• materials handling (need for a closed system; transporting hot, corrosive gases and solids). Rather than oxidize the A1C13 primary product to A12O3 for smelting in a conventional Hall-Heroult cell, it may be desirable to electrolyze the A1C13 to metal directly in a fused-salt bath, as in the Alcoa process. In either case, Cl2 is recovered for recycling. As 30% less electrical energy is apparently required for smelting the chloride to metal than is required in the best oxide smelting cells, the preparation of metal by fused-salt electrolysis seem to be most attractive, provided the lunar aluminum silicate minerals can be chlorinated effectively.
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