The Home Machinist!

Hi everybody:

I'm fairly new here, so this question may have already been addressed. If that is the case please bear with me.

My question is; When you attempt to melt soda cans they oxidise. Could you do this intentionally to obtain a crude form of alumina for a homemade refractory ? I realise that this is probably a foolish idea, yet the thought intrigues me..


Thanks for reading this post.....................mocklane

A home made refractory is sand added to fireplace clay based mortar. It is good for filling in between regular fire brick to build a circular pit for a crucible.

I would not even try that. I save my cans @ .45 lb and buy whatever metal or supplies I need for foundry. The cans burn up if not pushed under a bath right away.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

That would be his objective, but I'm of the opinion that the temperature involved to convert aluminum to anything that would serve his purpose is likely beyond that which the home shop can achieve without a considerable amount of effort.

He does present an interesting concept. I know that the dross from aluminum is heated to convert back to elemental aluminum--but the temperature involved is extreme. I expect an arc furnace would be required in either case, which is the method employed by the big boys.

Harold

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Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.

Yep, really an electrolytic process, under a flux that takes a long soak time under electric arc. (saw it on the science channel).

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

You can... If by that you mean can you salvage the Al2O3. If the dross is wrung out so it is mainly oxides you can soak it in a acidic solution to remove the remaining Al, a blast of ammonia will drop any acidified Al out of solution as it's hydroxide.

Once that's done the whole mixture has to be boiled and crushed and boiled again to remove salts.

After that's done the mixture needs to be heated to remove all chemically bound water

Once that's done it needs to be ground down to a reasonable particle size.

I did two test batches and decided that in the time it took me to make about 10 grams of impure alumina I could have made enough money working at a fast food job to purchase 10 pounds. I never worked out the cost for the acids and bases or the water because that would have been depressing...

In my area, the DEA would want to know what I was cooking.

I have been visited before.

They know me now, but still very unnerving.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

It seems that heating anything other then soup gets you a visit from the DEA.