Aluminium ore extraction

Details
Purificati
on
of ...........
...(ore of
aluminiu
m oxide)

Electrode
s

Why
To remove other metal
impurities, based on
the acid-base
properties of metal
oxides:

How
1) Add ........................... . Al 2O3 will dissolve
and react while Fe2O3 does not.

Al2O3 is ........................
Fe2O3 is .......................

3) The Al2O3 can be recovered by

adding ............... such as ...........................
Purified Al2O3 is called ............................ .
The anode, which is the ..........................
terminal, is held near the surface of the
molten alumina / cryolite

.......................... is
used as both electrodes
because:
1) it is a ................
conductor of electricity;

Use of
cryolite

The
reaction

2) The unreacted Fe2O3 is removed

by ...................................... .

The cathode, which is the ............................

terminal, is the inner lining of the alumina /
cryolite container

2) it has ..................
melting point and can
tolerate the high
operating temperature
The melting point of aluminium oxide itself is about ..................... oC.
Cryolite is a mineral (Na3AlF6, not required for exam) which melts at
about .............oC. Alumina will dissolve once cryolite melts. This allow
the mobile-ion-containing state of Al2O3 to be attained at a much
lower operating temperature.
Electrolysis allows elemental aluminium to be obtained.
The cathode half equation is
.............................................................................
The anode half equation is
............................................................................
The overall ionic equation is
............................................................................
The overall equation is

...............................................................................
The anode needs to be regularly replaced because at such a high
temperature, graphite will react according to the following equation:
...............................................................................