Process for the preparation of silicon carbide from spent pot liners generated from aluminum smelter plants

摘要

The present invention provides a process for the preparation of silicon carbide from spent pot liners generated from aluminum smelter plants. The present invention involves the use of spent pot liner (in short hereafter termed as SPL) by means of comminution of SPL by a chemical reaction followed by mixing it with appropriate proportion of commercially available quartz powder (high purity silica powder having particle size of -100 BS mesh) and further followed by heating it in an argon plasma furnace for about 3 minutes. The product of this process is a granular powder of silicon-carbide as determined by XRD analysis. The yield of the carbon powder obtained is in the range of 30-35% and the percentage conversion to silicon carbide obtained is in the range of 70 to 85%.