The Wöhler process was one of the first routes for producing aluminium metal. It involves the reduction of anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium, produced powdered aluminium:
AlCl3 + 3 K → Al + 3 KClWith advent of more efficient means of electrolysis, e.g., Hall–Héroult process, the Wöhler process and related chemical-based routes became obsolete.
History
In 1827, Friedrich Wöhler refined a process discovered by Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, who first produced impure aluminium in 1825. With the newly made Al metal, he established the specific gravity of aluminium in 1845.
References
Wöhler process Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA