Method for producing aluminum metal from its salts

Abstract

Aluminum metal in the gaseous state may be produced by breaking down of its salts at temperatures of at least 2500.degree. to 5500.degree.C. These very high temperatures may be reached in various ways, e.g., by producing a thermal plasma by means of a plasma arc or a plasma torch. There results a mixture of the two elemental gases; and the separation of the mixture is accomplished by instananeously chilling the hot gas stream from such a heater to a temperature of 136.degree. to 1500.degree.C in a "flash" cooler by contacting it directly with a liquid coolant, separately cooled. The liquid coolant may comprise the same aluminum salt as is fed to the plasma system; or it may be a solution of that compound with one or more other liquids, which solution may have a melting or boiling point in a desired temperature range; or it may be a quite different compound or compounds. The aluminum produced may be withdrawn as a liquid; or if the flash condenser operates below the melting point of aluminum, it may be obtained as a slurry of fine granules in the liquid coolant. The other elemental gas may pass through the liquid of the flash condenser uncondensed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.