Hall–Héroult process

The Hall–Héroult process produces aluminium by electrolyzing alumina dissolved in molten cryolite, using carbon electrodes that are gradually consumed.

Electrolysis: A chemical process in which an electric current drives a nonspontaneous reaction. The process uses electrical energy to reduce aluminium ions to metal.
Aluminium: A lightweight, silvery chemical element with atomic number 13. The process is the dominant industrial route from its oxide to the metal.
Charles Martin Hall: An American chemist who developed an electrolytic method for producing aluminium in 1886. His independent invention became one half of the process's eponym.
Electricity consumption: The amount of electrical energy used by a process or system over time. Electrolysis consumes large quantities of electricity per tonne of aluminium.
Aluminium smelting: The industrial production of aluminium metal from alumina by high-temperature reduction. Hall–Héroult electrolysis is the standard route used in modern smelters.
Alumina: Aluminium oxide, the principal compound processed to produce aluminium metal. It supplies the aluminium ions reduced at the cathode.
Ionic compound: A substance composed of positively and negatively charged ions held together by electrostatic attraction. Alumina and cryolite provide ions that move and react in the molten bath.
Paul Héroult: A French engineer who independently developed an electrolytic aluminium-production method in 1886. His parallel invention gave the process its other eponym.
Greenhouse gas emissions: Gases released into the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Anode consumption and electricity generation make primary aluminium emissions-intensive.
Hall–Héroult cell: An industrial electrolytic vessel in which alumina dissolved in molten cryolite is reduced to aluminium. Its lined steel shell holds the molten bath and collects liquid metal.

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