Process for the production and separation of hydrogen iodide and sulphuric acid and their respective uses in the production of hydrogen and oxygen.

摘要

A process for the separation of hydrogen iodide and sulphuric acid produced in the reaction between sulphus dioxide, water and iodine (the Bunsen Reaction) when using liquid sulphur dioxide as a solvent includes the addition of a trialkyl phosphate or dialkyl-alkyl phosphonate to the reaction mixture to inhibit migration of the hydrogen iodide into the sulphuric acid phase. The process may form part of processes respectively for the production of hydrogen and oxygen in which hydrogen iodide and sulphuric acid produced in the Bunsen Reaction are decomposed respectively to hydrogen and oxygen, thus providing a cycle of chemical reactions in which the net result is the production of hydrogen and oxygen from water.