Method of carbothermically producing aluminum
AssigneeMitsui Aluminum Co., Ltd.
InventorKenshi Kuwahara
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Abstract
A method of producing an aluminum metal from alumina, silica and iron oxide bearing materials by mixing the coal and bringing the mixtures to the temperature in the range of 600.degree. to 900.degree. C. in order to make the alumina bearing coked briquettes. Then, the coked briquettes are brought to the temperature in the range of 2,000.degree. to 2,100.degree. C. to produce aluminum, silicon and iron containing alloys. The alloys are scrubbed by molten lead spray directly after the alloys formation, and are converted to lead-aluminum alloy. An aluminum is separated from lead by liquation and purified by fractional distillation.
Claims13
A method of carbothermically producing an aluminum metal from alumina, silica and iron-oxide bearing materials, which comprises;
- (a) providing briquettes of a mix of said materials and a carbonaceous material which contains a sufficient amount of carbon to reduce the oxides in the material and coking said briquettes at a temperature of 600.degree. to 900.degree. C. by direct contact with non-oxidizing gas, to form coked briquettes,
- (b) heating the coked briquettes to a temperature of 2,000.degree. to 2,100.degree. C. with gas for combustion to form an aluminum-silicon-iron alloy,
- (c) scrubbing the resulting alloy in the nascent state with a molten lead splash to preferentially absorb the aluminum in the alloy into the molten lead,
- (d) separating the silicon and iron of the alloy from the aluminum-absorbed molten lead,
- (e) cooling the aluminum-absorbed molten lead to cause it to separate into liquid layers of aluminum and lead, respectively, and
- (f) subjecting the aluminum layer to distillation to distill off lead present and recover aluminum metal in substantially pure form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.