Synthetic cryolite

Similar term(s): sodium aluminum fluoride, sodium fluoaluminate, sodium fluoroaluminate, sodium hexafluoroaluminate, trisodium hexafluoroaluminate, sodium aluminofluoride, aluminum sodium fluoride, kryolith, kryocide, cryolite, ice spar.

(Na₃AlF₆). Synthetic cryolite is a white crystalline powder manufactured from hydrofluoric acid, sodium carbonate, and aluminium. Synthetic cryolite is used chiefly as a flux in the electrolytic production of aluminum as it effectively lowers down the melting point of alumina. It is used in the glass and enamel industries, in bonded abrasives as a filler, in making salts of sodium and aluminum and porcelaneous glass and in the manufacture of insecticides. Cryolite is a relatively safe fruit and vegetable insecticide. The fluoride ion inhibits many enzymes that contain iron, calcium, and magnesium.

Source: GreenFacts

Fluoride