Solar Carboreduction of Alumina Under Vacuum

A preliminary study on carboreduction of alumina under vacuum, which was necessary before the solar reactor design, has been performed using an induction heater equipped with a graphite susceptor as the sample holder surrounded by a ceramic tube serving as the metal vapor deposit site. The primary objective was to study the forward and backward reactions as a function of temperature and CO partial pressure. It was concluded that at reaction temperatures above 1600°C and at an average CO partial pressure below 0.2 mbar, the amount of residual by-products in the graphite crucible was negligible, whereas tests with an average CO partial pressure of 2.6 mbar required temperatures above 1800°C to convert the stoichiometric reactants pellets fully. It was concluded that pure aluminum can be found only at deposit sites with temperatures below 600–700°C in tests with temperature and pressure suitable to prevent the volatile suboxide formation in the forward reaction. Based on these results, the solar reactor was designed with a sharp temperature drop from the hot to the cold area. The results of solar tests with different levels of CO partial pressure and temperature conditions reveal that the alumina to aluminum conversion is about 90% for reaction temperatures above the minimum temperature required for full conversion as predicted by the thermodynamic calculations at the appropriate pressure. However, at lower temperatures, a significant amount of solid Al₄C₃, Al₄CO₄, and volatile Al₂O can be formed in the forward reaction, leading to an increase of the residual by-product in the reactant holder as well as lower purity of the aluminum product and an increase of the alumina content in the deposits at the cold reactor’s zone. The observed nanocrystalline and amorphous morphology of the deposits caused by fast cooling in the cold zone will also be discussed.