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Wow that's a noisy video. Anyway, this is just about extracting aluminum oxide from clay, instead of bauxite. You still have to smelt it, and they're proposing
by sbierwagen 16y ago
Wow that's a noisy video.
Anyway, this is just about extracting aluminum oxide from clay, instead of bauxite. You still have to smelt it, and they're proposing using the Hall-Heroult process, which is dissolving aluminum oxide into cryolite, and electrolyzing it.
This is heavy industry! Cryolite melts at 1000C, and isn't a terribly common mineral, and the electrolysis consumes a lot of power, and is about as environmentally friendly as a not at all friendly thing. This is in large plants, with modern emissions controls, and they're saying that a small open cycle plant is going to be green, with a straight face?
Meanwhile, you can smelt iron in an open pit fire, without acids, molten cryolite, or electricity.
- pingswept 16y agoAlso, the chemical they're planning to use to do the extraction, hydrofluoric acid, is extremely dangerous. You can't feel the burns at first, and the fluoride reacts with the calcium compounds in your bones-- not pleasant stuff. http://firegeezer.com/2009/08/11/whats-the-hf/ http://firegeezer.com/2009/08/11/whats-the-hf/
- JoachimSchipper 16y agoThis is utter heresy, but a small amount of uranium/plutonium/... in an efficient reactor produces a ridiculous amount of energy. If you're all about reducing shipping, shipping uranium and locally producing metal may seem a good idea. I have no idea if this is what they're thinking about, though, and I imagine dealing with a aluminum smelter is an "interesting" project for the local electrical engineer anyway.