Write short note on Electrolytic reduction of alumina
Answers
Answer:
Alumina is reduced to molten aluminum in an electrolytic cell containing a molten electrolyte bath composed of halide salts and having a density less than alumina and aluminum and a melting point less than aluminum. ... Alumina particles are dispersed in the bath to form a slurry.
Answer:
The electrolysis of pure alumina faces some difficulties. Pure alumina is a bad conductor of electricity. The fusion temperature of pure alumina is about 2000
∘
C and at this temperature when electrolysis is carried out on the fused mass, the metal formed vaporizes, as the boiling point of aluminium is 1800
∘
C. These difficulties are overcome by using a mixture containing alumina, cryolite (Na
3
.AlF
6
), and fluorspar (CaF
2
) which forms a melt with lower melting temperature.