A Lower Carbon Foot Print Process for Electrolytic Production of Metals from Oxides Dissolved in Molten Salts
There is a societal impetus towards lowering the carbon footprint to counteract the negative effects of climate change. This paper will outline the potential of the solid oxide membrane (SOM) process to produce energy-intensive metals like magnesium, titanium, and rare earths directly from their oxides dissolved in non-consumable molten salts, by electrolysis, at lower cost and with lower carbon foot print compared to the current processes. In one configuration of the SOM process, the metal is produced at the cathode and oxygen gas evolves at the anode. The anode is encased within a one-end-closed solid-oxygen-ion conducting yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) tube. The paper will discuss the procedure for the selection of the molten salt for dissolving the metal oxide and the operating parameters for the process. Important parameters that influence the selection process are melting point, solubility of the oxide, volatility, membrane stability, and metal solubility. Based on the flux selected, the operating parameters such as temperature, applied potential, current density, and design of electrode placement are determined.
Uday B. PAL
Div. of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, 15 Saint Marys St., Brookline, MA 02446, USA Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, 110 Cummington St., Boston, MA 02215, USA
国际会议
Ninth International Conference on Molten Slags,Fluxes and Salts(第九届国际熔渣、溶剂与熔盐学术会议 MOLTEN12)
北京
英文
1-15
2012-05-27（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）