Fuel cell

Claim 1

A FUEL CELL FOR THE GENERATION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN WHICH A SOLID REACTIANT IS USED AT ONE OF THE ELECTRODE MEANS AND IN WHICH A GASEOUS REACTANT IS CONTACTED WITH THE OPPOSING ELECTRODE MEANS WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION A CELL BODY HAVING A LIQUID ELECTROLYTE BATH CONTAINED THEREIN, SAID CELL BODY COMPRISING AN UPPER SECTION AND A LOWER SECTION HAVING A SEPARABLE MIDDLE SECTION THEREBETWEEN, SAID MIDDLE SECTION COMPRISING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE OUTER CASING HAVING POSITIONED THEREIN AND IN ELECTRICAL ASSOCIATION WITH SAID OUTER CASING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRODE MEANS HAVING AN INNER CHAMBER ADAPTED TO BE FED A SOLID REACTANT, SAID LOWER SECTION OF THE CELL BODY HAVING POSITIONED THEREIN A PLURALITY OF GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODES COMPRISING AN OUTER POROUS SURFACE AND AN INNER CHAMBER ADAPTED TO BE FED A GASEOUS REACTANT, SAID GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODES EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE SAID LOWER SECTION AND INTO THE MIDDLE SECTION IN ALTERNATING SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO THE ELECTRODES IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MIDDLE SECTION, THE INNER CHAMBER OF THE ELECTRODE MEANS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MIDDLE SECTION BEING ENCLOSED ON THE SIDE WHICH OPPOSES A GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODE BY A WALL HAVING OPENINGS THEREIN BY MEANS OF WHICH SOLID REACTANT CONTAINED IN THE INNER CHAMBER IS CONTACTED WITH LIQUID ELECTROLYTE, SAID CELL BODY BEING FURTHER PROVIDED WITH INLET MEANS FOR FEEDING SOLID REACTANT TO THE INNER CHAMBER OF THE ELECTRODES IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MIDDLE SECTION, AND WITH INLET MEANS FOR FEEDING GASEOUS REACTANT TO THE CELL SUCH THAT GASEOUS REACTANT MAY BE FED TO THE INER CHAMBER OF THE GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODES.