Prospects of Chlorine Method of Aluminum Production in Modern Conditions

Abstract

The results of the feasibility study of the complete aluminum chlorine production cycle in comparison with the conventional method, namely, the extraction of alumina by the Bayer method and subsequent electrolysis of cryolite-alumina melts are reported in this paper. The advantages of the proposed method are: using low-quality Al-containing raw materials and less scarce and aggressive chlorides instead of fluorides; reduction of specific electric power consumption by about 30%; elimination of high-quality carbon-containing materials consumption and harmful emissions into the atmosphere; reduction of capital investments; labor productivity improvement. Keywords: aluminum-containing raw material chlorination, electrolysis of aluminum chloride, electricity savings