Abstract:Low-temperature electrorefining of primary aluminum in ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloroaluminate was carried out. Oxidation process of main elements of primary aluminum was investigated by electrochemical measurements which demonstrated that onset oxidation potential of aluminum was different from those of impurity elements, which facilitated electrorefining of primary aluminum under constant potential. On this basis, separation of impurities was completed with high efficiency by two-step electrolysis method and the optimum experimental conditions were obtained. The results show that high-purity aluminum with mass content higher than 99.95% can be obtained at 0.2~0.4 V and 40~80 ℃ by electrorefining.