Why must the aluminum oxide be electrolyzed in a molten cryolite solution?
To electrolyse aluminium oxide, it has to be molten. However, the melting point of Al2O3 is extremely high ( 1000°C), and that would make the electrolysis very inefficient. However, Al2O3 dissolves in cryolite at much lower temperatures (lower than 900°C), which makes it a much more viable process.
