so throughout the time of operation of the battery.
This new condition of the battery causes insoluble oxide of zinc to be formed
and precipitated at the negative pole in the liquid. This deposit of oxide of zinc
far from having been promoted hitherto, has rather been counteracted by the
employment of acid or neutral salts all of which combine with the oxide of zinc
and dissolve it, thus generally producing double compounds. The object of this
battery on the contrary is to obtain deposits of oxide of zinc in a neutral liquid.
On the other hand the composition of the depolarizing liquid is such, that the
reduction of the nitric acid takes place slowly and in an extremely regular manner,
unlike what happens generally in nitric acid batteries where the abundant genera-
tion of nitrous vapours is indicative of a rapid reduction. This battery on the
contrary gives off but a very faint though continuous nitrous smell.
To obtain complete depolarization under such circumstances it has been found
necessary to reverse the ordinary arrangement of batteries by placing the zinc in a
porous inner cell and surrounding this cell by a carbon electrode having a large
surface, immersed in the solution of nitrate, mixed with sulphuric acid, which is
contained in the external cell or jar.
By
With this battery a perfectly constant current of long duration is obtained.
coupling it together with a storage battery good electric light can be supplied
for a period of more than 120 hours at the expiration of which the porous cell
will be nearly filled with a sort of white mud which is pure oxide of zinc. This
valuable product is then withdrawn pure water added and the depolarizing mixture
made stronger or renewed.
Dated this 14th day of August 1890.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Electrical Batteries.
I, EUGENE BUFFET of 37 Rue Philippe-le-Bon, Brussels, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The expenditure or loss involved in the employment of electrical batteries
mainly consists in the consumption of zinc and in the insignificance of the

page_text: marketable value of the sulphate of zinc or chloride of zinc resulting from such
consumption. This expenditure may be reduced by converting the zinc, while the
battery is in operation, into oxide of zinc the marketable value of which is greater
than that of zinc itself.
To accomplish this result it is proposed to employ pure water as the exciting
liquid while the depolarizing liquid consists of a solution of nitrate of soda with
the addition of an amount of sulphuric acid, just sufficient to convert the nitrate
into sulphate and consequently to allow only such a quantity of nitric acid to
pass into the exciting liquid as is necessary for the combustion of the hydrogen
without sulphuric acid.
The proportions I prefer to adopt are as follows
-
To 750 grammes of nitrate of soda of ordinary specific gravity or dry I
add litre of sulphuric acid weighing 60° by the acid poise, to which mixture is
super added 24 litres of distilled water.
Thus the liquid in which the zinc is immersed is neutral from the first and
continues so throughout the time of operation of the battery.
This new condition of the battery causes insoluble oxide of zinc to be formed
and precipitated at the negative pole in the liquid. This deposit of oxide of zinc
far from having been promoted hitherto has rather been counteracted by the
employment of acid or neutral salts all of which combine with the oxide of zinc
and dissolve it, thus generally producing double compounds. The object of this
battery on the contrary is to obtain deposits of oxide of zinc in a neutral liquid.
On the other hand the composition of the depolarizing liquid is such that the
reduction of the nitric acid takes place gradually and in an extremely regular
manner unlike what happens generally in nitric acid batteries where the abundant
generation of nitrous vapours is indicative of a rapid reduction. This battery on
the contrary gives off but a very faint though continuous nitrous smell.
To obtain complete depolarization under such circumstances it has been found
necessary to reverse the ordinary arrangement of batteries by placing the zinc
in a porous inner cell and surrounding this cell by a carbon electrode having a
large surface immersed in the solution of nitrate mixed with sulphuric acid which
is contained in the external cell or jar.
With this battery a perfectly constant current of long duration is obtained.
By coupling it together with a storage battery good electric light can be
supplied for a period of 120 hours at the expiration of which the porous cell
will be found nearly filled with a sort of white mud which is pure oxide of zinc.
This valuable product is then withdrawn pure water added and the depolarizing
mixture made stronger or renewed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, declare that what I
claim is
A battery which for the purpose of producing a constant current and at the same
time a bye-product of an appreciable value is composed of a porous cell or jar con-
taining a zinc plate immersed in pure water such cell being surrounded by a carbon
electrode presenting a large surface and immersed in a solution of nitrate of soda or
other nitrate with the addition of a quantity of sulphuric acid but little exceeding
the amount necessary for converting nitrate into sulphate the nitric acid necessary
for the combustion of the hydrogen resulting from the decomposition of the water
contained in the porous jar being thus set free in a slow and continuous manner,
scarcely producing any nitrous vapours, while the oxide of zinc produced at the
same time does not combine with any acid capable of transforming it into a salt of
little or no marketable value substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of May 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.