A Feasibility Study of Steelmaking by Molten Oxide Electrolysis (TRP9956)

Molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) is an extreme form of molten salt electrolysis, a technology that has been used to produce tonnage metals for over 100 years - aluminum, magnesium, lithium, sodium and the rare earth metals specifically. The use of carbon-free anodes is the distinguishing factor in MOE compared to other molten salt electrolysis techniques. MOE is totally carbon-free and produces no CO or CO2 - only O2 gas at the anode. This project is directed at assessing the technical feasibility of MOE at the bench scale while determining optimum values of MOE operating parameters. An inert anode will be identified and its ability to sustain oxygen evalution will be demonstrated.