Australian

Aluminium
Teacher Guide

Some links may not work on the web version

Please see in class for details
Mr G

http://www.aluminium.org.au/Page.
php?d=1020

List all six

Boyne
Island

List facts

Boyne Smelters Limited at Boyne Island, Queensland was

commissioned in 1982 with a two-potline capacity of 206,000
tonnes per year. The third potline was added in 1997 Increasing
production capacity to 490,000 tonnes. Further improvements
have seen current production reach 545,000 tonnes per annum
(2006), making BSL Australia's largest aluminium smelter.
Aluminium ingot, t-bar and billet are produced at the Boyne
Island smelter.

http://www.comalco.com/

Aluminium production starts with the

BAYER process. This extracts
aluminium oxide (alumina) from
bauxite (aluminium ore)
The alumina (aluminium oxide) is
then dissolved in cryolite. Once
dissolved, the final process of metal
extraction involves ELECTROLYSIS

BAYER PROCESS ANIMATION

REQUIRES INTERNET CONNECTION
HERE

http://www.qal.com.au/Environment_Mana
gement.html

How does
QAL care
for the
environmen
t
once the
bauxite has
been
mined?

After the bauxite has been mined,

processed and environment
restored. The alumina is
transported to the smelter for
metal extraction

Aluminium Smelting Process

http://www.alcoa.com/australia/en/info_page/Smeltin
g_Process.asp
Alumina is made up of aluminium and oxygen. To produce
aluminium metal, these two elements need to be separated.
Two tonnes of alumina are needed to make one tonne of
aluminium.
Alumina is dissolved in an electrolytic bath of molten cryolite
(sodium aluminium fluoride) within a large carbon or graphite
lined steel furnace known as a pot. There are hundreds of pots
at a typical smelter.
A high electric current is passed through the pot at low voltage,
via carbon blocks called anodes. The strong electric current
flows continuously from the anode (positive), through the
alumina/cryolite mixture to the carbon or graphite lining of the
pot (negative), and then to the next pot, and so on.
The electricity enables the alumina to split into its components
of aluminium and oxygen. The oxygen bubbles away and the
aluminium settles to the bottom of the pot. The electricity also
maintains the temperature of the process at about 950 degrees
Celsius.
The molten aluminium is cast at a temperature of just over 700
degrees Celsius to form ingots.

COPY
Hall Heroult
http://image.tutorvista.com/content/p-block-elements/hallprocess
heroult-process.jpeg

http://ibchem.com/IB/ibfiles/options/opt_E/op
e_img/cell.jpg