Production of aluminium-scandium alloys

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9644249-B2
Application number	US-201414647054-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2014
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	May 9, 2017
Grant date	May 9, 2017

Abstract

A process for producing an aluminum-scandium based alloy from aluminum and scandium chloride, the process also producing aluminum chloride as a by-product and including the step of reducing scandium chloride in the presence of aluminum in a reaction zone and under reaction conditions which favor production of the aluminum-scandium based alloy.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for producing an aluminium-scandium based alloy from aluminium and scandium chloride, and including the step of
reducing scandium chloride particulates in the presence of aluminium particulates through direct solid-solid reactions in a reaction zone and under reaction conditions which favour production of the aluminium-scandium based alloy,
thereby producing aluminium-scandium based alloy particulates, and aluminium chloride as a by-product.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise maintaining a reduced partial pressure for aluminium chloride in the reaction zone.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise a partial pressure of aluminium chloride of less than 500 mbar.

4. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise removal of at least some of the aluminium chloride from the reaction zone as it is produced.

5. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise diluting the aluminium chloride in the reaction zone.

6. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise a minimum temperature of 160° C.

7. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise at least a section of the reaction zone having a temperature of at least 600° C.

8. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise a maximum temperature of between 600° C. and 1000° C.

9. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction zone has a first section in which the reaction conditions comprise a temperature of 600 to 900° C. and a second section in which the reaction conditions comprise a temperature of 600 to 1000° C. and wherein the second section is at a higher temperature than the first section.

10. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the scandium chloride particulates and the aluminium particulates are provided to the reaction zone as solid particles.

11. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the scandium chloride particulates and the aluminium particulates are provided with a mean particle size in one dimension of less than 50 micron.

12. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the process comprises milling the scandium chloride particulates and/or aluminium particulates to a particle size in one dimension of less than 50 micron.

13. A process as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the scandium chloride particulates and/or the aluminium particulates are milled in the presence of aluminium chloride.

14. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the process comprises preparing a mixture of scandium chloride particulates and aluminium particulates, prior to feeding the mixture to the reaction zone.

15. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein process comprises moving solids through the reaction zone in a first direction and moving gases through the reaction zone in a second direction.

16. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises adding additional elements to the reaction zone.

17. A process as claimed in claim 16 , wherein one or more of the other alloying elements comprising any one or more of zirconium, silicon, boron, or copper are provided to the reaction zone as an alloy with the aluminium and/or as part of a compound with the aluminium.

18. A process as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the process comprises reacting and/or alloying the aluminium with one or more of the other alloying elements prior to mixing it with the scandium chloride.

19. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reaction zone is located in a reactor, the reactor having a reactant inlet, a product outlet and a gas outlet, the process comprising feeding the scandium-chloride particulates and aluminium particulates to the reactor through the reactant inlet and outputting the aluminium-scandium based alloy from the reactor through the product outlet.

20. A process as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise a pressure gradient across the reactor from a first end of the reactor to a second end of the reactor, the reactant inlet and the gas outlet located towards the first end and the product outlet located towards the second end, and wherein the pressure in the reactor at the first end is lower than at the second end.

21. A process as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the reaction conditions comprise a temperature gradient across the reactor from a first end of the reactor to a second end of the reactor, the reactant inlet and the gas outlet located towards the first end and the product outlet located towards the second end, and wherein the temperature in the reactor at the first end is lower than at the second end.

22. A process as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the process further comprises:
flowing an inert gas through the reaction zone in a direction opposite to the scandium chloride particulates and aluminium particulates;
mixing the scandium chloride particulates and aluminium particulates as they move through the reactor; and
collecting any particulates that exit the reaction zone with the inert gas and returning the collected particulates solids to the reaction zone.

Assignees

• Commw Scient Ind Res Org
• The Commonwealth Of Australia Commonwealth Scient And Ind Res Organisation

Inventors

• Haidar Jawad

Classifications

• C22C1/0416 Primary

  Aluminium-based alloys · CPC title

• C22C21/00

  Alloys based on aluminium · CPC title

• B22F9/20

  starting from solid metal compounds · CPC title

• B22F9/22

  using gaseous reductors · CPC title

• C22B5/04

  by aluminium, other metals or silicon · CPC title