42 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Bayer process"
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chunk: 1/2
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_process"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T10:46:05.458075+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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The Bayer process is the principal industrial means of refining bauxite to produce alumina (aluminium oxide) and was developed by Carl Josef Bayer. Bauxite, the most important ore of aluminium, contains only 30–60% aluminium oxide (Al2O3), the rest being a mixture of silica, various iron oxides, and titanium dioxide. The aluminium oxide must be further purified before it can be refined into aluminium.
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The Bayer process is also the main source of gallium as a byproduct despite low extraction yields.
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== Process ==
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Bauxite ore is a mixture of hydrated aluminium oxides and compounds of other elements such as iron. The aluminium compounds in the bauxite may be present as gibbsite (Al(OH)3), böhmite (γ-AlO(OH)) or diaspore (α-AlO(OH)); the different forms of the aluminium component and the impurities dictate the extraction conditions. Aluminium oxides and hydroxides are amphoteric, meaning that they are both acidic and basic. The solubility of Al(III) in water is very low but increases substantially at either high or low pH. In the Bayer process, bauxite ore is heated in a pressure vessel along with a sodium hydroxide solution (caustic soda) at a temperature of 150 to 200 °C (302 to 392 °F). At these temperatures, the aluminium is dissolved as sodium aluminate (primarily [Al(OH)4]−) in an extraction process. After separation of the residue by filtering, gibbsite is precipitated when the liquid is cooled and then seeded with fine-grained aluminium hydroxide crystals from previous extractions. The precipitation may take several days without addition of seed crystals.
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The extraction process (digestion) converts the aluminium oxide in the ore to soluble sodium aluminate, NaAlO2, according to the chemical equation:
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Al2O3•2H2O+ 2NaOH → 2NaAlO2 + 3H2O
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This treatment also dissolves silica, forming sodium silicate :
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2 NaOH + SiO2 → Na2SiO3 + H2O
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The other components of Bauxite, however, do not dissolve. Sometimes lime is added at this stage to precipitate the silica as calcium silicate. The solution is clarified by filtering off the solid impurities, commonly with a rotary sand trap and with the aid of a flocculant such as starch, to remove the fine particles. The undissolved waste after the aluminium compounds are extracted, bauxite tailings, contains iron oxides, silica, calcia, titania and some unreacted alumina. Originally, the alkaline solution was cooled and treated by bubbling carbon dioxide through it, precipitating aluminium hydroxide:
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2 NaAlO2 + 3 H2O + CO2 → 2 Al(OH)3 + Na2CO3
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But later, this gave way to seeding the supersaturated solution with high-purity aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3) crystal, which eliminated the need for cooling the liquid and was more economically feasible:
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2 H2O + NaAlO2 → Al(OH)3 + NaOH
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Some of the aluminium hydroxide produced is used in the manufacture of water treatment chemicals such as aluminium sulfate, PAC (Polyaluminium chloride) or sodium aluminate; a significant amount is also used as a filler in rubber and plastics as a fire retardant. Some 90% of the gibbsite produced is converted into aluminium oxide, Al2O3, by heating in rotary kilns or fluid flash calciners to a temperature of about 1,470 K (1,200 °C; 2,190 °F).
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2 Al(OH)3 → Al2O3 + 3 H2O
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The left-over, 'spent' sodium aluminate solution is then recycled. Apart from improving the economy of the process, recycling accumulates gallium and vanadium impurities in the liquors, so that they can be extracted profitably.
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Organic impurities that accumulate during the precipitation of gibbsite may cause various problems, for example high levels of undesirable materials in the gibbsite, discoloration of the liquor and of the gibbsite, losses of the caustic material, and increased viscosity and density of the working fluid.
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For bauxites having more than 10% silica, the Bayer process becomes uneconomic because of the formation of insoluble sodium aluminium silicate, which reduces yield, so another process must be chosen.
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1.7–3.3 tonnes (3,800–7,200 lb) of bauxite (corresponding to about 90% of the alumina content of the bauxite) is required to produce 0.91 tonnes (2,000 lb) of aluminium oxide. This is due to a majority of the aluminium in the ore being dissolved in the process. Energy consumption is between 7 to 21 gigajoules per tonne (0.88 to 2.65 kWh/lb) (depending on process), of which most is thermal energy. Over 90% (95-96%) of the aluminium oxide produced is used in the Hall–Héroult process to produce aluminium.
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== Waste ==
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Red mud is the waste product that is produced in the digestion of bauxite with sodium hydroxide. It has high calcium and sodium hydroxide content with a complex chemical composition, and accordingly is very caustic and a potential source of pollution. The amount of red mud produced is considerable, and this has led scientists and refiners to seek uses for it. It has received attention as a possible source of vanadium. Due to the low extraction yield much of the gallium ends up in the aluminium oxide as an impurity and in the red mud.
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One use of red mud is in ceramic production. Red mud dries into a fine powder that contains iron, aluminium, calcium and sodium. It becomes a health risk when some plants use the waste to produce aluminium oxides.
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In the United States, the waste is disposed in large impoundments, a sort of reservoir created by a dam. The impoundments are typically lined with clay or synthetic liners. The US does not approve of the use of the waste due to the danger it poses to the environment. The EPA identified high levels of arsenic and chromium in some red mud samples.
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=== Ajka alumina plant accident === |