Technology of Molten Salt Electrolysis of Magnesium Chloride

The electrolytic production of magnesium from magnesium chloride containing sodium chloride-rich melts has been studied using mono-polar cell, where originally designed in consideration of current efficiency and energy consumption. The magnesium was formed well at the surface of cathode and floated at the free surface of the molten salt, and chlorine gas was generated at the anode without any inverse reaction between the magnesium which is produced electrolysis process. The magnesium was collected about 200 g/hr by operating an optimized mono-polar cell with 500 A for 24 hours. The metallic magnesium produced from this study had a high purity with 99.92 %.