Equilibrium between copper, zinc and chlorine at high temperatures.

The work to be described in this thesis belongs to the larger body of chemical and metallurgical literature usually referred to as metal displacement equilibria. Many systems of this group have been investigated from a purely practical viewpoint. The results obtained have formed the bases of many metallurgical industries. Another group of investigations have been undertaken from a more theoretical viewpoint. The interpretation of these data has been that of pure physical chemistry. Investigation of liquid and solid alloy systems and of the heat and free energy of formation of such systems has led to theories regarding the nature and causes of abnormalities in these systems. Attempts have been made to correlate the results obtained with differences in atomic radii and the tendency towards compound formation. These investigations of a more theoretical nature have thus formed a very substantial link between the work of the industrial metallurgist and that of the physical chemist. [...] The present investigation, while undertaken as a problem in the field of physical chemistry may have a practical application. It is not the intention of the writer to stress this application but rather to indicate that in this investigation practical and academic interests run parallel. If the equilibrium is favourable, all or part of the zinc in scrap brass may be recovered as a useful product and leave a residue of copper that may be purified by more conventional methods.[...