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IX. The Carbon Cell. 

 By W. H. Pattekson, B.Sc* 



IN two publications, Haber and Bruner f have given 

 reasons for considering that the so-called Jacques Carbon 

 Cell is in reality an oxy-hydrogen battery. 



This cell consists of an iron and a carbon pole in molten 

 caustic soda. 



Iron, as Liebenow and Strasser % have already shown, is in 

 molten caustic at first active and of base potential. After 

 some time, however, such iron becomes coated with an 

 oxide skin and then functions as an air electrode ; the small 

 quantities of manganate which are always present acting as 

 oxygen carriers. 



On the other hand, the carbon develops hydrogen by a 

 slow reaction with the molten alkali, which forms the source 

 of potential of the carbon electrode. 



The reaction is according to the equation : — 



2KaOH + C + H 2 = Na 2 C0 3 + 2H 2 . 



Water, according to Le Blanc and Brode, is retained by 

 molten sodium hydroxide with great pertinacity. 



The slower tbe reaction the less the hydrogen is able to 

 charge up the carbon dipping into the molten alkali, because 

 the manganate and ferrite contained in it, as well as the 

 air surrounding its upper surface, are striving to remove the 

 hydrogen, thereby making the potential approach the value 

 for air. 



If there results, however, carbon monoxide from the action 

 of the oxidizing substances contained, the formation of hy- 

 drogen is increased, because carbon monoxide reacts rapidly 

 and completely with molten caustic soda, forming carbonate 

 and hydrogen. 



The author has made some experiments in order to establish 

 this interpretation of the Carbon Cell. First of all ? it was 

 shown that there is a slow production of hydrogen if carbon 

 and sodium hydroxide are maintained at 350° C. in an 

 atmosphere of nitrogen. On the other hand, the measure- 

 ments of Haber and Bruner on the potential of hydrogen in 

 molten sodium hydroxide were repeated. In the various 

 experiments, the alkali was contained in a large silver crucible 



* Communicated bv the Author. 



t Haber & Bruuer^ZezY./. Electroch. vol. x. p. 697 (1904) ; also vol. v. 

 p. 78 (1906). 



| Liebenow & Strasser. Zeit. f. Electroch. p. 353 (1897. Feb.). 



