Abstract:
Carbothermic reduction of alumina presents potential for higher energy yield as compared to that of the electrolytic process for primary aluminum production. Besides this, environmental questions, large area of the facilities, and high capital costs justify the search for a viable carbothermic process in spite of the enormous difficulties which previous attempts have found. The present work presents a thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of alumina, including the use of a metallic solvent. Experiments were performed between 1750°C and 2050°C, in a special equipment, under pressures of 0.7 bar to 0.1 bar, as well as experiments at atmospheric pressure. The products obtained were characterized by electronic microscopy, EDS and X-ray fluorescence techniques. It has been shown that the presence of the metallic solvent allows the use of lower temperatures, avoiding the formation of aluminum oxicarbides. Key words: Alumina; Carbothermic reduction; Solvent; Tin.
Reference:
MOURÃO, Marcelo Breda; Takano, CYRO; FERRREIRA NETO, João Batista. Redução carbotérmica de alumina em presença de estanho como solvente. Tecnologia em Metalurgia, Materiais e Mineração, São Paulo, v. 8, n. 4, p.1-6, out.-dez., 2011.
Carbothermic reduction of alumina presents potential for higher energy yield as compared to that of the electrolytic process for primary aluminum production. Besides this, environmental questions, large area of the facilities, and high capital costs justify the search for a viable carbothermic process in spite of the enormous difficulties which previous attempts have found. The present work presents a thermodynamic analysis of the carbothermic reduction of alumina, including the use of a metallic solvent. Experiments were performed between 1750°C and 2050°C, in a special equipment, under pressures of 0.7 bar to 0.1 bar, as well as experiments at atmospheric pressure. The products obtained were characterized by electronic microscopy, EDS and X-ray fluorescence techniques. It has been shown that the presence of the metallic solvent allows the use of lower temperatures, avoiding the formation of aluminum oxicarbides. Key words: Alumina; Carbothermic reduction; Solvent; Tin.
Reference:
MOURÃO, Marcelo Breda; Takano, CYRO; FERRREIRA NETO, João Batista. Redução carbotérmica de alumina em presença de estanho como solvente. Tecnologia em Metalurgia, Materiais e Mineração, São Paulo, v. 8, n. 4, p.1-6, out.-dez., 2011.
