Production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite through novel molten salt electrolysis and vacuum distillation

In this study,a novel Mg production process for producing high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was developed.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted using Cu cathode and C anode in MgF_(2)–LiF molten salt at 1083–1173 K by applying an average current of 1.42–1.46 A for 9.50–21.0 h,the current efficiency of 66.4–88.6%was obtained.The produced Mg alloys consisted of MgCu_(2)and Cu(Mg)or MgCu_(2)and CuMg_(2)phases,depending on the Mg concentration in the Mg alloy.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted in MgF_(2)–LiF–CaF_(2)molten salt at 1083 K,the current efficiency was 40.9–71.4%,owing to undesired reactions such as electroreduction of Ca^(2+)or/and CO_(3)^(2−)ions.Meanwhile,the current efficiency increased from 40.9%to 63.2%by utilizing a Pt anode,because the occurrence of CO_(3)^(2−)ions in the molten salt was prevented.After vacuum distillation of the obtained Mg alloys at 1300 K for 10 h,Mg metal with a purity of 99.9996–99.9998%was produced.Therefore,the feasibility of this novel process for the production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was demonstrated.