What is the Bayer process?

Bayer process is an industrial process that is bauxite cleaned on aluminum or aluminum oxide. This process is named for Karel Bayer, who developed it at the end of the 19th century, which is an essential temporary step in the production of aluminum metal. Alumina is produced through a number of chemical reactions from bauxite, naturally occurring aluminum ore. Three main steps are involved in the Bayer process: extraction, precipitation and calculations. For the extraction of these minerals and oxide, the bauxite must be distributed into small particles and dissolved in sodium hydroxide, caustic liquid. During this digestion process, steam and pressure are exerted. Alumina in minerals reacts with sodium hydroxide and creates sodium aluminate.

Some components of bauxite, such as iron and silicate oxides, will not dissolve during digestion. These substances Crejedli red mud porridge, which is filter from a liquid containing a hlithic oxide in a process called settling. Red mud is washed to recycle the originsRemoves sodium hydroxide and is finally stored in ponds. Because it cannot be recycled and it is very difficult to dispose of and store it, red mud is a problem with production equipment using Bayer process.

Caring is another step after extraction. Aluminum hydroxide avoids the mixture of alumin when it is cooled. In this crystal state, it solidifies by creating alumin crystals around the "seeds" of aluminum oxide, particles that have been suspended in processing tanks to support crystal growth. Coarse crystals of aluminum oxide are removed for the next step, while smaller, finer grains are re -used as seeds for clotting.

The last step in Bayer's process is calcination. Precipitats E of the previous step is heated to a temperature of about 1,922 ° F (1,050 ° C). This causes aluminum hydroxide to release moisture in water steam and chemically decompose into the final product alumwell. Ideally, the alumina particles will be produced small and fine, roughly the size of the sand grains.

Almost all world aluminum is produced by alumin oxide generated from the Bayer process. After clay cleaning was purified from bauxite, it is melted into aluminum metal. The use of aluminum is huge and diverse, from packaging consumers to car parts, colors, cosmetics and even pharmacies. Increased aluminum recycling has helped to alleviate the problem with red mud waste, because the new alumina is not produced as often as in the past.