Effect of Nano Dispersant Additions to the Electrodes for Aluminum Electrolysis

Abstract

Over the next half decade, significant changes expected in global carbon structures, carbon products and applications. Technological advances that improve the structure-property relationship of advanced carbon materials and breakthrough in manufacturing processes resulting in lower cost, leads to availability of carbon nano materials for applications in the metallurgical industry with a reference to electrodes for the metallurgical industry.In the current work we synthesized pitch-based C/C nano composite lab scale electrodes, partially replacing petroleum coke with nanofibers, by using a ball milling dispersion and high energy milling technique. The effect of different processing variables including the amount of binder and dispersants as well as mixing conditions is investigated. Low vacuum -SEM analyses of green pitch and dispersant samples show the pitch coating on dispersants. Field emission gun (FEG)-SEM is used to analyse dispersants, baked pitch/dispersant system as well baked electrodes. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) is applied to investigate in detail the primary structure of the dispersants, as well as the fiber/matrix interface and the alignment of binder with the fibres in graphitized and un-graphitized electrodes.