New Stoneware in the Electrochemical Field
Percy C. Kingsbury · Transactions of The Electrochemical Society · 1939
Highly vitrified clay products, due to their almost complete resistance to corrosion, occupy a unique position as structural materials for electrochemical equipment. Stoneware, the most important of these ceramic bodies for chemical purposes, is fabricated into every kind of industrial equipment and is available in shapes weighing up to a ton or more. The physical properties of an average grade of this ware are given and used as a basis of comparison with bodies recently developed for withstanding exceptional conditions of mechanical and thermal stress. A very dense body is used for stoneware cells for the Moebius and Thum silver‐gold parting processes. For equipment for heat exchangers and the like, a large part of the silicate of ordinary stoneware has been replaced by silicon carbide. Electrolytic zinc cells, 2 meters long, made of this ware are in successful operation. Special, dense, highly vitrified ware is suitable for sudden temperature changes. It is used very largely in the electrolytic alkali industry. Bodies containing cordierite are more resistant to caustic alkalies and are recommended for equipment subjected alternately to acid and alkali treatment. Bodies containing electrically fused alumina are highly resistant to abrasion.