Room Temperature Magnesium Electrorefining by Using Non-Aqueous Electrolyte

The increasing usage of magnesium inevitably leads to a fast increase in magnesium scrap, and magnesium recycling appears extremely beneficial for cost reduction, preservation of natural resources and protection of the environment. Magnesium refining for the recovery of high purity magnesium from metal scrap alloy (AZ31B composed of magnesium, aluminum, zinc, manganese and copper) at room temperature is investigated with a non-aqueous electrolyte (tetrahydrofuran with ethyl magnesium bromide). A high purity (99.999%) of electrorefined magneisum with a smooth and dense surface is obtained after potentiostatic electrolysis with an applied voltage of 2 V. The selective dissolution of magnesium from magnesium alloy is possible by applying an adequate potential considering the tolerable impurity level in electrorefined magnesium and processing time. The purity estimation method suggested in this study can be useful in evaluating the maximum content of impurity elements.