Carbochlorination of Aluminum from Non-Bauxite Sources

Abstract

There has been increased interest in the United States in developing the technology to recover aluminum from non-bauxite sources stemming from a need to develop domestic aluminum sources.1, 2 Several domestic sources of aluminum have been defined by the U.S. Bureau of Mines;3 the types and approximate tonnages of these are listed in Table I. Patterson and Dyni4 of the U.S. Geological Survey identified several additional non-bauxite sources of aluminum, including alunite (37% Al2O3), dawsonite (35% Al2O3), and coal ash (8–40% Al2O3). The U.S. Bureau of Mines has indicated that the future aluminum resources consist mainly of anorthosites, and has listed research on the recovery of alumina from kaolin, anorthite, and dawsonite as a major objective.5 It is also interesting to note that there has been a discussion of the importance of finding a method for processing lunar anorthite to produce construction materials for space.6