Look up aluminothermic/calciothermic/silicothermic reductions on Google Scholar, there are a shitload of things that can be done using vacuum
metallurgy. Some use the halides, some the oxides. But there are limits, serious limits, on the materials that can be used with some of the compounds
(like molten lithium for instance), that will place restrictions on how this can be done.
One major problem is that there will be reactive metals coating the inside of the entire system that have to be dealt with and removed, preferably
without scraping them off, which would be an absolute bitch in my view, perhaps running a meker burner along the sides to move them down to the
collection zone, or at least most of them?
[Edited on 30-5-2013 by aliced25] |