How much alumina is needed to produce one kilogram of aluminum?

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aluminum processing Rolls of processed aluminum.

To produce one kilogram of metallic aluminum, approximately 2 kilograms of alumina (aluminum oxide) are consumed during the smelting process.1

This production occurs via the Hall-Héroult process, where purified alumina is dissolved in a molten electrolyte bath—primarily consisting of cryolite—and subjected to electrolysis. As the process is continuous, additional alumina is added periodically to the reduction pots to replace the material consumed by the reduction of the metal.12