US900962A - Production of barium and barium alloys. - Google Patents

Description

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE 0. sEwAR AND FRANZ voN KilGELGEN, or HoLooMBs ROCK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNORS o VIRGINIA LABORATORY COMPANY, or NEW YORK, Y., A- CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.-

I PRODUCTION OF BARIUM AND. BARIUM ALLOYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 0a. 1a, 1908.

Application filed rma 2a, 1906. Serial No. 308,577:

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, GEORGE O. SmvAno,-a, citizen of the United States, and FiiA z VON KiieEneEN, a subject of the German Emperor, both residing at l-Iolcombs Rock, in the county of Bedford and State of Virginia, have jointly invented certain new and useful Imp'rovements'in the Production of Barium and Barium Alloys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the production of barium or alloys thereof by the electrolysis of a barium salt or compound.

Barium has been produced by electrolyzing barium chlorid, using a cathode of mercury, and obtaining'a mercury-barium alloy from which the mercury is separated by distillation. This process is not practical, and

' lyte.

doesnot produce barium in a pure state. Eflorts. have been made to produce barium by electrolyzing molten barium chlorid with an iron cathode, but without success, the barium separating in so fine a state of division that it would'fioat to the anode, and there recombine with the halogen. The failure was probably due to the cathode not be ing small enough. -We have found that by sufficiently decreasin' the size of the cathode the metal is obtained in molten globules.

The resent-invention provides a method ofvpro ucing barium in a molten state by using an. iron cathode with a sufficiently high current density and a suitable electro- If molten barium chlorid is used as the electrolyte, it is very difficult to keep its temperature low enough for practical results, and if the'temperature is not kept at the right point, the separated metal has a tendency to redissolve 1n the electrolyte.

We have discovered that much better results are obtained if barium fluorid is added to the barium chlorid, which has the result of lowerin the melting-point of the; electrolyte, and fiiminishing the tendency of the barium to redissolve therei n/ If we wish to produce'metallic barium, we

submit .a molten mixture of barium chlorid and bariumfiuorid to electrolysis, with an iron cathode, maintaining the current at a sufficiently high density. If we wish to obtain alloys of barium, we use as the cathode the...metal with which it is desired that the barium should alloy. The proportions of barium chlorid to the barium fluorid or other 'sa t to be electrolyzed', may vary within wide limits; we have successfully used a mixture of'90 per cent. by weight of barium chlorid and 10 per cent. by weight of barium fluorid.

Instead of barium fluorid, any other barium salt may be substituted that will lower the melting point of the electrolyte and diminish the tendency of the barium to redissolve therein. Mixtures of barium salts may also be used. I

We claim as our invention 1.- The process which consists in electrolyzing fused barium chlorid with the addi with barium, whereby to produce an alloy of such metal with barium.

4. The process which consists in electro-.

lyzing a fused inixtureof barium chlorid and barium fluorid, by means of a cathode of a metal capable of alloying with barium, wherebyto produce an alloy of such metal with barium.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE O. SEWARDQ FRANZ VON KUGELGEN. Witnesses:

F.- v. TRIDDER, J. H. WEBB.

in electro-