Environmental and energy gains from using molten magnesium-sodium-potassium chlorides for electro-metallisation of refractory metal oxides

Li, Wei; Yuan, Yating; Jin, Xianbo; Chen, Hualin; Chen, George Z.

Abstract

© 2015 The Authors. The molten eutectic mixture of magnesium, sodium and potassium chlorides (MgCl2-NaCl-KCl) has inappreciable solubility for oxide ions, and can help disengage a carbon anode from the oxide ions generated at a metal oxide cathode, and effectively avoid carbon dioxide formation. This "disengaging strategy" was successfully demonstrated in electro-reduction of solid oxides of zirconium and tantalum. It has led to significantly higher current efficiency (93%), and lower energy consumption (1.4 kW h kg-1) in electrolysis of tantalum oxide to tantalum metal compared to the conventional electrolysis in molten calcium chloride (e.g. 78% and 2.4 kW h/kg-Ta).

Citation

Li, W., Yuan, Y., Jin, X., Chen, H., & Chen, G. Z. (2015). Environmental and energy gains from using molten magnesium-sodium-potassium chlorides for electro-metallisation of refractory metal oxides. Progress in Natural Science, 25(6), 650-653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2015.11.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 23, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 23, 2015
• Deposit Date: Dec 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 13, 2021
• Journal: Progress in Natural Science: Materials International
• Print ISSN: 1002-0071
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 650-653
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2015.11.002
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3213598
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1002007115001203