Method and reactor for production of aluminum by carbothermic reduction of alumina

A process for carbothermic production of aluminum where a molten bath comprising aluminum carbide and aluminum oxide is produced in a low temperature compartment, which molten bath of aluminum carbide and aluminum oxide flows into a high temperature compartment where the aluminum carbide is reacted with alumina to produce aluminum which forms a layer on the top of a molten slag bottom layer and said aluminum is tapped from the high temperature compartment;

• wherein the low temperature compartment and the high temperature compartment are located in a common reaction vessel and the low temperature compartment is separated from the high temperature compartment by an underflow partition wall;
• the molten bath of aluminum carbide and aluminum oxide produced in the low temperature compartment continuously flows under the partition wall and into the high temperature compartment where the molten bath produced in the low temperature compartment flows into the high temperature compartment by gravity flow effected by tapping the top aluminum layer in the high temperature compartment, and where energy needed to heat the low temperature compartment and the high temperature compartment is provided by separate energy supply means.