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The Chlorates and Perchlorates



There are various ways to manufacture the Chlorates and Perchlorates, the most usual being electrolysis.
The key component is the Anode. Anodes for making Chlorate and Perchlorate are Platinum and Lead Dioxide. Anodes that make Chlorate ONLY are Graphite, Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO) and Magnetite. Manganese Dioxide is a good Chlorate making anode. Cobalt Oxide is less useful for Chlorate production. Both Mn and Co Oxide Anodes wear out quickly in a Perchlorate cell.
Electrolysis consists of passing a DC electric current between an Anode (+) and a Cathode (-) in a water solution of the starting salt. Various reactions take place at the surface of the Anode, Cathode and in the bulk of the solution, the end result being a range of substances plus your desired Chlorate or Perchlorate which must be separated out and purified.
There is a huge amount of information in Patents, books and the scientific literature describing both Chlorate and Perchlorate processes and processes used to make Anodes that may be viable for the Amateur. Most of this information is not geared toward the Amateur and very often deals with aspects of the process which are not of immediate interest to the Amateur but are very important to large scale manufacturers or the scientist, eg. power efficiency, Tefal plots, possible/actual reaction mechanisms etc.
The biggest hurdle for the Amateur is obtaining an Anode which is cheap, easy to obtain, and long lasting. This web page describes ways to obtain Anodes and how to use them in the manufacture of Chlorates and Perchlorates.


SAFETY
Tests for Chlorate and Perchlorate
Destroying Chlorate by Chemicals

Chlorates Perchlorates
Sodium Chlorate
Sodium Perchlorate
Potassium Chlorate
Potassium Perchlorate
Calcium Chlorate
Calcium Perchlorate
Ammonium Chlorate
Ammonium Perchlorate
Magnesium Chlorate
Magnesium Perchlorate
Barium Chlorate
Barium Perchlorate
Lithium Chlorate
Lithium Perchlorate
Strontium Chlorate
Strontium Perchlorate
Chloric acid
Perchloric acid

Further reading section


Anodes
Cathodes
Cell Design
Power Supply
Run Time
Cell Chemistry
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Since 1 Jan. 2000