Comparative analysis of the chlorination of mixtures iron–aluminum and the binary alloy FeAl3

A comparative study of the behavior of a binary alloy FeAl3 and an equivalent mixture of the pure metals towards chlorine, was carried out between 150 and 300 °C. The present work focuses at the analysis of the interactions between metals and the possibility of their separation. According to the composition determined for the AlCl3 obtained from the reactants, the separation of the metals was more effective in the case of the alloy, while for the FeCl3 the segregation of the aluminum from the iron was better in the mixture than in the alloy. The last result could be revealing a stronger interaction between the chlorides in the alloy.The reactants, products and residues were identified, characterized and quantified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS), chemical analysis (atomic absorption, spectrophotometry and gravimetry) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF).