Process and apparatus for the catalytic decomposition of alkali metal amalgams

Claim 1

IN A VERTICAL FLOW PROCESS FOR DECOMPOSING DILUTE ALKALI METAL AMALGAMS WITH AN AMALGAM-DECOMPOSING FLUID IN THE PRESENCE OF A GRAPHITE CATALYST THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES FLOWING DILUTE ALKALI METAL AMALGAM DOWNWARDLY THROUGH AN AMALGAM DECOMPOSING ZONE COUNTERCURRENT TO AN AMALGAM-DECOMPOSING FLUID FLOWING UPWARDLY THROUGH THE DECOMPOSING ZONE, MAINTAINING IN SAID DECOMPOSING ZONE A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTAL AMALGAM-DECOMPOSING FLUID INTERFACES, EACH OF SAID INTERFACES BEING FORMED BY A PAIR OF LIQUID LAYERS CONSISTING OF A LOWER LAYER OF AMALGAM AND A SUPERNATANT LAYER OF DECOMPOSING FLUID, SAID PAIRS OF LIQUID LAYERS BEING DISPOSED ONE ABOVE THE OTHER IN SAID DECOMPOSING ZONE, MAINTAINING GRAPHITE CATALYST MEANS IN CONTACT WITH EACH INTERFACE, MAINTAINING OPEN PASSAGE ZONES FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF LIQUID LAYERS IN THE DECOMPOSING ZONE, THE UPPER OPENINGS OF EACH OF SAID PASSAGE ZONES BEING COINCIDENT WITH THE INTERFACE DEFINED BY AN UPPER PAIR OF LIQUID LAYERS AND THE LOWER OPENING OF SAID PASSAGE ZONE BEING IMMERSED IN THE SUPERNATANT LAYER OF DECOMPOSING FLUID OF THE NEXT LOWER PAIR OF LIQUID LAYERS, SAID OPEN PASSAGE ZONES ALLOWING FLOW OF AMALGAM DOWNWARDLY AND FLOW OF EVOLVED HYDROGEN AND DECOMPOSING FLUID UPWARDLY IN SAID ZONE, MAINTAINING A LAYER OF GASEOUS HYDROGEN BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF LIQUID LAYERS, REMOVING MERCURY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID DECOMPOSING ZONE, AND REMOVING DECOMPOSING FLUID FROM THE TOP OF SAID DECOMPOSING ZONE.