Production of Potassium from Sodium and Potassium Carbonate on a Pilot Plant Scale
Abstract
The production of potassium from the reaction of sodium with solid potassium carbonate at reduced pressure is chemically and mechanically sound. A pilot plant has been erected at the Naval Research Laboratory which has clearly demonstrated this fact. The process employed is a combination of reaction and fractionation carried out in an oxygen-free, closed system at a pressure near 50 mm of mercury. Sodium vapor is boiled through a vertical column (6' high and 7" diameter) of porous lumps of potassium carbonate. The sodium reacts with the potassium carbonate and frees the more volatile potassium which moves upward through the column and is eventually condensed and collected in the receiver.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 07, 1943
- Accession Number
- AD1180825
Entities
People
- A S Lehmann
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory