Alumina Solution

Alumina Solution
Dissolved Alumina, extracted from Bauxite. Can be further refined into Aluminum Scrap for Aluminum Ingot production.
Unlocked by	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Class name	Desc_AluminaSolution_C
Liquid
Abbrev­iation	AL
Fluid color	#c1c1c1

Alumina Solution is a fluid solution of Bauxite and Water. It is used to produce Aluminum Scrap for further processing into Aluminum Ingots, and to produce Batteries.

Obtaining

Crafting

Recipe	Ingredients	Produced in	Products	Unlocked by
Alumina Solution	12 × Bauxite120 / min 18 × Water180 / min	Refinery 6 sec	12 × Alumina Solution120 / min 5 × Silica50 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Unpackage Alumina Solution	2 × Packaged Alumina Solution120 / min	Packager 1 sec	2 × Alumina Solution120 / min 2 × Empty Canister120 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Sloppy Alumina Alternate	10 × Bauxite200 / min 10 × Water200 / min	Refinery 3 sec	12 × Alumina Solution240 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement

Usage

Crafting

Recipe	Ingredients	Produced in	Products	Unlocked by
Aluminum Scrap	4 × Alumina Solution240 / min 2 × Coal120 / min	Refinery 1 sec	6 × Aluminum Scrap360 / min 2 × Water120 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Battery	2.5 × Sulfuric Acid50 / min 2 × Alumina Solution40 / min 1 × Aluminum Casing20 / min	Blender 3 sec	1 × Battery20 / min 1.5 × Water30 / min	Tier 7 - Control System Development
Packaged Alumina Solution	2 × Alumina Solution120 / min 2 × Empty Canister120 / min	Packager 1 sec	2 × Packaged Alumina Solution120 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement
Electrode Aluminum Scrap Alternate	12 × Alumina Solution180 / min 4 × Petroleum Coke60 / min	Refinery 4 sec	20 × Aluminum Scrap300 / min 7 × Water105 / min	Tier 7 - Bauxite Refinement

Tips

• The Silica produced as a byproduct does not suffice for Aluminum Ingot production (using the standard recipe), so more of it has to be produced from Raw Quartz. It can be omitted with the Pure Aluminum Ingot alternate recipe, which however reduces ingot yield by 25%.
  • Routing 1/3 of the Scrap into Aluminum Ingot Foundries and the rest into Pure Aluminum Ingot Smelters consumes exactly all of the Silica byproduct, and reduces ingot yield by 12.5%.
  • Using the Sloppy Alumina alternate recipe produces no byproduct Silica. This plus Pure Aluminum Ingot reduces ingot yield by 10%, but greatly increases energy efficiency.

Trivia

• The in-game refinement process resembles the real-life refining processes, in which bauxite is refined to pure alumina by the Bayer process and then to aluminum metal by the Hall-Héroult process.
  • The Electrode-Aluminum Scrap alternate recipe represents a refinement in the Hall-Héroult process, using "prebaked" carbon anodes rather than cheaper but less efficient "self-baking" ones made from pitch.
• Alumina is another name for aluminum oxide, Al₂O₃.
• In real life, Alumina Solution is used both as a refining intermediate and as a polishing abrasive.
• Alumina Solution is technically a suspension or slurry rather than a true solution, as aluminum oxide is insoluble in water.

Gallery

• 

  Refinery ratios to deal with by-product Water without merging it with the fresh supply Water.

History

• Patch 0.4.0.8:
  • Alternate: Sloppy Alumina:
    • Changed recipe craft time from 6 to 3 seconds
    • Changed Bauxite cost from 15 to 10
    • Changed Water cost from 15 to 10
    • Changed Alumina Solution product from 18 to 12
• Patch 0.4.0.0:
  • Introduced Sloppy Alumina alternate recipe
  • Default recipe:
    • Changed Bauxite cost from 7 to 12
    • Changed Water cost form 10 to 18
    • Changed Alumina Solution product from 8 to 12
    • Changed Silica product from 2 to 5
• Patch 0.3: Introduced