Electrochemical reaction apparatus

Claim 1

AN ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION APPARATUS COMRPISING IN COMBINATION A PLURALITY OF HYDROGEN PERMEABLE ELECTRON CONDUCTING PALLADIUM SHEETS DISPOSED IN JUXTAPOSED SPACED RELATION, NON-CONDUCTING POROUS MATIRICES DISPOSED IN THE SPACES BETWEEN SAID ELELCTRON CONDUCTING PALLADIUM SHEETS, AN INTERMEDIATE ELECTRON CONDUCTING MEMBER BEING A POROUS MEMBER AND COATING WITH THE POROUS MATRIX AT EACH SIDE TO FORM INDEPENDENT INTERFACES WITH EACH, RESPECTIVELY, THE NEXT ADJACENT ELECTRON CONDUCTING PALLADIUM SHEET ON EACH SIDE OF SAID PROOUS ELECTRON CONDUCTING MEMBER EACH FORMING AN INDEPENDENT REACTION INTERFACE WIT THE CORRESPONDING POROUS MATRIX, RESPECTIVELY, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING HYDROGEN TO THE REACTION INTERFACES BETWEEN EACH OF SAID NEXT ADJACENT ELECTRON CONDUCTING PALLADIUM SHEETS AND THE CORRESPONDING POROUS MATRIX, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AND MAINTAINING AN AQUEOUS ION-CONTAINING AND CONDUCTING MEDIUM IN EACH POROUS MATRIX, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AND DISTRIBUTING A GASEOUS COREACTANT FOR HYDROGEN THROUGH THE INTERMEDIATE POROUS ELECTRON CONDUCTING MEMBER, AND MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE POROUS INTERMEDIATE ELECTRON CONDUCTING MEMBER TO ONE POLE OF AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT AND OTHER MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE NEXT ADJACENT ELECTRON CONDUCTING PALLADIUM SHEETS TO THE OPPOSITE POLE OF SAID CIRCUIT, WHEREBY SAID INTERMEDIATE ELECTRON CONDUCTING MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO COACT AS A COMMON ELECTRODE BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION UNITS.