Suppose we want to manufacture a ton of aluminum in a space colony on the moon.
ID: 756621 • Letter: S
Question
Suppose we want to manufacture a ton of aluminum in a space colony on the moon. A possible recipe would be: Take ten tons of anorthosite (CaSi2Al2O8, a common lunar mineral). Melt in a solar furnace at 2000 kelvin in vacuum. After all silicon has been removed by evaporation as silicon dioxide, quickly cool the melt to give a glassy solid. Remove the glassy material, grind, and mix with sulfuric acid. Use a centrifuge to separate the aluminum-bearing liquid that results. Mix with sodium sulfate and heat to 500 kelvin. Use another centrifuge to separate the resulting sodium aluminum sulfate. Bake it at 1100 kelvin to produce a mixture of alumina and sodium sulfate; wash out the latter with water. Mix the alumina with carbon, and react the mixture with chlorine. This gives aluminum chloride. Put the aluminum chloride through electrolysis. Result: one ton of molten aluminum. I. Write a chemical equation for each reaction involved in the manufacturing of aluminum on the moon. II. Place a box around any and all redox reactions that are taking place.Explanation / Answer
Yes, it would very easily be not only worthwhile but profitable. As the supply of the rare metal on Earth was exhausted its value would grow. At some point it would be economical to launch a spacecraft for the sole purpose of bringing back a supply of the metals.