Stage 2 Converting Alumina to Aluminum

The alumina must now be converted to metallic aluminum. Here is how that is accomplished.
FACT: . Smelting: In 1886, two 22-year-old scientists on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Charles Hall of the USA and Paul L.T. Heroult of France, made the same discovery - molten cryolite (a sodium aluminum fluoride mineral) could be used to dissolve alumina and the resulting chemical reaction would produce metallic aluminum. The Hall-Heroult process remains in use today. The Hall-Heroult process takes place in a large carbon or graphite lined steel container called a " reduction pot". In most plants, the pots are lined up in long rows, called potlines. The key to the chemical reaction necessary to convert the alumina to metallic aluminum is the running of an electrical current through the cryolite/alumina mixture. The process requires the use of direct current (DC) - not the alternating current (AC) used in homes. The immense amounts of power required to produce aluminum is the reason why aluminum plants are almost always located in areas where affordable electrical power is readily available. Some experts maintain that one percent of all the energy used in the United States is used in the making of aluminum. The electrical voltage used in a typical reduction pot is only 5.25 volts, but the amperage is VERY high - generally in the range of 100,000 to 150,000 amperes or more. The current flows between a carbon anode (positively charged), made of petroleum coke and pitch, and a cathode (negatively charged), formed by the thick carbon or graphite lining of the pot. When the electric current passes through the mixture, the carbon of the anode combines with the oxygen in the alumina. The chemical reaction produces metallic aluminum and carbon dioxide. The molten aluminum settles to the bottom of the pot where it is periodically syphoned off into crucibles while the carbon dioxide a gas - escapes. Very little cryolite is lost in the process, and the alumina is constantly replenished from storage containers above the reduction pots. Two tons of alumina are required to make one ton of aluminum.

The metal is now ready to be forged, turned into alloys, or extruded into the shapes and forms necessary to make appliances, electronics, automobiles, airplanes cans and hundreds of other familiar, useful items. Aluminum is formed at about 900 C, but once formed has a melting point of only 660 C. In some smelters this spare heat is used to melt recycled metal, which is then blended with the new metal. Recycled metal requires only 5 per cent of the energy required to make new metal. Blending recycled metal with new metal allows considerable energy savings, as well as the efficient use of the extra heat available. When it comes to quality, there is no difference between primary metal and recycled metal. The smelting process required to produce aluminum from the alumina is continuous the potline is usually kept in production 24 hours a day year-round. A smelter cannot easily be stopped and restarted. If production is interrupted by a power supply failure of more than four hours, the metal in the pots will solidify, often requiring an expensive rebuilding process. The cost of building a typical, modern smelter is about $1.6 billion. Most smelters produce aluminum that is 99.7% pure - acceptable for most applications. However, super pure aluminum (99.99%) is required for some special applications, typically those where high ductility or conductivity is required. It should be noted that what may appear to be marginal differences in the purities of smelter grade aluminum and super purity aluminum can result in significant changes in the properties of the metal. About 6.2 kWH (kilowatt hours) of electricity is required to produce one pound of aluminum from alumina.
Drawings and information courtesy of Reynolds Aluminum, Alcoa Aluminum and the Aluminum Institute

FACT:

The process of smelting in simple form

Aluminium's raw material is alumina and the smelting process is the third in line of three, as bauxite mining is the first and alumina production the second. So ... How is aluminium made? The third and final step in the production of aluminium is the smelting of alumina into aluminium metal. Two tonnes of alumina are needed to make one tonne of aluminium metal.

Alumina is made up of aluminium and oxygen. To produce aluminium metal, it is necessary to separate these two elements. The process that transforms alumina into aluminium is called smelting. It was invented in 1886 by Charles Hall in America and Paul Heroult in France. As Hall and Heroult made their discoveries independently at around the same time, the process is known as the Hall-Heroult Process. Smelting takes place in large, steel, carbon-lined furnaces known as reduction cells. The carbon lining is called a cathode. Alumina is fed into the cells where it is dissolved in molten cryolite, a liquid which can dissolve alumina and conduct electricity at around 970C. Electricity is introduced into each cell through carbon blocks manufactured by smelters, called anodes. The anodes are made in a three-step process: Forming Petroleum coke and recycled carbon from used anodes are mixed with liquid pitch. This mixture is heated to 160C until it forms a hot paste. It is then cooled to 115C and hydraulically pressed or vibrated in a mould to form an anode block. Baking The carbon anodes are transferred by conveyor to the carbon baking furnace, where they are baked at temperatures of up to 1,150C in a pre-heating, firing and cooling cycle which takes 18 to 20 days. This further heating helps rid the anodes of impurities and improves their strength and electricity conducting ability. Rodding In the rodding room, the carbon anode is bonded to a metal rod using molten cast iron. This rod allows the anode to be suspended from the reduction cell superstructure during the smelting process. A carbon anode usually lasts a few weeks. After this time, the used anode is recycled in the anode forming process.

Reduction All of the reduction cells are connected in series by aluminium busbar which carries an electric current and these cells form a reduction line. A continuous electric current of 100,000 to 320,000 amps (depending on the smelter) flows from the anode, through the alumina/cryolite mixture, to the carbon cathode cell lining, and then to the anodes of the next cell, and so on. The electrical current enables alumina to react with the carbon anode to form aluminium and carbon dioxide. Between 13,000 and 15,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity are used to make one tonne of aluminium. The oxygen combines with the carbon to form carbon dioxide at the top of the cell. The reduction cell offgasses are cleaned to remove contaminants and released into the atmosphere. The aluminium, in a molten form, sinks to the bottom of the cell. It is siphoned out in a process known as tapping and is transported to a holding furnace to be cast into products. The metal may be cast as pure aluminium (better than 99.7%) or small amounts of other elements, such as magnesium, silicon or manganese, are added to form aluminium alloys. Different alloys give different properties to the metal, such as extra strength or greater resistance to corrosion. Casting The molten aluminium is cast at a temperature of just over 700C to form ingots, large blocks, t-bar or long cylindrical logs called extrusion billet. Special ingot casting machines cast, stack, strap and weigh ingots automatically into one tonne bundles ready for transport. Extrusion billet and t-bar are cast to specific customer requirements using a process known as vertical direct chill casting. In these forms the metal is known as primary aluminium. Comalco's primary aluminium is produced at three smelters - at Boyne Island near Gladstone, Bell Bay in Tasmania, and Tiwai Point in New Zealand. Australia is the world's fourth largest producer and 2nd largest exporter of aluminium. Manufacturing Primary aluminium can be rolled, extruded or cast to make aluminium end-products. Rolling involves a block of aluminium being 'squashed' between large rollers to make products such as aluminium plates, sheets or foil. Extruding is a process in which round logs (billet) of hot aluminium are forced though a pattern cut into a steel die. Casting occurs when molten aluminium is poured into moulds to manufacture specific shapes. What is aluminium used for? Aluminium is widely used in the transport, construction, packaging and electrical industries. In the transport sector aluminium is used in cars (engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmission housings and body panels); in trucks and buses (sheet and plate for bodies); in railway stock and in aircraft. In the construction sector aluminium is used in sheet products for roofing and wall cladding, in extrusions for windows and doors and in castings for builders hardware. In the packaging sector aluminium is used in the form of alloy sheet for beverage can

bodies and tops; as foil for household and commercial wrap and in manufactured packaging products such as cartons for fruit juice and packaging for pharmaceuticals. In the electrical sector aluminium is used in the form of wire, normally reinforced with steel to form cables. The economic and environmental benefits of aluminium Aluminium is a metal which can be easily and economically recycled, by melting it down and casting new products. Recycled aluminium is known as secondary aluminium. Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy needed to produce the primary metal from bauxite. Any aluminium product can be recycled; the metal can be melted again and again without losing any of its properties. One of the most important sources of secondary aluminium is aluminium cans. Australia is a worldleader in this area, recycling over 60% of all cans used. Aluminium is light, strong and pliable. When compared with most other metals, less energy is required to manufacture products from aluminium and to transport them, resulting in significant energy cost savings for industry. Aluminium allows lighter cars to be built, reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia, 86% of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are from road transport.
Source: Colmaco

ALUMINIUM
Production Process Aluminium can be produced via two different routes: primary aluminium production from ore and recycling aluminium from process scrap and used aluminium products. The production of primary aluminium consists of three steps: bauxite mining, alumina production and electrolysis. The last two mentioned will be described hereafter, bauxite mining is covered in the section Environment, Ecology & Recycling. Alumina production Bauxite has to be processed into pure aluminium oxide (alumina) before it can be converted to aluminium by electrolysis. This is achieved through the use of the Bayer chemical process in alumina refineries. The aluminium oxide is released from the other substances in bauxite in a caustic soda solution, which is filtered to remove all insoluble particles. The aluminium hydroxide is then precipitated from the soda solution, washed and dried while the soda solution is recycled. After calcination, the end-product, aluminium oxide (Al2O3), is a fine grained white powder.Four tonnes of bauxite are required to produce two tonnes of alumina which in turn produces one tonne of aluminium at the primary smelter. In 1998, 45 million tonnes of alumina were produced world-wide. The main production areas are: Alumina refineries are often located near to bauxite mines for logistics reasons.

Electrolysis Aluminium primary smelting and casting Primary aluminium is produced in reduction plants (or "smelters"), where pure aluminium is extracted from alumina by the Hall-Hroult process. The reduction of alumina into liquid aluminium is operated at around 950 degrees Celsius in a fluorinated bath under high intensity electrical current. This process takes place in electrolytic cells (or "pots"), where carbon cathodes form the bottom of the pot and act as the negative electrode. Anodes (positive electrodes) are held at the top of the pot and are consumed during the process when they react with the oxygen coming from the alumina. There are two types of anodes currently in use. All potlines built since the early 1970s use the prebake anode technology, where the anodes, manufactured from a mixture of petroleum coke and coal tar pitch (acting as a binder), are pre-baked in separate anode plants. In the Soederberg technology, the carbonaceous mixture is fed directly into the top part of the pot, where self-baking anodes are produced using the heat released by the electrolytic process. At regular intervals, molten aluminium tapped from the pots is transported to the cast house where it is alloyed in holding furnaces by the addition of other metals (according to the users needs), cleaned of oxides and gases, and then cast into ingots. These can take the form of extrusion billets, for extruded products, or rolling ingots, for rolled products, depending on the way it is to be further processed. Aluminium mould castings are produced by foundries which use this technique to manufacture shaped components. World-wide trends in production are shown in the following graph. Aluminium output has increased by a factor of 13 since 1950, making aluminium the most widely used non-ferrous metal. In 1998, world-wide production of primary aluminium was about 22.7 million tonnes per year for and installed capacity of 24.8 million tonnes. References: Web site: http://www.eaa.net/material/primary.asp

The Hall-Heroult method of aluminium production occurs in large refractory-lined steel containers called pots that are connected in series and housed in long buildings called pot rooms. Alusaf has seven such pot rooms producing over 670 000 tons of aluminium a year. A. Suspended above each cathode are several closely arranged carbon blocks that serve as the anode (positive electrode). The anodes are suspended by rods in the bath of molten electrolyte in which the alumina is dissolved. B. An electric current of up to 315 000 amps enters the pot via the anode blocks and reduces the alumina by electrolysis into aluminium and oxygen. The oxygen is deposited on the carbon anode where it burns the carbon to form carbon dioxide. The aluminium, being heavier than the electrolyte, collects at the base of the pot. The equation for the basic reaction is: 2Al2O3 + 3C = 4Al + 3CO2 C. Each pot consists of a steel shell that is lined with refractory and carbon blocks to serve as the cathode (negative electrode). D. Cryolite, the predominant constituent of the electrolyte, is a sodium aluminium fluoride salt which, when held molten at a temperature of around 960C, can dissolve alumina. The electrolytic process of separating the Alumina atom into molten Aluminium and Carbon dioxide waste

To sustain the electrolytic process, alumina is fed into the pots at regular intervals to maintain a sufficient quantity of dissolved alumina in the bath. The process is controlled by a computer that detects and interprets minute changes in electrical resistance and determines when to

feed alumina to the pot. As the carbon anode is gradually consumed, it is periodically lowered to maintain the optimum distance of 5cm between the anode and cathode surfaces. For each ton of aluminium produced about 430 kg of carbon is consumed. A continuous supply of anodes is manufactured at both smelters in dedicated carbon plants that comprise paste plants, carbon bake furnaces and rodding shops. 1. In the paste plants, carefully crushed and graded fractions of calcined petroleum coke and recycled anode butts are heated and mixed with molten pitch. 2. The hot mixture is then compacted into blocks called green (unbaked) anodes. At Hillside, each anode weighs about 836 kg; at Bay side the anodes weigh about 624 kg. Approximately 400 000 anodes are produced each year for both smelters. 3. The green anodes are transferred to the carbon bake furnaces where they are heated in deep brick-lined pits to around 1 100C over a period of 21 days. This baking process calcines the binding pitch and ensures that the anodes have good thermal and electrical conductivity. Exhaust manifolds collect waste gases and carry them to the fume treatment centre. 4. After baking, aluminium rods are attached to the anodes and sealed with cast iron. The rod suspends the anode in the pot and acts as an electrical conductor. 5. After the rods are attached, the anodes are delivered to the pot rooms for positioning in the pots. Some 27 days later, the remains of the anodes, known as butts, are returned from the pot rooms and recycled. The rods are also reused. 1. The molten metal is tapped from each pot approximately once per day for transfer in special-purpose hot-metal carriers to holding furnaces in the cast house. The furnaces are heated and maintain the aluminium at the desired casting temperature of 700C. 2. After the aluminium is poured into cast house. furnaces, elements such as silicon, magnesium, copper, iron, titanium or boron are added to meet requisite alloy specifications. The metal surface is skimmed to remove the dross. The clean alloy is then cast. 3. Forty-four 22-kg ingots are stacked in a configuration of interlocking bundles. Each weighing one ton, they are strapped and trucked to the export stockyard at the harbor in an around-the-clock road haulage super packs for easy handling. The electrolytic production of aluminium at the smelters is a complex 24-hours-a-day, 365days-a-year process, dependant on a regular supply of raw materials and huge amounts of energy. Crucially important is the role of the ancillary departments that must ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality raw materials, spares, consumables or services to the three primary production areas - carbon, pot rooms and cast house. The ancillary departments include maintenance, procurement, materials management, laboratory, environment, finance, human resources, engineering, sales and marketing, communication and information systems. The warehouses contain tens of thousands of parts necessary for the continued functioning of the smelters. While certain specialised parts are purchased abroad, Billiton Aluminium's purchasing policy gives preference, on a competitive basis, to local suppliers and contractors. Preventative maintenance is a key factor in the successful operation of the smelter. Effective planning and organisation of maintenance work prevents production backlogs, keeps equipment in top condition and ensures that productivity remains high. Integrated information and technology systems are vital to Hillside's success as the focus of organisations worldwide turns to knowledge as a prime source of wealth creation. Designed for maximum effectiveness, the company's three-level information network is fully integrated and encompasses programmers to operate equipment, monitor performance and provide status reports. It also manages the business systems for finance, maintenance and human resources. References: Web site : http://www.hillside.co.za/history/production.html Aluminium ore, most commonly bauxite, is plentiful and occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical areas: Africa, West Indies, South America and Australia. There are also some

deposits in Europe. Bauxite is refined into aluminium oxide tri hydrate (alumina) and then electrolytically reduced into metallic aluminium. Primary aluminium production facilities are located all over the world, often in areas where there are abundant supplies of inexpensive energy, such as hydro-electric power. Two to three tonnes of bauxite are required to produce one tonne of alumina and two tonnes of alumina are required to produce one tonne of aluminium metal.

The aluminium industry relies on the Bayer process to produce alumina from bauxite. It remains the most economic means of obtaining alumina, which in turn is vital for the production of aluminium metal - some two tonnes of alumina are required to produce on tonne of aluminium. The Bayer Process

The primary aluminium industry is dependent on a regular supply of alumina for four functions: Basic raw material for aluminium production 1.Thermal insulator for the top of electrolytic cells 2.Coating for pre baked anodes 3.Absorbent filter for cell emissions Alumina Production Bauxite is washed, ground and dissolved in caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) at high pressure and temperature. The resulting liquor contains a solution of sodium aluminate and un dissolved bauxite residues containing iron, silicon, and titanium. These residues sink gradually to the bottom of the tank and are removed. They are known colloquially as "red mud". The clear sodium aluminate solution is pumped into a huge tank called a precipitator. Fine particles of alumina are added to seed the precipitation of pure alumina particles as the liquor cools. The particles sink to the bottom of the tank, are removed, and are then passed through a rotary or fluidised calciner at 1100C to drive off the chemically combined water. The result is a white powder, pure alumina. The caustic soda is returned to the start of the process and used again. More information about the Chemistry of the Process is available. The process of producing pure alumina from bauxite has changed very little since the first plant was opened in 1893. The Bayer process can be considered in three stages: Extraction The hydrated alumina is selectively removed from the other (insoluble) oxides by transferring it into a solution of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda): Al2O3.xH2O + 2NaOH ---> 2NaAlO2 + (x+1)H2O The process is far more efficient when the ore is reduced to a very fine particle size prior to

reaction. This is achieved by crushing and milling the pre-washed ore. This is then sent to a heated pressure digester. Conditions within the digester (concentration, temperature and pressure) vary according to the properties of the bauxite ore being used. Although higher temperatures are theoretically favoured these produce several disadvantages including corrosion problems and the possibility of other oxides (other than alumina) dissolving into the caustic liquor. Modern plants typically operate at between 200 and 240 C and can involve pressures of around 30atm. After the extraction stage the liquor (containing the dissolved Al2O3) must be separated from the insoluble bauxite residue and purified as much as possible and filtered before it is delivered to the decomposer. The mud is thickened and washed so that the caustic soda can be removed and recycled. Decomposition Crystalline alumina tri hydrate is extracted from the digestion liquor by hydrolysis: 2NaAlO2 + 4H2O ---> Al2O3.3H2O + 2NaOH This is basically the reverse of the extraction process, except that the product's nature can be carefully controlled by plant conditions (including seeding or selective nucleation, precipitation temperature and cooling rate). The alumina tri hydrate crystals are then classified into size fractions and fed into a rotary or fluidised bed calcination kiln. Calcination Alumina tri hydrate crystals are calcined to remove their water of crystallisation and prepare the alumina for the aluminium smelting process. The mechanism for this step is complex but the process, when carefully controlled, dictates the properties of the final product. References: Web site: http://www.world-aluminum.org/production/ Back