Effect of Heating Rate on the Crack Formation During Baking in Carbon Anodes Used in Aluminum Industry

Abstract

The quality of carbon anodes used in aluminum industry depends on the raw material properties and the manufacturing process parameters. It is one of the key factors directly related to the aluminum production cost. The degradation in anode quality such as crack formation increases the energy consumption, the environmental emissions, and the smelter’s overall operating cost.The objective of this work is to investigate the formation of cracks in several industrial green anode samples during baking at different heating rates and to determine the influence of this baking parameter on the crack formation. The samples were characterized before and after baking by measuring a number of physical properties (electrical resistivity, density, etc.) which define the final quality of the anode samples. Also, techniques based on ultra-sound and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the extent of cracking after baking.KeywordsCarbon anodescrackingheating ratebakinginvestigation techniques