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Physical chemistry of the carbothermic reduction of alumina in the presence of a metallic solvent: Part II. Measurements of kinetics of reaction

  • T.B. King Memorial Symposium on Physical Chemistry in Metals Processing In Memory of Thomas B. King
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Abstract

The carbothermic reduction of alumina was studied in the temperature range of 1700°C to 1850°C in the presence of either tin or copper as the metallic solvent. The total pressure in the smelting system was controlled at pressures between 0.08 and 0.20 atm. The overall reaction is Al2O3(s)+3C(s)=2Al+3CO(g). The rate of reduction of alumina was found to depend strongly on temperature, increasing by three orders of magnitude between 1700°C and 1850°C. Total pressure and activity of aluminum in the solvent bath also affected the rate of reduction. Changes in the alumina particle type and size, in the carbon type, in the carbon-to-oxygen ratio, and in the pellet size had little effect on the rate of reduction of alumina. The kinetics of reduction are shown to follow a pseudo-first order kinetic model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139, Cambridge, MA

    Robert A. Frank (Research Assistant) & John F. Elliott (Professor of Metallurgy)

  2. Vacuum Industrics, Inc., 02143, Somerville, MA

    Charles W. Finn (Director of Research)

Authors
  1. Robert A. Frank
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  2. Charles W. Finn
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  3. John F. Elliott
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Additional information

CHARLES W. FINN, formerly Research Scientist, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT

This paper is based on a presentation made in the T.B. King Memorial Symposium on “Physical Chemistry in Metals Processing” presented at the Annual Meeting of The Metallurgical Society, Denver, CO, February, 1987, under the auspices of the Physical Chemistry Committee and the PTD/ISS.

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Frank, R.A., Finn, C.W. & Elliott, J.F. Physical chemistry of the carbothermic reduction of alumina in the presence of a metallic solvent: Part II. Measurements of kinetics of reaction. Metall Trans B 20, 161–173 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02825597

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