Sodium production

[@petejt]

I love these sorts of video clips. Perfect to watch inside all comfy on a rainy day.

[@Penguin24766]

"water and hot sodium do not go together" understatement of the century :P

[@darylcheshire1618]

Fascinating, I wish I saw this in high school in the ‘70s.

[@puffinjuice]

Workplace health and safety must be next level. Do they check the roof for leaks from time to time?

[@danashift5292]

Yes the roof was checked, the building was so hot it was bone dry. They had the odd fire over the years and the operators had the occasional burn but generally ran safely

[@danashift5292]

Ellesmere Port . Cheshire. The plant is no longer there. I was a fitter there looking after weighing machines

[@wulliest]

This was the Innospec site @ Ellesmere Port, UK - alas the cell hall and all the buildings shown are no longer.

[@danashift5292]

Yes, what a shame it has been demolished. The plant employed many people for decades

[@fredericomba]

Will this process stay economically relevant now that there's a far simpler process for producing sodium by sacrificing some magnesium? The price of sodium now that makes sense is just a bit above the price of magnesium. If, for whatever reason, the electrolysis of magnesium is cheaper and simpler (I have to look into it), so is the production of sodium from it.

[@عمرومجدى-ي4ث]

NEW Sodium-Ion Battery To BEGIN Mass Production جزاكم الله خيرا 💯👌😂

[@tomspeed2000]

Nice, i was doing many test when i was 11 to make na use nacl.. it was 1987 and my big problem was difficulty to melting the salt..a few times i was able to make na using small tube glass but quickly after forming na begins reading with air ab catching fire..

[@seandicker3954]

I found that collecting the liquid sodium under mineral oil was enough to stop the reaction and put out the flames.

[@hcn6708]

How do they Prevent Sodium,Potassium,and Barium from Mixing?

[@pauls0416]

They do mix. They don't prevent it. There is no need to. Sodium is the most easily reduced ion in the mixture so they get almost entirely sodium at the negative electrode. Slight over-potential does produce some calcium, as they said, but it can be dropped back into the solution. The barium and calcium, therefore, remain in the cell and do not get used up. They only need to keep adding salt. The only part I don't understand is how easily they separate the calcium from the sodium. Since they are both liquids at that temp, I assume the calcium must collect on the bottom of the chamber (being heavier) but it seems tedious to figure out where the division is and to carry out the separation.

[@danashift5292]

The sodium went through filters before going to stock tanks. Sodium sludge from the filters was pressed to recover more sodium

[@bradforddrake8633]

Amazing technology! Anyone know of a link where someone built a 50 ampere cell?!

[@flailios]

...that place! I bet all kinds of shenanigans go on.

[@juk-hw5lv]

The salt crust, the rust and the gas flames on the floor, this place's skookum as hell

[@CraftAero]

What does skookum mean where you're from ?

[@ARandomTroll]

has anybody got an idea what material the chlorine collecting hood/funnel is made of? i cant think of many materials that could resist pure, hot chlorine and be cheap and shapeable enough for industrial use.

[@pauls0416]

I have NO idea. On the sodium side, even very reactive iron is safe to use as an electrode. On the chlorine side, what do they use ? Graphite for the electrode AND the funnel ? I'm not sure. I would think CCl4 or SOMETHING would form from contact between the two elements are such a high temperature.

[@johntitor7600]

the chloride would react (the first time) with the wall of most metals in the piping. The same way fluorine reacts with the metal walls of its container to for a metal fluorine salt. In the same way chlorine would react with the metal walls of its container to form a metal chlorine salt.

[@danashift5292]

I’ve got an idea that the chlorine ‘ collecting hoods were made from Inconel

[@Penguin24766]

@@pauls0416 Maybe a stainles steel variant ? maybe coated in a thin layer(oxides or chloro species?) as passivation ?

[@johntitor7600]

It would be fun to throw one of those sodium blocks into a pool of water. ;)

[@poiuytrewq8ff]

I'm going to assume parts of this process are done in an atmosphere flushed using argon or dry nitrogen? like are the storage tanks flushed with something dry and inert to stop the sodium reacting, how are they mitigating the risks associated with handling sodium? is the air in the facility dehumidified? why was the barium used?

[@poiuytrewq8ff]

+Joep Stuyfzand cheers :-)

[@poiuytrewq8ff]

Joep Stuyfzand Nah, I just like my chemistry and how it's applied on an industrial scale.

[@poiuytrewq8ff]

Joep Stuyfzand well you could always do it in a very crude manner with a mapp gas blowtorch, crucible and old pc power supply - using old stainless wire coathanger wire as the electrodes. melt the salt using the blowtorch then use the power supply with electrodes to do the electrolysis. you might even be able to use a high current supply like a an old stick welder transformer to get the power up enough to keep the salt above its melting point and some argon (welding shielding gas) to shield it then somehow transfer it into parafin or other oil to store it in :-D If I ever were to attempt it I'd make sure to do it outside in a well ventilated area with approprate PPE because you be liberating chlorine gas and the potential explosision and fire hazard if any sodium decided to get excited

[@electrotoxins]

+Joep Stuyfzand you could probably use some kanthal or other high resistance wire with current running through it to melt the salt, that way you will not have to have any open flame and will have a constant heat source.

[@thoufeek1968]

I have held sodium in my bare hands. Also only the surface of the metal reacts forming the oxide.this oxide acts as a protective laye

[@mahmoudwanas8400]

i'm from Alexandria in Egypt i'm a chemist i feel i'm alone here i want to travel to uk

[@biowerks]

That looks like a miserable place to work. It would be nice the have a couple bars of that Na though haha

[@camurgo]

To me though it looks like an awesome place to work....

[@ChristmasEve777]

@@camurgo I bet it's HOT in there....

[@Metal_Master_YT]

3:07 wouldn't it produce calcium and barium too?

[@LarryMickelson]

They do mention a little calcium is produced. But due to the greater affinity that Ca and Ba have for Cl than Na, it's mainly Na production. But, yes, certainly Ca and Ba are contaminants in the produced Na. Although, it will also depend on the solubility for Ca and Ba in Na metal ... complicated stuff.

[@rezakhanish]

کاش یکم در مورد جزییات ساخت سلول دانز بیشتر توضیح بدید

[@UltimateForceMarketing]

NOW...where is this facility location?

[@danashift5292]

Oil sites road Ellesmere Port Cheshire

[@MyBeedrill]

Um when they pour that molten Na ,doesnt they react with the oxygen in the air o_O

[@thoufeek1968]

They do. The oxide formed acts as a protective layer to prevent the rest from reacting,which is why only the surface is tarnished

[@9bitminecraft]

yeah dude its not that violent. Wouldn't want to spill water on it tho... even after the oxide layer forms

[@ChristmasEve777]

@@thoufeek1968 hmm it's not just on the surface. It's reacting with the molten sodium stream as they're pouring it, too. So this sodium is not 100% pure, even if you were to take the block into an inert atmosphere and cut off the sides, keeping only the center.

[@bethuelsangma254]

It's doesn't matter if a 8 grm sodium taken to a human

[@jeremiahjmussaleh4674]

very nice

[@leewilliam3417]

Mmmmm😊

[@kanchanmatlani107]

Any jee aspirants here like me?

[@sberkar12]

😅

[@kauekairony990]

"large eletrical connections called buzz buzz"

[@AmericanREPUBLICNow]

Buzz Bars...

[@Bixon1978]

@@AmericanREPUBLICNow Bus barres

[@ChristmasEve777]

@@Bixon1978 It sure does sound like she's saying "buzz bars" like KDE said but I know they're busbars because that's what you call any main electrical conduit that isn't usually shielded and distributes power to multiple places.

[@embracegreatness_]

hegarty