Abstract
The Hall-Heroult process is the most commonly used process for aluminum production by aluminum through an electrolytic reduction of alumina dissolved in an electrolytic bath at 960 C. The voltage drop for the anode group represents about 8% of the total cell voltage. The resistance between the connections that link the different parts of the anode assembly causes the increase the anode voltage during the electrolysis process. The factors affecting the anodic voltage drop, temperature and stresses distribution were investigated using the finite element method. These factors included the stub diameter, thimble flutes number and steel stub number. Thermal and electrical measurements were carried out on ten prebaked anodes cells to verify and validate the modelled result. In this paper, study the electro thermal model under the influence of mechanical loading of the anode assembly confirmed that the design of the steel stubs (in terms of diameter and number) are the main factors that greatly influence the reduction of the anodic voltage, while the thimble flutes number might have a little effect on the anodic voltage drop.
Highlights
The Hall-Héroult process for the electrolytic reduction of alumina was patented at 1886 and is still currently the only industrial process for the production of aluminium
The designed stub diameter (130 mm) was changed to various diameters (110, 120, 140, 150, 160 and 170 mm), which represent the different stages of deterioration or size enlargement of the stub diameter
The results showed a decrease in the anodic voltage drop (AVD) with increasing stub diameter (Figure 5)
Summary
The Hall-Héroult process for the electrolytic reduction of alumina was patented at 1886 and is still currently the only industrial process for the production of aluminium. It is based upon the electro reduction of alumina in an electrolytic bath using anode blocks at about 960 ͦ C [1]. Lowering the anodic voltage drop (Avd) by 1 mV can be saved 3.2 kWh/ kg aluminium [4]. A massive efforts has been invested to reduce the electrical energy consumption to be 11kWh/kg aluminium by [5]. Smelter operators see this as an effective way to reduce energy consumption in the
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