Evaluating the Chemical Composition and the Molar Heat Capacities of a white Aluminum Dross

The present study evaluates the chemical composition and the molar specific heat of white aluminum dross skimmed from a gas fired reverberatory metal holding furnace during the alloying process. The chemical composition was determined using the energy dispersive analysis (EDS) technique while the specific heat were measured isothermally using micro-reaction calorimeter (μRC) from 303.15 K to 353.15 K at an interval of 5 K. The molar specific heat is extrapolated to elevated temperatures from 363.15 K to 1323.2 K based on a linear model that is developed from the measured range and in house elemental specific heat model. Also, the thermal conductivity and enthalpy of the dross was predicted using the JMatPro software and the aluminum component phase change has been determined. The EDS shows that the composition of metallic aluminum found in the dross was high with the inclusion of other impurities and this metallic aluminum can still be further recycled in order to acquire considerable amount of aluminum in the secondary recovery process. The determined weight percentage of chemical composition of the aluminum dross consists of Al (42.52%); C (6.09%); O (22.82%); Mg (15.54%); Fe (10.15%); Nb (0.51%) and K (2.37%).