Abstract
A selective liquation process to extract Al from a coarse Al–Si alloy, produced by carbothermal reduction, was investigated on the laboratory scale. The products obtained by selective liquation–vacuum distillation were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. During the selective liquation process with the use of zinc as the solvent, the pure aluminum in the coarse Al–Si alloy dissolved in the zinc melt to form an α-solid solution with zinc, and most of the silicon and iron-rich phases and Al–Si–Fe intermetallics precipitated and grew into massive grains that entered into the slag and separated with the Zn–Al alloy melt. However, some fine silicon particles remained in the Zn–Al alloy. Thus, Al–Si alloys conforming to industrial application standards were obtained when the Zn–Al alloys were separated by a distillation process.
Highlights
(%); mZn−Al is the weight of the Zn–Al alloy (g); ms is the weight of slag (g); ωZn is the content of Zn in the Zn–Al alloy; and MAl−Si is the weight of the coarse Al–Si alloy (g)
Most of the silicon and other impurities, such as iron, titanium, and calcium, in the coarse Al–Si alloy were separated from the aluminum by the selective liquation process
Some fine silicon particles remain in the Zn–Al alloy
Summary
There are currently no effective methods for disposing of red mud and the spent potlining At present, these waste products are stockpiled, which occupies land, and raises a range of environmental issues. The production of a coarse Al–Si alloy by carbothermal reduction is considered to be one potential method for making use of industrial aluminiferous waste slag [13,14]. A coarse Al–Si alloy containing 35–60 wt% aluminum, 25–60 wt% silicon, and 2–15 wt% iron can be obtained after carbothermal reduction. Magnesium, or mercury forms a liquid alloy, which separates from Si, Fe, and other impurities that form slag Of these three methods for extracting aluminum from coarse Al–Si alloys, the third has the lowest energy consumption and highest efficiency.
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