CATALYTIC COMBINATION OF HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN IN THORIA SLURRIES. PART I. Technical Report No. IV

The problem of the catalytic combination of hydrogen and oxygen in a thoria slurry was approached by determining the effect of variations in treatment of thoria in the calcining step on combination rates. The equipment used to determine the combination rate is described. It was found that calcining thoria in contact with platinum metal greatiy enhanced the combination rate. The rate was found to be linear with thoria concentration. Results are given for the effect on the combination rate for thoria calcination in the temperature range 800 to 1450 deg C using both platinized and nonplatinized thoria. A series of runs was made to determine the variation of the rate for repeated cycles using the same catalyst. (auth)