Modelling the electronic conduction in m

An accurate knowledge of the electrical properties of molten salts and slags is important for the design, optimization and control of several electrochemical processes. The electrical conductivity of molten salts and slags is in principle of ionic nature; however, when metals are dissolved in electrolyte, electrons may also contribute to the electrical conductivity. Only a few studies reporting an electronic conductivity of simple molten salts can be found in the literature, and the microscopic aspect of the electron transport within ionically bonded systems remains vague. The aim of this work is to fill this gap. To do so, a new theoretical model, based on the Boltzmann transport equation, is developed to represent the electronic conductivity of metals diluted in molten salt systems at up to about 10 mol % of metal. It is shown that the proposed model has a good predictive capability for most molten salts-metal systems for which experimental data is available. Then, based on this approach, the electronic conductivity of different cryolitic melts of interest for the aluminum production industry are predicted. A good agreement is obtained with the only available set of experimental data for standard electrolytes, indicating the reliability of our predictions for all cryolitic melts as a function of the cryolitic ratio, temperature and additive amount.