The economics of inert anodes and wettable cathodes for aluminum reduction cells

Abstract

Estimating the impact of inert-anode and wettable-cathode technologies on smelter costs must be speculative because no such technologies have yet been commercialized. Even so, some broad conclusions can be drawn about the economic merit of inert anodes in retrofit and greenfield smelter scenarios. Study suggests that retrofitting inert anodes to existing prebake cells generates insufficient economic benefit to justify this objective. Drained cathode cells offer potential for energy savings coupled with increased production, provided that the cell life is greater than three years. Unlocking the potential value of both inert anode and wettable cathode materials will require their use in vertical electrode configurations, where the impact on operating costs and, particularly, capital costs, is expected to be significant. To be economically and technically viable, vertical electrode cells will require wear rates of less than approximately 5 mm per year on the inert electrode surfaces, much less than has so far been reported.