Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
208 words
An ion-modification process for the electrolytic conversion of a water soluble metal salt of an acid into the corresponding acid per se comprising providing a four chamber electrolytic cell having at the terminals ends thereof a cathode and anode electrode chamber respectively and a first and second juxtaposed intermediate chambers placed between said electrode chambers with all four chambers separated from each other by cation permeable diaphragms and with means for separately introducing into recycling and removing fluids from the respective chambers via separate liquid holdup tank means associated with each of said chambers, the process comprising having aqueous acid salt solution in both said first and second intermediate chambers, having conductive aqueous solutions in the electrode chambers, the said anolyte solution being capable of producing hydrogen ions at the anode electrode, imposing a direct current transversely through all four chambers to cause hydrogen ions from the anolyte to migrate through the adjacent cation membrane diaphragm into the said first adjacently disposed intermediate chamber and to cause metal ions from the said salt solution of the said first intermediate chamber to migrate through the next adjacent membrane into the second adjacently disposed intermediate chamber and removing the resulting solution in said first intermediate chamber as the acid product.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
208 words
An ion-modification process for the electrolytic conversion of a water soluble metal salt of an acid into the corresponding acid per se comprising providing a four chamber electrolytic cell having at the terminals ends thereof a cathode and anode electrode chamber respectively and a first and second juxtaposed intermediate chambers placed between said electrode chambers with all four chambers separated from each other by cation permeable diaphragms and with means for separately introducing into recycling and removing fluids from the respective chambers via separate liquid holdup tank means associated with each of said chambers, the process comprising having aqueous acid salt solution in both said first and second intermediate chambers, having conductive aqueous solutions in the electrode chambers, the said anolyte solution being capable of producing hydrogen ions at the anode electrode, imposing a direct current transversely through all four chambers to cause hydrogen ions from the anolyte to migrate through the adjacent cation membrane diaphragm into the said first adjacently disposed intermediate chamber and to cause metal ions from the said salt solution of the said first intermediate chamber to migrate through the next adjacent membrane into the second adjacently disposed intermediate chamber and removing the resulting solution in said first intermediate chamber as the acid product.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
The process of claim 1 herein the process is carried out as a batchwise operation by continuously recirculating a batch volume of solution through the intermediate chambers and their associated holdup tanks until the desired conversion into the acid product is obtained.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of claim 2 wherein the initial solution in the first intermediate chamber is a salt and acid mixture obtained from the said second intermediate chamber of a previous run.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
111 words
The process of claim 1 wherein there is continuously supplied a fixed amount of said acid salt solution into the acid salt holdup tank associated with said second intermediate chamber, continuously passing the resulting liquid overflow out of the acid salt holdup tank into the acid product holdup tank associated with said first intermediate chamber, continuously recirculating the liquids in both holdup tanks through the said associated intermediate chambers respectively to thereby effect the substitution of metal ions of the salt solution with hydrogen ions to attain the salt conversion into the desired acid concentration and thereafter collecting as the acid product the solution overflowing from the acid product holdup tank.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the acid salt is a metal carboxylate salt and the acid product is the corresponding carboxylic acid.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the acid so produced is selected from the group consisting of glycine, diglycine, triglycine, citric, tartaric, acetic, acrylic, maleic, ascorbic and mixtures thereof.