Aluminum Production Process

Abstract

A process of producing aluminium and aluminium-containing materials from a solid aluminium-containing feed material is disclosed. The process comprises leaching the aluminium-containing feed material with a leach liquor and forming an aqueous solution containing aluminium ions, extracting aluminium ions from the aqueous solution by contacting the aqueous solution with an organic reagent and loading aluminium ions onto the organic reagent and forming an aluminium complex, and recovering aluminium or an aluminium-containing material from the aluminium complex.

1 . A process of producing aluminium and aluminium-containing materials from a solid aluminium-containing feed material that comprises: 
 (a) leaching the aluminium-containing feed material with a leach liquor and forming an aqueous solution containing aluminium ions;    (b) extracting aluminium ions from the aqueous solution by contacting the aqueous solution with an organic reagent and loading aluminium ions onto the organic reagent and forming an aluminium complex; and    (c) recovering aluminium or an aluminium-containing material from the aluminium complex.    
   
   
       2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the aluminium-containing material comprises any one or more of alumina, aluminium hydroxide, aluminium trihydrate, and aluminium chloride in any suitable solid form.  
   
   
       3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the recovery step (c) comprises displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex by contacting the aluminium complex with an aqueous solution and thereafter recovering aluminium or the aluminium-containing material.  
   
   
       4 . The process of  claim 3  wherein the solution used in step (c) is a more acidic solution than the initial leach liquor used in step (a) and has limited solubility for aluminium and step (c) comprises displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex by precipitating the solid aluminium or the aluminium-containing material from the solution.  
   
   
       5 . The process of  claim 4  wherein step (c) comprises recovering the precipitated solid aluminium or the aluminium-containing material from the solution.  
   
   
       6 . The process of  claim 3  wherein the solution used in step (c) is an acidic solution and step (c) comprises displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex into solution.  
   
   
       7 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the acidic solution is a hydrochloric acid solution.  
   
   
       8 . The process of  claim 7  wherein the hydrochloric acid solution has a pH of 1-6.  
   
   
       9 . The process of  claim 6  wherein step (c) comprises recovering the solid aluminium or the aluminium-containing material from the solution by heating the solution and causing thermal dissociation to drive off water and hydrochloric acid in gaseous forms and producing alumina in a solid form.  
   
   
       10 . The process of  claim 6  wherein step (c) comprises recovering the solid aluminium or the aluminium-containing material from the solution by transferring aluminium ions into an ionic liquid.  
   
   
       11 . The process of  claim 10  comprises recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid.  
   
   
       12 . The process of  claim 11  comprises recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid by applying a potential across an anode and a cathode positioned so that at least the cathode is in contact with the ionic liquid and depositing aluminium on the cathode.  
   
   
       13 . The process of  claim 10  comprises transferring aluminium ions into the ionic liquid directly from the solution.  
   
   
       14 . The process of  claim 13  wherein the ionic liquid is hydrophobic with a high affinity for aluminium and is stable in the presence of water.  
   
   
       15 . The process of  claim 10  comprises transferring aluminium ions into the ionic liquid indirectly from the solution.  
   
   
       16 . The process of  claim 15  comprises transferring aluminium ions from the solution contained in one compartment into the ionic liquid contained in another compartment via a membrane, diaphram or other suitable means that is permeable to aluminium ions and separates the compartments.  
   
   
       17 . The process of  claim 16  wherein the driving force for the transfer of aluminium ions from the compartment containing the solution to the other compartment containing the ionic liquid is either by concentration gradient or by having an anode in the aqueous compartment and a cathode in the ionic liquid compartment.  
   
   
       18 . The process of  claim 3  wherein step (c) comprises displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex by precipitating solid material, dissolving precipitated solid material in an ionic liquid directly or indirectly, and recovering the solid aluminium or aluminium-containing material from the ionic liquid.  
   
   
       19 . The process of  claim 3  wherein step (c) comprises displacing the aluminium ions directly from the aluminium complex by transferring aluminium ions into an ionic liquid and recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid.  
   
   
       20 . The process of  claim 19  comprises recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid by applying a potential across an anode and a cathode positioned so that at least the cathode is in contact with the ionic liquid and depositing aluminium on the cathode.  
   
   
       21 . A process of producing aluminium and aluminium-containing materials from a solid aluminium-containing feed material that comprises: 
 (a) leaching the aluminium-containing feed material with a leach liquor and forming an aqueous solution containing aluminium ions;    (b) extracting aluminium ions from the aqueous solution by contacting the aqueous solution with an organic reagent and loading aluminium ions onto the organic reagent and forming an aluminium complex; and    (c) recovering aluminium from the aluminium complex by displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex into solution by contacting the aluminium complex with an aqueous solution, thereafter transferring aluminium ions into an ionic liquid, and thereafter recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid.    
   
   
       22 . The process of  claim 21  comprises recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid by applying a potential across an anode and a cathode positioned so that at least the cathode is in contact with the ionic liquid and depositing aluminium on the cathode.  
   
   
       23 . A process of producing aluminium and aluminium-containing materials from a solid aluminium-containing feed material that comprises: 
 (a) leaching the aluminium-containing feed material with a leach liquor and forming an aqueous solution containing aluminium ions;    (b) extracting aluminium ions from the aqueous solution by contacting the aqueous solution with an organic reagent and loading aluminium ions onto the organic reagent and forming an aluminium complex; and    (c) recovering aluminium from the aluminium complex by displacing aluminium ions from the aluminium complex by transferring aluminium ions into an ionic liquid and thereafter recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid.    
   
   
       24 . The process of  claim 23  comprises recovering aluminium from the ionic liquid by applying a potential across an anode and a cathode positioned so that at least the cathode is in contact with the ionic liquid and depositing aluminium on the cathode.  
   
   
       25 . An aluminium or aluminium-containing material produced by the process of  claim 1 .  
   
   
       26 . An aluminium or aluminium-containing material produced by the process of  claim 21 .  
   
   
       27 . An aluminium or aluminium-containing material produced by the process of  claim 23.