Production of Al(OH)3 by ion membrane electrolysis in sodium aluminate solution

The sodium aluminate solution of medium-concentration was electrolyzed by using ion membrane in a specially designed cell and then was precipitated in seeds cell. The product obtained was determined by X-ray diffraction. The results show that Al(OH)3 solid product and NaOH solution of cathode with the higher concentration could be as well as the by products H2 and O2 obtained. It takes 12 h for the sodium aluminate solution to electrolyze and precipitate, and the precipitation ratio is up to 71.7%. In the same conditions, the precipitation ratio by ion membrane electrolysis is much higher than that by the Bayer seeds precipitating process.