Hi Allen, could you use pencil lead for the anode on the chlorate cell? Even if you had to change it often?

Seems like you are using PS (Polystyrene) jar!PS is totally transparent and PS cannot resist chemical corrosion.Try use HDPE .It is opaque and white in colour.I always use this type of container to make chlorates,and even store 98% Sulphuric Acid in it.But be careful, the temperature cannot exceed 85C,or else it will melt like wax....

Hi Alan.My question is, can I seal the whole thing with silicone rubber(sealant)to create some "pressurized" effect in order to reduce chlorine loss and water loss?

Hello Alan,

in my experiments PVC workeed well for a cell container. However I had problems with tubing connectors that were probably made of PE. I finally machined them from PEEK and PTFE what may be an overkill, PVC may have worked as well.

Daniel

Thomas, thanks mate. :)

Glad to hear your KClO3 production went well. It is surprisingly easy isn't it? Once you've got a suitable anode material and a power supply, all it takes is a bit of patience. Especially for Potassium Chlorate, others (and Perchlorates) take a few more steps, but with KClO3 all you need is purification at the end of the run.

Fabulous website! I refered to your pages while making my chlorate cell. (I used an MMO mesh anode designed for cathodic protection of steel and stainless steel cathode in KCl solution. 140g after 4 days and about 288Ah for the first run.) You amaze me with the amount of projects you successfully complete! Electronics, pyrotechnics, software, metal casting.. very impressive!

Jack,

I can't remember how much I was quoted to tell you the truth, but they weren't cheap. Ti-Anode was the company, they still spam me to this day.

Removing graphite is a huge pain, but I find it best to allow the solution to settle out and decant as much as possible without disturbing the graphite at the bottom. This reduces the filtration burden, but you still need to filter it, maybe several times and with stacked papers if you are using coffee filters.

The muddy mess left from the decanting can be filtered slowly, maybe taking hours, through the best filters you have. Alternatively you can simply throw it out depending on how much solution it represents.

It all takes a lot of time unless you have a vacuum filtration system, and even then you need to use high-quality papers.

Regards,

Alan

You said that you were getting a quote about anodes from a supplier in India. Could you tell me what their price was? And if the company is Titan? I'm from South Africa, and getting desperate for good anodes. How do you get graphite particles out of your solution?