Aluminium Recycling in Single- and Multiple-Capillary Laboratory Electrolysis Cells

This work is a contribution to the approach for Al purification and extraction from scrap using the thin-layer multiple-capillary molten salt electrochemical system. The single- and multiple-capillary cells were designed and used to study the kinetics of aluminium reduction in LiF–AlF3 and equimolar NaCl–KCl with 10 wt.% AlF3 addition at 720–850 °C. The cathodic process on the vertical liquid aluminium electrode in NaCl–KCl (+10 wt.% AlF3) in the 2.5 mm length capillary had mixed kinetics with signs of both diffusion and chemical reaction control. The apparent mass transport coefficient changed from 5.6∙10−3 cm.s−1 to 13.1∙10−3 cm.s−1 in the mentioned temperature range. The dependence between the mass transport coefficient and temperature follows an Arrhenius-type behaviour with an activation energy equal to 60.5 J.mol−1. In the multiple-capillary laboratory electrolysis cell, galvanostatic electrolysis in a 64LiF–36AlF3 melt showed that the electrochemical refinery can be performed at a current density of 1 A.cm−2 or higher with a total voltage drop of around 2.0 V and specific energy consumption of about 6–7 kW.kg−1. The resistance fluctuated between 0.9 and 1.4 Ω during the electrolysis depending on the current density. Thin-layer aluminium recycling and refinery seems to be a promising approach capable of producing high-purity aluminium with low specific energy consumption.

Alkali-Activated Binders Using Bottom Ash from Waste-to-Energy Plants and Aluminium Recycling Waste

Alkali-activated binders (AABs) stand out as a promising alternative to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) due to the possibility of using by-products and wastes in their manufacturing. This paper assessed the potential of weathered bottom ash (WBA) from waste-to-energy plants and PAVAL® (PV), a secondary aluminium recycling process by-product, as precursors of AABs. WBA and PV were mixed at weight ratios of 98/2, 95/5, and 90/10. A mixture of waterglass (WG) and NaOH at different concentrations (4 and 6 M) was used as the alkaline activator solution. The effects of increasing NaOH concentration and PV content were evaluated. Alkali-activated WBA/PV (AA-WBA/PV) binders were obtained. Selective chemical extractions and physicochemical characterization revealed the formation of C-S-H, C-A-S-H, and (N,C)-A-S-H gels. Increasing the NaOH concentration and PV content increased porosity and reduced compressive strength (25.63 to 12.07 MPa). The leaching potential of As and Sb from AA-WBA/PV exceeded the threshold for acceptance in landfills for non-hazardous waste.

Alu-Recycling im Backofen

Höhere Recycling-Vorgaben in der EU und in Deutschland machen ein innovatives Aluminium-Recycling im sächsischen Freiberg zu einer gefragten Technik. Bei nur 500 Grad Celsius wird das Leichtmetall von Verunreinigungen befreit.

Phase Identification of Nanometric Precipitates in Al-Si-Cu Aluminum Alloy by Hr-Stem Investigations

Aluminium recycling is cost-effective and beneficial for the environment. It is expected that this trend will continue in the future, and even will steadily increase. The consequence of the use of recycled materials is variable and difficult to predict chemical composition. This causes a significant reduction in the production process, since the properties of produced alloy are determined by the microstructure and the presence of precipitates of other phases. For this reason, the type and order of formation of precipitates were systematically investigated in recent decades. These studies involved, however, only the main systems (Al-Cu, Al-Mg-Si, Al-Cu-Mg, Al-Mg-Si-Cu), while more complex systems were not analysed. Even trace amounts of additional elements can significantly affect the alloy microstructure and composition of precipitates formed. This fact is particularly important in the case of new technologies such as laser surface treatment. As a result of extremely high temperature and temperature changes after the laser remelting large amount of precipitates are observed. Precipitates are nanometric in size and have different morphology and chemical composition. A full understanding of the processes that occur during the laser remelting requires their precise but also time effectively phase identification, which due to the diversity and nanometric size, is a major research challenge. This work presents the methodology of identification of nanometer phase precipitates in the alloy AlSi9Cu, based on the simultaneous TEM imaging and chemical composition analysis using the dispersion spectroscopy using the characteristic X-ray. Verification is performed by comparing the simulation unit cell of the identified phase with the experimental high-resolution image.