Al sec-butoxide (ASB) has been used as a precursor for activated aluminas but its cost is higher than any other type of precursor. This study was carried out on the dissolution kinetics for synthesis of the ASB from Al dross waste. The reaction was performed under the molar ratio of Al dross and sec-butyl alcohol (SBA) of 3 mol SBA/mol Al with a catalyst of 10(-3) mol HgI(2)/mol Al and three different dissolution temperatures of 80, 90 and 100 degrees C. The Al reactant was used with Al dross of 3-5 mm size range. As a result of the experiment, the dissolution reaction gave a 65% yield after 24 h. The dissolution mechanism was determined by the shrinking core model assumed by the shape of spherical particles. Especially, the kinetic data were well fitted by a chemical reaction in the model. By the Arrhenius equation, the apparent activation energy was determined to be 40.9 kJ mol(-1) at the given reaction temperatures. (C) 2010 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.