Cryolite is rarely produced in nature and is usually manufactured by hand. It is mainly used as flux for aluminum electrolysis and wear-resistant additive for grinding products. It can effectively improve the wear-resistant cutting force of grinding wheel and prolong the service life and storage time of grinding wheel. Flux for ferroalloy and boiling steel, flux for nonferrous metals, deoxidizer for casting, olefin polymerization catalyst, emulsifier for glass antireflective coating, enamel, glass emulsion, flux for welding materials, filler for ceramic industry, pesticide and pesticide, etc.

First, let's talk about the industrial quality requirements of cryolite.

The consumption of cryolite in the aluminum industry is very large. The global annual consumption is about 700000 tons. In 1999, the sales volume of cryolite market in China was about 130000 tons. Cryolite, as a flux for electrolytic aluminum smelting, must meet certain requirements in terms of sodium aluminum molecular ratio, impurity content and moisture content.

Firstly, the sodium aluminum ratio in cryolite should be as high as possible. The higher the molecular ratio, the higher the current efficiency of electrolytic aluminum smelting, the less fluorine loss and the less environmental pollution. Moreover, polymers are more suitable for industries other than aluminum industry than cryolite.

Secondly, the content of silicon oxide, iron oxide, phosphorus pentoxide and other impurities in cryolite is low, which directly affects the quality of aluminum ingot and the current aluminum smelting efficiency.

Third, the lower the water content of cryolite, the better. The presence of water will increase the consumption of cryolite.