The Adsorption Behavior of Moisture on Smelter Grade Alumina during Transportation and Storage—for Primary Aluminum Production

Abstract

Smelter grade alumina (SGA) plays multiple roles in the Hall–Héroult process for primary aluminum production. Given its very porous nature, one major role of SGA is to adsorb toxic hydrogen fluoride (HF) in the dry scrubber. However, also because of its porous nature, SGA inevitably adsorbs ambient moisture. This paper discusses the influence of alumina properties, including pore size distribution and specific surface area, on the physical adsorption of water vapor on SGA, as well as the adsorption kinetics. The result shows that the adsorption enthalpy of moisture on SGA is in the range of 4–13 kJ/mol. The adsorption capacity increases significantly with the particle specific surface area and total pore volume. A higher adsorption temperature indicates a much faster adsorption rate but corresponds to a lower equilibrium adsorption capacity.