Effect Of Aluminum Carbide Additives On Carbothermic Reduction Process From Alumina To Aluminum

Résumé: In terms of electricity consumption, the carbothermic reduction process of alumina (Al2O3) represents one of the promising candidates to overcome the current industrial Hall-Héroult process for the production of aluminum (Al) from Al2O3. The yield of the carbothermic reduction process of Al2O3, however, is not high enough to be considered as a substitute for the present industrial process. The calculation of the gas phase diagram of Al-O-C system suggests the possibility of the enhancement of the Al product yield by the increase of the ratio of the partial pressure Al2O/CO. An increase in the ratio of the partial pressure Al2O/CO can be expected by the reaction of aluminum carbide (Al4C3) and Al2O3. We investigated the effect of adding Al4C3 on the enhancement of the final Al yield in the production process. In the case without Al4C3 additive, the Al yield was only 1.4 %, while, in the case of adding Al4C3 additive with Al2O3: Al4C3 = 1:0.05 in molar ratio, the Al yield increased drastically up to 21.3 %.

Publié dans la revue: Journal of New Technology and Materials