9504819 LaConti This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes the development of a low-cost, efficient, stable composite anode steel electrode that will be especially useful in electrochemical processes where mild or strongly alkaline electrochemical media is present. The focus of the research effort will be on improving the adiponitrile (ADN) process, which is used in nylon-66 commercial manufacture. The present limitation that exists for commercial producers of ADN is corrosion of the mild steel anode. In addition to selectivity and efficiency losses, anode corrosion causes the electrohydrodimerization (EHD) process to be periodically shut down to remove iron products from the system. ADN producers consider minimizing anode corrosion to be the top priority for future EHD development.
