The use of suspension electrode for electrolytic refining of lead with a sulfamate electrolyte has been studied.
In current-potential measurements for suspension cathode and anode of lead particles it has been shown that the polarization on a fixed electrode (feeder) is only 10mV at a current density of 50A/dm2.
The electrolysis is then carried out with a disk-like cell (13cm ID, 2.4cm H) which consists of a iower cathode chamber, an upper anode chamber, and a diaphragm between these chambers. Lead particles are kept in suspension in both chambers by vertical vibration and simultaneous horizontal shaking of the cell. At a cell current of 13.3A (current density: 20.9A/dm2) the cell voltage is 1.8V and the current efficiencies for the cathode and anode lead particles are about 100% and 110%, respectively.