February 2011

Volume 5, Issue 1

LOMAGEFFeCTIVe MAGNeSIUM ReMOVAl FROM AlUMINIUM AllOYS

As Alan Matthews, Pyrotek Sales Engineer, Ontario, Canada, explains, it is often necessary for secondary aluminium producers to reduce the amount of magnesium present in their alloys during processing. Scrap sources Dry dross produced using LOMAG in secondary contain varying smelting reverberatory furnace, processing foundry amounts of mag- alloy nesium while nished alloy specications are very rigid. When scrap arrives with excess Mg, an efcient and safe method is required for reducing this element content in the nished alloys.

excess chlorine used for the amount of Mg actually removed. It also creates excessive wear on other plant systems such as dust collection. The magnesium chloride byproduct is a ux material in its own right that should produce dry dross. In general, chlorine is probably the most frequently used method for removal of magnesium from molten aluminium. The storage, handling and use of chlorine gas, however, is not to be taken lightly and can be extremely dangerous if not managed properly. A quote from a chlorine gas material safety data sheet reads: very brief exposure to levels above 1000 ppm may be fatal and inhalation of concentrations greater than 15 ppm causes choking, coughing, burning of the throat. additionally, pulmonary edema, bronchitis and pneumonitis may result. An alternative to chlorine gas for magnesium removal can be found in the use of aluminium uoride based materials. In addition to removing magnesium and some calcium, these blends also clean and degas the melt, producing very dry dross and very clean metal. The specially formulated blends facilitate a liquid phase reaction between magnesium in the melt and aluminium uoride in the blend. The main chemical reaction is as follows:
2 AlF3 + 3 Mg g 3 MgF2 + 2 Al

Probably the simplest method of magnesium control lies in blending high Mg scrap streams with those bearing lower amounts. Batch calculations are simple weight ratios and there is typically little or no post-melt alloying time required to slow production. That said, low Mg sources of scrap are not always available, as they tend to be in higher demand for just this reason. That leaves smelters with the need to have efcient and safe Mg removal practices for the times when magnesium levels cannot be controlled through blending. Often the choice for Mg reduction is the use of chlorine gas. Chlorine reacts preferentially with the magnesium to strip it from the aluminium alloy according to the following reactions. It will also remove hydrogen, non-metallic inclusions and alkaline metals such as Na, Ca and Sr.
Mg + Cl2 g MgCl2 rG (J) = -482766.9 @730C Mg(l) Cl2(g) MgCl2(l) 2Al + 3Cl2 g 2AlCl3 rG (J) = -533880.8 @730C Al(l) Cl2(g) AlCl3(g)

Pyroteks LomagT is an excellent example of a magnesium reduction ux. This proprietary blend of aluminium uoride and other inorganic salts is safe to handle and easy to store. Lomag ux decomposes when heated to 700800C (1292 1472F) to release products which react preferentially with magnesium and remove it from the melt. Additional advantages of Lomag are that it is extremely effective at a variety of temperatures and also has a slight but positive uxing action helping to clean the melt. Addition of the ux to the bath can be made in side wells, hearths, or through injection. Reaction rates are found to be in the 7:1 to 10:1 range (weight ux : weight Mg removed). Exact results depend on many factors such as method of addition, bath temperature, amount of bath circulation and agitation, and time allotted for reactions. At one customers installation, a reaction ratio of 5:1 has been achieved in a rotary furnace where agitation was very strong and temperatures were very high. www.pyrotek.info/lomag

Chlorine is typically introduced to the melt using gas injection pumps where atomization of the gas takes place at the pump outlet. Typical addition ratios of 610 lb chlorine per lb of magnesium are achieved. Actual results depend on chlorine addition rate, atomization efciency, and bath temperature. Usually a high circulation rate of metal combined with the atomization of the gas during charging produces efcient reactions. Addition ratios are often increased when plants try to speed up the demag process by increasing the rate of chlorine addition. The excess chlorine addition rates lead to excess production of aluminium chloride gas, and is costly in terms of