process for the production of alumina from bauxite ore

Primary Production The Aluminum Association

Quick ReadTake-Away FactsThe Primary Production of AluminumSustainable Energy in Primary ProductionHow aluminum is madePrimary production is the process through which new aluminum is made (versus secondary production, in which existing aluminum is recycled into pure metal). Aluminum originates from bauxite, an ore typically found in the topsoil of various tropical and subtropical regions. Once mined, aluminum within the bauxitThe Hall–Héroult process: How primary aluminum is madeIn the Hall–Héroult process, alumina is dissolved in a molten cryolite bath within a carbon-lined steel pot. Carbon anodes are inserted in the top of the bath and an electric current passes through the anodes and the bath. Oxygen atoms separate from the alumina and combine with the carbon anode, leaving the reHistory of the Hall–Héroult processCharles Martin Hall, a 20-year-old first-year student at Oberlin College (Ohio), began research to produce aluminum in 1880. Hall’s efforts were focused on methods to use electric current to extract pure aluminum from alumina (an oxide compound that contains aluminum and oxygen). One of Hall’s first chSee more on aluminum.org