Bayer Process Chemistry

Dr. M. Coley
Thermal Economy & the Bayer Process
Objectives?
Heat Flow Diagram for the Bayer Process
ALUMINA: Characteristics & Uses
Alumina Smelting
The Hall-Heroult Process - 1

Alumina
hopper
 The aluminium ions receive electrons to
become atoms again:

Rxn. at Cathode: 4Al3+ (l) + 12e- → 4Al (l) i.e. Reduction

Rxn. at Anode: 6O2- (l) → 3O2 (g) + 12e- i.e. Oxidation
Overall Rxn. 3C + 2Al2O3 4Al + 3CO2
 The Hall-Heroult Process - 3
Takes place in carbon lined steel pots
Al2O3 deposited into molten cryolite at ~ 950 oC
Electrical current passed through mixture
Current flows between the carbon anode (petroleum
coke) and the carbon cathode (graphite)
C from anode combines with O from Al2O3

3C + 2Al2O3 4Al + 3CO2

 Molten Al siphoned off from bottom of pot

 Al is then forged (turned into alloys) or extruded
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized
compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which
it is performed: "cold", "warm", or "hot" forging.
 Extruded aluminium with several
hollow cavities

Extrusion is a process used to create

objects of a fixed cross sectional profile
 Aluminum – Characteristics & Uses
 Third most abundant element in earth’s crust
 Usually locked in alumina-bearing minerals

The Metal
 Silvery-white, Light-weight, very strong
 High conductivity
 Resistant to atmospheric corrosion
 Most used metal other than iron & steel
 Easily cast, forged, extruded, drawn
 Easily recycled (5% of total energy)
Uses
 Boats, airplanes
 Household utensils, instrument components
 Power lines, motor vehicle parts
GLOBAL ALUMINUM Production
Global Smelter Production of Aluminum

What can you

deduce from
the graph?
 Aluminum:
Characteristics, Uses & Production

The Aluminium Life Cycle

2020
2016
Global Bauxite & Alumina
Production 2012
Bauxite
- Early years

• 1821 – Pierre Berthier

• 1886 – Hall-Heroult Process

• 1888 – Bayer Process

(Thomas Bayer)

• 1942 - Discovered in Jamaica

• 1952 – Alcan Kirkvine was established

Charles Hall – Founder ALCOA
Hall developed & patented the process for
smelting alumina in cryolite in a home-
made lab with the help of his sister.
He made most of his apparatus and
prepared his chemicals.
His experiment was successful on
February 23, 1886 and he filed for a patent
on July 9, 1886.
At nearly the same time, Paul Heroult
developed a very similar process.
Hall eventually formed the Reduction
Company of Pittsburgh, which later
became ALCOA.

Hall became wealthy and died in 1914.