Abstract: A carbo-chlorination process is disclosed for selectively producing AlCl3 from an alumina-containing feedstock, comprising introducing the following into a fluidized bed reactor maintained at 600-700° C.: (a) dried and calcined feed stream comprising the alumina-containing feedstock and a carbon feed; (b) chlorinating agent; (c) selectivity agent; (d) dried air; and optionally (e) off-spec AlCl3. The process further includes removing a vapor stream from the reactor in which preferably about 75-80%, of the alumina present in the reactor is converted to AlCl3; and also removing a solid raw pozzolan stream from the reactor, wherein about 90-99% of the silica present in the reactor remains unconverted and exits the reactor through the solid raw pozzolan stream. The vapor stream comprising AlCl3 is purified to create an AlCl3 product stream comprising preferably greater than about 99.99% AlCl3.

Abstract: A process of carbo-chlorination of AlPO.sub.4 wherein AlPO.sub.4 or AlPO.sub.4 -containing material is introduced into a reactor along with chlorinating agents and a source of carbon. The reactor is heated to approximately 600.degree. to 1200.degree.C and forms aluminum chlorides, phosphorous oxides, phosphorous chlorides, phosphorous oxychlorides and carbon oxides. These reaction products are then separated into three fractions by condensation, the first fraction being P.sub.2 O.sub.5, the second fraction being AlCl.sub.3 and AlCl.sub.3 .POCl.sub.3 and the third fraction being remaining gasses, namely PCl.sub.3, PCl.sub.5, P.sub.2 O.sub.3, CO and CO.sub.2. The second fraction is reacted in a further reactor to give AlCl.sub.3 and P.sub.2 O.sub.3 which are separated by distillation. The phosphorous chlorides from the third fraction are oxidized, along with the P.sub.2 O.sub.3 of the second fraction, to form P.sub.2 O.sub.5.