What is electrolytic reduction and electrolytic refining.
Answers
Electrolytic reduction involves passing a large current through a molten metal oxide or an aqueous solution of the metal's salt. The molten metal oxide gets reduced to metal in the process. The step of metallurgy where this process comes is reduction of metal oxide to metal.For example, aluminium is electrolysed from aluminium oxide dissolved in molten cryolite to aluminium via the Hall-Héroult process.
2 Al2O3 + 3 C → 4 Al + 3 CO2
Electrolytic refining is involved in the step of refining of impure metal to pure metal.Electrolytic refining consists of purifying an impure material, in this case a metal.
The only similarity in both the processes is involvement of electric current. But both are entirely different processes.
ELECTROLYTIC REFINING IS THE PROCESS OF REFINING A METAL BY THE ELECTROLYSIS OF A SOLUTION OF THE SALT OF THE METAL ,USING A SMALL PIECE OF PURE METAL AS THE NEGATIVE ELECTRODE AND THE IMPURE METAL AS THE POSITIVE ELECTRODE.COPPER CAN BE REFINED THROUGH THIS METHOD