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Electrolytic iron is a form of high purity iron, obtained by electrolysis. It has a high purity greater than 99.95% with trace elements accounting for only a millionth of a decimal.
To obtain the best qualities that iron has to offer like high ductility, more corrosion resistance, and better magnetic characteristics; a chemical process must occur to remove impurities. The most effective process is through electrolysis that takes commercial grade iron and minimizes the C, S, Mn, and other trace element levels to become one of the highest grades of iron on the market known as electrolytic iron. Once the iron is in its purest state, it can be then used as a component in alloys. Alloys with high purity elemental makeups have specifically enhanced properties such as ductility, tensile strength, toughness, fatigue strength, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance, on which each element draws from their best inherent properties and collectively contributes to the alloy as a whole. [1]
Smelting is typically classified into two procedures: the wet process and the dry process. Electrolytic iron is considered the “wet process” since electrolysis requires electric charges to move through a liquid solution. This action causes a chemical reaction called electrolytic refining. The result of electrolytic refining is electrolytic iron.
An anode (raw material) and a cathode (base plate) are immersed into an electrolyte including iron ions and other components. Moreover, current flows between the anode and the cathode. As a result, iron is deposited on the surface of the cathode due to a difference in an ionization tendency, and high purity iron can be obtained.
TOHO ZINC CO.,LTD. is producing and selling electrolytic iron refined by the wet process on an industrial scale. TOHO ZINC CO.,LTD. accounts for the top market share of high purity iron in wet type process. The purity of the iron sold is from 99.9% to 99.999%, especially including the gas components of O, N, C, and H.[ promotion? ]
| Purity(%) | C(ppm) | P(ppm) | S(ppm) | Si(ppm) | Mn(ppm) | Cu(ppm) | O(ppm) | H(ppm) | N(ppm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.99 | 5～15 | 1 | 1～3 | <5 | 1 | 1 | 20～50 | 1～3 | <5 |
| 99.97 | 15 | 7 | 7 | <5 | 1 | 2 | 110 | 3 | 8 |
| 99.97 | 15 | 8 | 1 | <5 | 1 | 15 | 70 | - | 8 |
| 99.97 | 20 | 5 | 8 | <5 | 1 | 1 | 100 | - | 5 |
High purity iron is also produced in dry process. VOD (vacuum oxygen decarburization), and ESR (electro-slag remelting) are known as dry process. VOD is a process of melting pure iron in a vacuum and degassing. ESR (electro-slag remelting) method is a process of dripping the molten metal refining pure iron as an electrode. Moreover, an ion exchange method is known as wet type process in addition to electrolytic refining.
Electrolytic iron is utilized by the aerospace sector in areas where components are safety critical. Landing gear, engine shafts in jet aircraft, and gas turbines of generators, are areas that require the use of electrolytic iron. It is also used in research and development, special alloys (maraging steel, Ni-base alloys, Ti alloys), sputtering targets, chemicals (etching liquids), etc. In addition, it is used as a raw material for Japanese swords produced using traditional Japanese techniques.
An anode is an electrode through which the conventional current enters into a polarized electrical device. This contrasts with a cathode, an electrode through which conventional current leaves an electrical device. A common mnemonic is ACID, for "anode current into device". The direction of conventional current in a circuit is opposite to the direction of electron flow, so electrons flow out the anode of a galvanic cell, into an outside or external circuit connected to the cell. In both a galvanic cell and an electrolytic cell, the anode is the electrode at which the oxidation reaction occurs.
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outcome of a particular chemical change, or vice versa. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically-conducting phase between electrodes separated by an ionically conducting and electronically insulating electrolyte.
The voltaic pile was the first electrical battery that could continuously provide an electric current to a circuit. It was invented by Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, who published his experiments in 1799. The voltaic pile then enabled a rapid series of other discoveries including the electrical decomposition (electrolysis) of water into oxygen and hydrogen by William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle (1800) and the discovery or isolation of the chemical elements sodium (1807), potassium (1807), calcium (1808), boron (1808), barium (1808), strontium (1808), and magnesium (1808) by Humphry Davy.
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual destruction of materials by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engineering is the field dedicated to controlling and preventing corrosion.
The Hall–Héroult process is the major industrial process for smelting aluminium. It involves dissolving aluminium oxide (alumina) in molten cryolite, and electrolyzing the molten salt bath, typically in a purpose-built cell. The Hall–Héroult process applied at industrial scale happens at 940–980 °C and produces 99.5–99.8% pure aluminium. Recycled aluminum requires no electrolysis, thus it does not end up in this process. This process contributes to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide and fluorocarbons in the electrolytic reaction and consumption of large amounts of electrical energy.
A galvanic anode, or sacrificial anode, is the main component of a galvanic cathodic protection (CP) system used to protect buried or submerged metal structures from corrosion.
Brazing is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, with the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal.
An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that utilizes an external source of electrical energy to drive a chemical reaction that would not otherwise occur. This is in contrast to a galvanic cell, which itself is a source of electrical energy and the foundation of a battery. The net reaction taking place in a galvanic cell is a spontaneous reaction, i.e, the Gibbs free energy remains negative, while the net reaction taking place in an electrolytic cell is the reverse of this spontaneous reaction, i.e, the Gibbs free energy is positive.
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors.
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.
Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderability, to harden, to improve wearability, to reduce friction, to improve paint adhesion, to alter conductivity, to improve IR reflectivity, for radiation shielding, and for other purposes. Jewelry typically uses plating to give a silver or gold finish.
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Batteries provided the primary source of electricity before the development of electric generators and electrical grids around the end of the 19th century. Successive improvements in battery technology facilitated major electrical advances, from early scientific studies to the rise of telegraphs and telephones, eventually leading to portable computers, mobile phones, electric cars, and many other electrical devices.
Zinc smelting is the process of converting zinc concentrates into pure zinc. Zinc smelting has historically been more difficult than the smelting of other metals, e.g. iron, because in contrast, zinc has a low boiling point. At temperatures typically used for smelting metals, zinc is a gas that will escape from a furnace with the flue gas and be lost, unless specific measures are taken to prevent it.
Cobalt extraction refers to the techniques used to extract cobalt from its ores and other compound ores. Several methods exist for the separation of cobalt from copper and nickel. They depend on the concentration of cobalt and the exact composition of the ore used.
Nickel electroplating is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of nickel onto a metal object. The nickel layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, wear resistance, or used to build up worn or undersized parts for salvage purposes.
Uddeholms AB is a multinational producer of high alloyed tool steel with production in Hagfors, Sweden. Since 1991, the company is part of the Austrian Böhler-Uddeholm group which in turn is part of the voestalpine AG group since 2007. Uddeholms AB has 800 employees in Sweden. Globally, the Uddeholm group employs 3000 people.
The IsaKidd Technology is a copper electrorefining and electrowinning technology that was developed independently by Copper Refineries Proprietary Limited (“CRL”), a Townsville, Queensland subsidiary of MIM Holdings Limited, and at the Falconbridge Limited (“Falconbridge”) now-dismantled Kidd Creek refinery that was at Timmins, Ontario. It is based around the use of reusable cathode starter sheets for copper electrorefining and the automated stripping of the deposited “cathode copper” from them.
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