Electrolyte Compositions and Properties in Aluminum Production
Sunday, May 22, 2016 * Grand Hyatt Seattle * Seattle, Washington, USA
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Molten salt chemistry and technology have become important branches of science and technology. Aluminum production is the largest industry for extraction of a metal from molten salts, and aluminum is the largest and fastest-growing nonferrous metal in the world.

The electrolyte may be regarded as the heart of the electrolysis process in the industrial alumina reduction cell. Cryolite is the dominant electrolyte constituent (it contains about 80 wt.% Na3AlF6), while 10 to 12 wt.% AlF3 is the other main component.

The course will discuss the main functions of the electrolyte in the industrial aluminum cell, the compositions and the ionic species present when alumina has been added and dissolved, and the electrochemical reactions that occur during electrolysis. Finally, the future electrolytes in aluminum production will be discussed.

The course is aimed at personnel working at all levels in the field of industrial production of metals from molten salts, research metallurgists and electrochemists from universities and academic institutions involved in R&D work with these processes, and others with an interest in learning more about molten salt production of aluminum.

Halvor Kvande received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and in 1979, defended his thesis for the Norwegian degree of Doctor Technicae from the same university.

He started his career with Hydro Aluminum in 1980. His major field of interest has been research and development on the Hall-Héroult process for primary production of aluminum. From 1990 to 2005, he also served as an adjunct professor at NTNU. From 2009 to 2011, he was professor and Qatalum Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar. In 2012, he retired from his position as chief engineer at Hydro in Oslo, Norway. He is currently Professor Emeritus at NTNU.

Kvande is the author or co-author of more than 150 scientific and technical papers, as well as five books on aluminum electrolysis and related topics. His research work has been appraised in the form of several TMS awards and honors, including his contribution (as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Kvande is also the lead organizer/instructor of the successful TMS Industrial Aluminum Electrolysis Course.