Betts electrolytic process

The Betts electrolytic process is an industrial process for separating lead and bismuth. It is named for its inventor Anson Gardner Betts.

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Process description for lead

The electrolyte for this process is a mixture of lead fluorosilicate (PbSiF₆) and hydrofluorosilicic acid (H₂SiF₆) heated to 45°C. Cathodes are thin sheets of pure lead and anodes are cast from the impure lead to be purified. A potential of 0.5 volts is applied. At the anode, lead goes into solution, as do metal impurities that are less noble than lead. Impurities that are more noble than lead, such as silver, gold, and bismuth, flake from the anode as it dissolves and settle to the bottom of the vessel as "anode mud." Pure metallic lead plates onto the cathode, with the less noble metals remaining in solution. Because of the high cost of electrolysis, this process is used only when very pure lead is needed. Otherwise the Parkes process followed by the Betterton-Kroll process are used to purify lead.^[1]

See also

• Processing lead from ore

References

1. ^ Samans, Carl H. Engineering Metals and their Alloys, 1949 MacMillan