What happens when sodium meta aluminate is diluted with water?
A precipitate of aluminium hydroxide is obtained.
Bauxite ore is finely ground and heated under pressure with concentrated caustic soda solution at 1500C to obtain sodium meta-aluminate. The following reaction is as follows:
Al2O3.2H2OBauxite + 2NaOH 1500C−−−→ 2NaAlO2 + 3H2Osodium meta aluminate
On diluting sodium meta-aluminate with water, aluminium hydroxide precipitate is obtained.
NaAlO2+2H2O→NaOH+Al(OH)3↓
The precipitate is filtered, washed, dried and ignited at 10000C to get alumina.
2Al(OH)3→Al2O3+3H2O