Lunar Aluminum Production - Revision history

Miros1: Miros1 moved page Lunar Aluminium Production to Lunar Aluminum Production: US usages supercede non-US usages per Ben Smith

2019-04-10T18:38:32Z

Miros1 moved page Lunar Aluminium Production to Lunar Aluminum Production: US usages supercede non-US usages per Ben Smith

Strangelv: rv

2012-01-14T05:27:51Z

115.176.74.80: /* Hall-Heroult Process */

2012-01-13T09:37:09Z

Hall-Heroult Process

109.230.216.60: /* Anorthite Production */

2012-01-12T23:46:18Z

Anorthite Production

76.8.206.41: /* Hall-Heroult Process */

2011-09-23T10:26:49Z

Hall-Heroult Process

Silverwurm: /* Carbothermal Reduction */

2011-09-09T18:28:27Z

Carbothermal Reduction

Silverwurm: /* Hall-Heroult Process */

2011-09-09T18:27:26Z

Hall-Heroult Process

Silverwurm: /* Alumina Production */

2011-09-09T18:18:54Z

Alumina Production

205.208.203.59: /* Subchloride Process */

2011-09-09T18:12:09Z

Subchloride Process

205.208.203.59: /* Carbothermal Reduction */

2011-09-08T21:10:16Z

Carbothermal Reduction

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-If you wrote an atrcile about life we'd all reach enlightenment.
+== Anorthite Production ==
 == Anorthite Refinement ==
@@ Line 48: / Line 52: @@
 Alumina could also be directly melted and electrolyzed in the same fashion. However, this would require temperatures of approximately 2000 ºC, bringing with it again the issue of electrode material.
-Grade A stuff. I'm uuneqstionably in your debt.
+=== Hall-Heroult Process ===
 === Subchloride Process ===

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 Alumina could also be directly melted and electrolyzed in the same fashion. However, this would require temperatures of approximately 2000 ºC, bringing with it again the issue of electrode material.
-=== Hall-Heroult Process ===
+Grade A stuff. I'm uuneqstionably in your debt.
 === Subchloride Process ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:46, 12 January 2012
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−	~~== Anorthite Production ==~~	+	If you wrote an atrcile about life we'd all reach enlightenment.
−
−	The [[Anorthosite]] which makes up the Lunar highlands is a mix of [[Plagioclase]]s, [[Olivine]]s, and [[Pyroxene]]s. To separate the [[anorthite]], [[anorthosite]] must be ground. Then, magnetic separation could leave the non-magnetic anorthite.
−
−	~~The magnetic materials ([[Ilmenite]] and iron oxide) could be stored for production of [[titanium]], [[iron]], and [[oxygen]]~~.

	== Anorthite Refinement ==		== Anorthite Refinement ==

@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 In the Hall-Heroult process, alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite ([[Sodium]] hexafluoroaluminate, Na<sub>3</sub> AlF<sub>6 </sub>) around 1400 ºC. This mix is electrolyzed to separate two byproducts: [[aluminium]] and [[Carbon Dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]]. The carbon comes from the consumption of the carbon anode.
-This procedure is used extensively on earth for aluminum production, and as such has the advantage of being a very mature technology. The biggest issue is the consumption of the anode, which would require the produced carbon monoxide to be captured, [[Lunar Carbon Production|converted back into carbon]], and recast into new anodes; an energy intensive process. It is not known if an inert(non-consumable) anode material can be found that would work under these conditions.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall-H%C3%A9roult_process</ref>
+This procedure is used extensively on earth for aluminum production, and as such has the advantage of being a very mature technology. The biggest issue is the consumption of the anode, which would require the produced carbon dioxide to be captured, [[Lunar Carbon Production|converted back into carbon]], and recast into new anodes; an energy intensive process. It is not known if an inert(non-consumable) anode material can be found that would work under these conditions.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall-H%C3%A9roult_process</ref>
 === Subchloride Process ===

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 === Carbothermal Reduction ===
-Carbon reduction of Alumina is impossible under normal smelting conditions, due to [[aluminum]]s high reduction potential. However,  Alumina could be mixed with silica and carbon and melted near 2000 C, which would form an aluminium-silicon alloy, as well as CO<sub>2</sub>. This could be separated by cooling the Al-Si mixture to 700 - 1000 ºC and allowing the silicon to solidify and settle out of the melt.<ref>http://www.moonminer.com/Lunar_Aluminum.html </ref>
+Carbon reduction of Alumina is impossible under normal smelting conditions, due to [[aluminum]]s high reduction potential. However,  Alumina could be mixed with silica and carbon and melted near 2000 ºC, which would form an aluminium-silicon alloy, as well as CO<sub>2</sub>. This could be separated by cooling the Al-Si mixture to 700 - 1000 ºC and allowing the silicon to solidify and settle out of the melt.<ref>http://www.moonminer.com/Lunar_Aluminum.html </ref>
 An alternate process involves alumina and carbon processed at high temperatures and low pressure into Al<sub>4</sub>C<sub>3</sub> and carbon monoxide.<ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium ''Aluminum'' section ''Production and refinement''] </ref>

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 === Alumina Production ===
-Many processes used on earth or proposed for Lunar use require [[Alumina]] ([[Aluminum|Al]]<sub>2</sub>[[Oxygen|O]]<sub>3</sub>) as an input. On Earth, alumina is produced from bauxite through the Bayer process. As this process is not feasible using Anorthite, another method must be utilized.
+Many processes used on earth or proposed for Lunar use require [[alumina]] ([[Aluminum|Al]]<sub>2</sub>[[Oxygen|O]]<sub>3</sub>) as an input. On Earth, alumina is produced from bauxite through the Bayer process. As this process is not feasible using Anorthite, another method must be utilized.
 ====Vacuum Distillation====

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 === Subchloride Process ===
-In the subchloride process [[alumina]] is reacted with [[carbon]] and [[chlorine]] to yield [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> and [[Carbon dioxide |CO<sub>2</sub>]]. The [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> is electrolyzed to produce [[Aluminum]] while recovering the [[chlorine]]. This has the advantage that conventional [[carbon]] electrodes can be used continuously, as the produced [[chlorine]] does not react with them. However, the [[Carbon dioxide |CO<sub>2</sub>]] byproduct must be [[Lunar Carbon Production|recycled]], adding extra complexity and energy requirements to the system. This makes it similar to the Hall-Heroult process in difficulty, except for two advantages. First, the recycled carbon can be directly used in powdered form, it does not need to be recast into electrodes. Second, due to the low melting point of [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> (120 ºC), the process does not require significant energy to melt, and is more easily handled.  <ref>http://www.moonminer.com/Lunar_Aluminum.html </ref>
+In the subchloride process [[alumina]] is reacted with [[carbon]] and [[chlorine]] to yield [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> and [[Carbon dioxide |CO<sub>2</sub>]]. The [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> is electrolyzed to produce [[aluminum]] while recovering the [[chlorine]]. This has the advantage that conventional [[carbon]] electrodes can be used continuously, as the produced [[chlorine]] does not react with them. However, the [[Carbon dioxide |CO<sub>2</sub>]] byproduct must be [[Lunar Carbon Production|recycled]], adding extra complexity and energy requirements to the system. This makes it similar to the Hall-Heroult process in difficulty, except for two advantages. First, the recycled carbon can be directly used in powdered form, it does not need to be recast into electrodes. Second, due to the low melting point of [[Al]][[Cl]]<sub>3</sub> (120 ºC), the process does not require significant energy to melt, and is more easily handled.  <ref>http://www.moonminer.com/Lunar_Aluminum.html </ref>
 === Carbothermal Reduction ===