Electricity in the production of metals: From aluminum to zinc
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Electricity in the Production of Metals: From Aluminum to Zinc
J.W. EVANS
This article treats some electrometallurgical and electromagnetic aspects of the production of metals, but it opens with an examination of whether there is "electricity" (i.e., vitality) in the primary metals industries, particularly within the United States of America. That question is examined in terms of the economics of two examples: aluminum and zinc. Then, three examples are provided of potential improvements in the production of metals arising from industrial and university research: use of new electrode materials in Hall-H6roult cells to reduce energy consumption in aluminum smelting, the fluidized bed electrowinning of copper and other metals, and the employment of electromagnetic forces in metals processing, particularly electromagnetic casting. The article concludes with observations on the paucity of United States support for research and development (R & D) in primary metals production, compared with that of other industrial activities and of other nations, and suggests a prognosis for the future of academic research and teaching in extractive and process metallurgy.
The Extraction and Processing Lecture was authorized in 1959 to provide an outstanding person in the field of nonferrous metallurgy as a lecturer at the annual AIME meeting. JAMES W. EVANS is Professor of Metallurgy, Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972. Born near Oldham in the United Kingdom, Professor Evans received his undergraduate education at the University of London and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He spent two years with Canadian Cyanamid just prior to his graduate studies and two years with Ethyl Corp. immediately afterward. He is the author/co-author of three books and approximately 150 articles. His research has been concerned with the rate phenomena that govern the productivity of processes for producing metals and other materials. This has involved investigations of wide ranging technologies such as aluminum reduction cells, electromagnetic casters, chemical vapor deposition and infiltration, Paehuea tanks, and fluidized bed electrodes. More recently, Professor Evans and his students have also undertaken research on batteries intended for electric vehicles, in particular, a zinc-air battery for which he is a co-inventor. Professor Evans was chairman of his department from 1986 to 1990 and is also a Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. He received the Extractive Metallurgy Science Award of TMS in 1973 and again in METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B
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IS THERE "ELECTRICITY" IN THE PRODUCTION OF METALS?
I am honored to be asked to join the ranks of distinguished metallurgists who have given this lecture in the past. Most of my predecessors have chosen to provide an overview of their specialty, but I would like to start with a broader issue. I would like to pose the question "Is there electricity in the production
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