Anode Quality Research Articles

Multi-Objective Optimization for the Forming Quality of a CeO2/Al6061 Alloy as an Aluminum–Air Battery Anode Manufactured via Selective Laser Melting

To improve the discharge performance of aluminum–air batteries, CeO2/Al6061 composites were prepared as an anode using selective laser melting (SLM). Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed, and the test results were linearly fitted. A prediction model for the forming quality of the composite anode was established, and the reliability of the model and the interaction between process parameters were explored based on variance analysis and significance testing. On this basis, with corrosion potential, self-corrosion rate, and discharge voltage as optimization objectives, the optimal solution set of the SLM forming CeO2/Al6061 anode process parameter was solved through a genetic algorithm, and experimental verification was conducted. The results indicate that the optimal process range for the forming quality and various properties of composite materials is laser power of 265~285 W, scanning speed of 985~1025 mm/s, and scanning spacing of 0.116~0.140 mm. The optimized process parameters were selected for reliability testing, and the errors were all within 3.0%, verifying the accuracy and reliability of the model.

Ultrafast pressureless sintering of high conductivity Ni-based cermets inert anode for Carbon‐free electrolytic aluminum

Cermet is a promising inert anode material to solve the problem of high carbon emission and bearing C-F harmful gas generation of primary aluminum produced from bauxite using molten electrolysis with carbon anode. However, a major challenge for traditional methods is to ensure that the cermet inert anode simultaneously has good conductivity, corrosion resistance, and strength. Herein, a new ultrafast pressureless sintering (UPS) method is developed to greatly improve the conductivity of metal ceramic inert anode materials while ensuring good corrosion resistance and strength. In a departure from conventional practice that metal phase undergoes local enrichment accompanied by irregular formation of ceramic particles at low heating rates, here UPS achieves rapid diffusion and uniform distribution of metal phase at regular ceramic particle interfaces during liquid phase sintering. The new method is applicable to Ni-based cermet and the production of Ni-based cermet inert anode with excellent conductivity in a few tens of seconds has been demonstrated, which is able to improve the quality of cermet inert anode requiring a low energy input. The conductivity of cermet produced by the applied UPS process is 15-fold higher than that of other pressureless sintering processes with low heating rates. These Ni-cermet inert anodes exhibit high corrosion resistance and density with excellent mechanical properties. This rapid sintering technique facilitates the structural design of inert anodes and develops a pathway of new systems with scalable, efficient, and high-quality sintering of composite materials.

A Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm-Based Predictive Model and Parameter Optimization for Forming Quality of SLM Aluminum Anodes

Aluminum–air batteries are characterized as “green energy for the 21st century” due to their clear advantages in terms of high current discharge, high specific energy, low cost, and easy-to-obtain electrode materials. This study develops the SLM aluminum anode quality prediction model and evaluates its learning and training results using the BP neural network architecture. By altering the network topology of the SLM aluminum anode quality prediction model, we create a process parameter backpropagation model that takes advantage of the extremely adaptable capabilities of artificial neural networks. The quick and exact selection of process parameters meets the goals of density, self-corrosion current, and anode usage, hence improving the forming quality and processing efficiency of SLM aluminum anodes. The experimental results show that the process parameter backpropagation model’s parameter configurations match to the real densities and self-corrosion currents, which are somewhat higher than the specified target values. The maximum error rate for the aluminum anode forming quality prediction model is 8.23%. Furthermore, the actual anode utilization rate is somewhat lower than the projected target value, indicating that the backpropagation model can satisfy actual production needs.

Influence of Laser Process Parameters on the Forming Quality and Discharge Performance of 3D-Printed Porous Anodes for Al-Air Batteries.

Aluminum-air (Al-air) batteries are considered one of the most promising next-generation energy storage devices. In this paper, we carry out an orthogonal experimental study on the SLM printing process parameters in 3D-printed Al-air battery anodes. The surface roughness, densification, and discharge performance of the electrodes under different process parameters are observed to reveal the effects of different process parameters on the forming quality and discharge performance of aluminum-air battery anodes. The results show that the laser power is the most important factor affecting the surface roughness of the porous aluminum anode, and the scanning spacing is the most important factor affecting the densification. The best printing parameters for the porous aluminum anode can be obtained when the laser power is 325 W, the scanning speed is 1000 mm/s, the scanning spacing is 0.12 mm, and the thickness of the powder spread is 0.03 mm. At this time, the surface roughness of the porous aluminum anode obtained by this process parameter is 15.01 μm, the densification is 94.97%, and the discharge is stable with a high value. In addition, we also carry out data validation to ensure that the data we obtain are optimal and valid.

A new approach for improving the quality of the carbon anode for aluminum electrolysis – An impregnation-baking process

Prebaked carbon anode is the primary consumable material in the aluminum reduction cell, and its quality directly affects the energy consumption of aluminum production. An impregnation-baking process of the anode was proposed to reduce the anode porosity, improve the quality of the anodes, and reduce additional carbon consumption. The theoretical analysis and industrial testing on the impregnation-baking process were carried out. Firstly, the coal tar pitch was immersed into the anode carbon block through the impregnation process. An anode impregnation model was developed and used for theoretical calculations to analyze the effects of pressure and temperature on the impregnation process. The accuracy of the model was verified experimentally. Secondly, the impregnated anodes were placed in an electromagnetic induction heating furnace for baking to carbonize the immersed pitch. The thermogravimetric and pyrolysis kinetics methods were used to analyze the baking process of the impregnated anodes. Finally, the impregnated-baked anodes were compared with common anodes regarding their impact on the technical and economic indicators of the aluminum electrolysis process in industrial tests. The results showed that the physicochemical properties of the impregnated-baked anodes were significantly improved, with the bulk density increase of 0.1 g/cm3, air permeability reduction of 0.54 nPm, compressive strength enhancement of 9.43 MPa, and electrical resistivity decrease of 10 uΩ·m. The anode service life was increased from 31 to 35 days, the current efficiency was increased by 0.44 %, and the operating voltage was reduced by 17 mV, which improved economic benefit significantly.

Incentive mechanism design for Federated Learning with Stackelberg game perspective in the industrial scenario

Federated Learning (FL) is a typical decentralized Machine Learning framework in which clients invest resources to train their local models without sharing their data and then transmit the model parameters to the server for parameter aggregation. Therefore, Incentive Mechanism Design (IMD) is a basic and important research direction in FL that stimulates clients to invest more resources in model training. In this paper, we designed the incentive mechanism as a Stackelberg game in which the server acts as the leader and the clients act as followers. We leveraged modified NSGA-II to find the Nash equilibrium. A real industrial scenario of pre-baked carbon anode quality prediction is applied to verify the high performance of the proposed method.

Bubble Behavior and Anode Effect on Different Carbon Anode Designs in Cryolite Melt Applying a See-through Furnace

Anodic CO2 gas evolution is one of the main processes in the Hall-Héroult electrolysis cell for primary aluminium production. This work is a laboratory scale study of the effect of anode geometry, anode orientation and carbon anode material on bubble behavior and bubble properties in cryolite melt. Increased knowledge of the bubble behavior is important for improved design of industrial cells, but also for laboratory‐scale experiments. The anodes studied in this work are frequently applied for investigation of reaction kinetics and mass transport, anode effect, current efficiency, anode quality properties, etc. It is therefore of interest to study the bubble dynamics of these anodes in more detail because bubble evolution is relevant for all the above-mentioned phenomena.The anode potential has been shown to be highly dependent on anode geometry and orientation. For this study four different anode designs were made: horizontal (downward-facing), inverted horizontal (upward-facing), vertical, rod (with both vertical and horizontal surface). For most of the designs, characteristics such as bubble noise, bubble size, and wetting were obtained as a function of current density or anode potential/cell voltage. The bubble noise normally went through a maximum, while the bubble size decreased in the whole current density range. The wetting contact angle showed little variation with current density. It was assumed that the current density had a stronger effect on the contact angle through its effect on the bubble size than the polarization and associated surface roughening.Also, phenomena like nucleation, growth, coalescence, bubble detachment and anode effect were studied for both graphite and industrial carbon as anode material. The nucleation was more pronounced at the industrial carbon due to more active sites confirmed by CT analysis. The coalescence process was found to be independent of current density/potential and carbon anode material and was in the range 16-24 msec. On increased currents anode effect occurred on both anodes, the current being lower for the graphite anode at onset. Video recordings and electrochemical measurements showed more abrupt initiation of the anode effect on the graphite and a strong de-wetting of the anode. With the existence of a (C – F) surface compound on the anode, as long as the anode effect gas could escape the electrode surface, the anode seems to be electrochemically active towards both CO/CO2 and PFC formation during anode effect.In addition to the bubble characteristics and phenomena described, the impact of the results for better anode design for laboratory scale studies is discussed.

Investigation of pitch modification and its effect on anode properties: Effect of pitch type

AbstractAluminium is produced by electrolysis using carbon anodes. These anodes are manufactured with dry aggregate (mainly calcined petroleum coke, butts, and rejected green and baked anodes) and coal tar pitch, which acts as a binder. Utilization of good quality anodes decreases the consumption of carbon and energy, hence the process cost as well as the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). The interactions between coke and pitch play an important role in determining the anode quality. If they are compatible, pitch can penetrate into the pores of the coke particles as well as into the voids between the particles, resulting in denser anodes. One way to improve these interactions is to modify the chemical composition of pitch using an additive. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the pitch type on the effectiveness of pitch modification in improving the anode properties. Two types of pitch with different quinoline insoluble (QI) contents were used: one with high QI (HQI pitch) and the other with low QI (LQI pitch). They were modified using the same additive. The interactions between the pitches and the coke were studied by measuring the wettability of coke by the pitches. The pitch chemical composition was studied using FTIR and XPS. Then, anodes were produced and characterized. Their apparent density, electrical resistivity, air and CO2 reactivities, and permeability were compared. The results showed that the properties of anodes produced using modified HQI pitch were improved. Modifying LQI pitch did not significantly improve the anode properties.

Method for Benchmarking Li Metal Anodes: A Mandatory Step toward Reliable Lithium Metal Batteries

All-solid-state batteries are known to be the new energy storage holy grail that will lead to safer batteries with higher energy density than current Li-ion batteries. The use of a solid electrolyte enables the use of lithium metal as the anode material. However, its composition, its thickness, and the quality/nature of its passivation layer can strongly affect the performance of the battery. For this reason, we propose a simple benchmarking method that evaluates and compares the quality and electrochemical performance of various Li anodes. This method can be easily reproduced, especially concerning the electrochemical evaluation that uses a commercial liquid electrolyte and the widely spread coin-cell format. In total, ~285 coin cells were assembled to benchmark our in-house lithium metal foil (Lithium HQ) with two commercial ones and the results showed the superior performance of our Li metal anode. The performance of the cells seems closely related to the quality and uniformity of the Li surface. In addition, we propose including in the benchmarking method the effect of Li aging in a dry room on the electrochemical performance. This effect is important to consider because the fabrication of all-solid-state batteries is conducted in such an environment.

Impact of Pitch Modification on Anode Properties: Effect of Additive Type.

Aluminum is one of the major industries in Canada. The main challenges facing the aluminum industry are carbon loss, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, cell performance, and production costs, especially for high-amperage cells. The quality of carbon anodes plays a major role in the stability of cell operation and energy consumption. Anodes are made from petroleum coke, rejected green and baked anodes and butts, as well as coal tar pitch, which binds all of the particles. Although the industry depends on a steady supply of high-quality anodes, the availability of quality anode raw materials-coke and pitch-has decreased. A means of improving raw material quality is to modify their properties. In this work, using two additives, low- and high-quinoline insoluble (LQI and HQI) pitches were modified. These additives enrich the surface functional groups of the pitch, thereby increasing coke-pitch interactions. Various additive concentrations and pitch percentages were assessed. It is found that the choice of additive type has a marked effect on pitch properties, with different additives improving different pitches. Additive 1 is suitable for the HQI pitch, whereas additive 2 modifies the LQI pitch better. Anode properties are improved by modifying one of the pitches, whereas modifying the other pitch affects the anode quality to a lesser extent. Thus, the results showed that the modification of an already good-quality pitch (LQI pitch) does not significantly affect the anode quality. On the other hand, the modification of the inferior-quality pitch (HQI pitch) improved the anode quality and decreased the optimum pitch percentage necessary to obtain good anodes compared to the percentage of the LQI pitch needed. This would help decrease the anode production cost. The wettability tests give an indication of if the additive has the potential to improve the coke-pitch interactions, but it cannot predict the effect of pitch percent.

Effect of the modification of a high-QI pitch with an additive on anode quality

Prebaked carbon anodes are manufactured from a dry aggregate (calcined petroleum coke, recycled butts, and rejected green and baked anodes) and a pitch as the binder. The process involves the mixing of the dry aggregate and the pitch according to an appropriate recipe followed by the compaction of the resulting paste and its baking to produce baked anodes for use in electrolysis cells for aluminum production. A good bonding between pitch and dry aggregate particles improves the anode quality which leads to reduction in process cost, energy and carbon consumptions, and emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). One of the potential avenues to improve such bonding is the modification of pitch by an additive. It enriches the surface functional groups of pitch and makes it more compatible with coke. The objective of the current study is to investigate the effect of the modification of a pitch containing a high amount of primary quinoline insolubles (HQI pitch) on the anode quality.The wettability of coke by modified and non-modified pitches was measured using the sessile drop method. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of these pitches were carried out to determine the change in their surface chemistry upon modification. Laboratory anodes were produced using the non-modified and modified HQI pitches at different pitch levels and additive percentages. The anodes were characterized by measuring their density, electrical resistivity, air and CO2 reactivities, and permeability. Then, these properties were compared for anodes containing non-modified (standard) and modified pitches. In general, the results showed that the modification improved the anode properties compared to those of the standard anodes. The most suitable additive percentage was 2 % and the best pitch percentage was 16 % to obtain good quality anodes. The wettability tests showed that the HQI pitch modified with 2 % additive wetted the coke best. XPS and FTIR tests showed the chemical changes occurring on the pitch surface after the modification with the additive. The results show the potential for the improvement of anode quality based on the pitch modification which renders pitch more compatible with coke.

Federated transfer learning for auxiliary classifier generative adversarial networks: framework and industrial application.

Machine learning with considering data privacy-preservation and personalized models has received attentions, especially in the manufacturing field. The data often exist in the form of isolated islands and cannot be shared because of data privacy in real industrial scenarios. It is difficult to gather the data to train a personalized model without compromising data privacy. To address this issue, we proposed a Federated Transfer Learning framework based on Auxiliary Classifier Generative Adversarial Networks named ACGAN-FTL. In the framework, Federated Learning (FL) trains a global model on decentralized datasets of the clients with data privacy-preservation and Transfer Learning (TL) transfers the knowledge from the global model to a personalized model with a relatively small data volume. ACGAN acts as a data bridge to connect FL and TL by generating similar probability distribution data of clients since the client datasets in FL cannot be directly used in TL for data privacy-preservation. A real industrial scenario of pre-baked carbon anode quality prediction is applied to verify the performance of the proposed framework. The results show that ACGAN-FTL can not only obtain acceptable performance on 0.81 accuracy, 0.86 precision, 0.74 recall, and 0.79 F1 but also ensure data privacy-preservation in the whole learning process. Compared to the baseline method without FL and TL, the former metrics have increased by 13%, 11%, 16%, and 15% respectively. The experiments verify that the performance of the proposed ACGAN-FTL framework fulfills the requirements of industrial scenarios.

X-ray fluorescence for lithium metal anode quality inspection

A novel X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method is proposed in this study for quality inspection of thin Li metal anodes. The method can be used to determine Li coating thickness and to calculate Li mass absorption coefficient. The high correlation between the calculated Li mass absorption coefficient (263.9 cm2/g and 259.7 cm2/g at 930 eV) and the reported values in literature (NIST 260.0 cm2/g and CRXO 279.2 cm2/g) indicates this method can be a promising quality inspection tool. The suggested XRF method can also potentially be used to detect internal and surface defects in Li coatings, as well as to identify chemical impurities. The XRF analysis method is non-destructive, non-contact, covers large areas, provides compositional data and is amenable to online production. This study shows the potential of incorporating XRF analysis system as a quality inspection tool for the commercialization and large-scale manufacturing of Li metal anodes and next generation EV batteries.

Cu-mediated optimization of PbO2 anodes for electrochemical treatment of electroless nickel plating wastewater

Effective removal of Ni(Ⅱ)-organic complexes from electroless nickel plating wastewater remains a challenge by conventional industrial effluent treatment processes. In this study, electrochemical oxidation using a PbO2 anode is proposed for effective decomplexation of Ni-organic complexes. The electrode quality and electrocatalytic capability of the PbO2 anode is shown to be greatly affected by the nature of the PbO2 active layer that is formed during the electrodeposition process with the current density, cathode material and electrolyte constitutions all exerting an influence on the Pb deposition behavior. Our investigations reveal that the presence of Cu2+ in the electrolyte can precisely control the amount of elemental Pb formed with Pb cathodic reduction and deposition prevented as a result of preferential Cu0 deposition. The doping of PbO2 with Cu significantly improved the morphology and electrocatalytic performance of the PbO2 deposit. Ni-citrate and TOC removal percentages of 83 % and 55 % respectively were achieved with the optimal Cu-doped PbO2 anode with 73 % of the Ni recovered at the cathode at a relatively low specific energy consumption of 12.7 kWh m−3. A possible mineralization pathway of Ni-citrate by the PbO2 anodic oxidation process is proposed.

Anode paste consumption for aluminum production

In Russia, most aluminum smelters are equipped with cells with self-baking anodes featuring an urgent problem of lowering the anode paste consumption, since the share of anode materials in the cost of aluminum varies from 8 to 20 %. To solve this problem, it is necessary to determine the anode paste demand. The method for calculating the specific anode paste consumption used at aluminum smelters has a poor accuracy. The paper discusses the main errors of this method, shows the stages of anode paste consumption calculation, assesses the adequacy of calculations and gives recommendations for method improvement. It is shown that in general the considered method adequately reflects carbon consumption processes, but the final result of calculations may differ significantly from the actual one. The values taken constant to simplify the calculation, in fact, may vary during the electrolysis, which leads to a significant change in the final result of calculations. For example, an increase in the CO2 fraction from 0.45 to 0.5 leads to a decrease in the anode paste consumption by 15.3 kg/tonAl. At the same time, it is known that the composition of anode gases changes sharply as the anode effect occurs: the CO2 fraction decreases, and the CO fraction increases. In summer, at high ambient temperatures, the proportion of both vaporized pitch and anodes with an increased surface temperature rise. As the latter changes to 0.25, the consumption increases by 6.6 kg/tonAl. The same applies to air oxidation. The number of depressurized cells may increase with the subsequent increase in the carbon consumption. It is necessary to pay attention to factors affecting the anode quality. Incorrectly selected particle size distribution or worn equipment may significantly degrade the anode quality and lead to an increase in carbon consumption. It is necessary to make adjustments to the calculation in order to consider the peculiarities of carbon monoxide formation properly.

Partial Replacement of Petroleum Coke with Modified Biocoke during Production of Anodes Used in the Aluminum Industry: Effect of Additive Type

In order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biocoke modified with different additives was used to replace part of the petroleum coke. Previously, a number of researchers attempted to manufacture anodes using biocoke. However, the majority of these efforts were unsuccessful because the quality of the anodes deteriorated with this replacement. The deterioration was due to the weak interactions between the pitch and biocoke compared to those between the pitch and petroleum coke. In this study, a chemical modification of biocoke was carried out using three additives (i.e., A(1), A(2), and A(3)) with the aim of improving biocoke–pitch interactions to prevent the deterioration of anode quality. The results of this study showed that biocoke–pitch interactions improved when the biocoke was modified with A(1) and A(3). The anodes containing biocoke modified with these two additives had properties similar to those of the standard anode (i.e., without biocoke). The utilization of additive A(2) did not show the same trend.

Examining new parting compounds to improve copper anode quality

At the final stage of the anode copper production process adopted by the Copper Plant of MMC Norilsk Nickel’s Polar Division, anode copper is poured in the moulds, the melt and the moulds are cooled down by process water spraying, the anodes are pushed out of the moulds and moved into accumulator bathes for final cooling with running water. The same anode copper is used to make moulds by casting, which ensures a waste-free production circuit and saves the need to use moulds made of other materials in the Norilsk Industrial Area. Parting compounds are used to prevent penetration of anodes. They are refractory powders proportionally blended with process water or alcohol that are poured, sprayed or brushed over the working surface of the mould and let to dry. Two drawbacks can be pointed out with regard to the parting compounds that are used by the Copper Plant. These drawbacks were observed during the casting process. A thinner layer of anode copper is formed with each casting cycle leading to penetration, surface defects or surface warping. Such anodes are rejected. Besides, as a result of being constantly in contact with the melt, the mould surface start to crack as it wears out. During casting and cooling, particles separate from the parting compound and transfer to the surface of the copper anode. Cool anodes are moved to the Copper Electrowinning Section to be placed in the electrolysis bathes, where the parting compound particles, insoluble in sulphuric acid solutions, form an electrolytic slime. The insoluble particles contain oxides of silicon, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, etc. These impurities make slime harder to process in the Metallurgical Shop affecting the quality of the final product – i.e. platinum group metal concentrate. This research aims to identify possibilities to improve the surface quality of anodes and reduce penetration so that less components of the parting compound reached the Copper Electrowinning Section or the Metallurgical Shop. In the course of this research, the optimum size distribution of the parting compound was identified; the conditions are described in which the parting compound is used at the Copper Plant; laboratory and pilot tests were conducted with an experimental parting compound that is not normally used by the Copper Plant in the copper anode production circuit.

Study of influence of the charge granulometric composition on the quality of burned anodes

Many factors affect the quality of produced anodes: composition and grade of raw materials, recipe, technology, operating parameters, the granulometric composition of charge materials etc. The most significant influence is from the last factor. The article provides research results on the effect of fine fractions on the quality of anodes. The research object is charge of different granulometric composition used to produce anodes at the Kazakhstan Electrolysis plant in Pavlodar. Six types of anode mass with different granulometric composition were prepared for the experiment. The anode mass was made of petroleum coke, pitch, recycled anodes, and dust from filters and grinder produced during coke treatment. Several properties of the specimens were studied. In total, six specimens were made and, specimen № 4 drew particular attention. Its granulometric composition is as following: coarse fractions – 25 %, medium fractions – 20%, fine fractions (grinder dust) – 50 %, and filter dust – 5 %. The results showed that some specifications of anodes, like gas permeability and apparent density that affect anode consumption, are improved as the fineness of dust grinding. For instance, the addition of dust fraction in the charge increases anode density from 1.542 to 1.639 kilogram per cubic decimeters and decreases gas permeability from 1.01 to 0.78 nPm. In addition, the presence of dust fraction minimizes the porosity of the anode block. The results of the investigation help adjust the optimal recipe of anode mass to obtain high-quality anodes.

Determination of optimum vibro-compaction time using sound analysis

The quality of carbon anodes plays an essential role in the production of primary aluminum. The vibro-compaction is one of the most important steps of the anode fabrication process, which affects the anode quality. Over and under-compacting results in anodes with high electrical resistivity, poor mechanical and physical properties. Therefore, the compaction conditions should be chosen carefully. A method and a sound analysis software were developed to determine the optimum vibration time using the sound generated by the vibro-compactor during anode compaction. This method was tested with a bench-scale system both in the laboratory and in the plant. It is simple, fast and inexpensive. The effect of anode raw materials (types of coke and pitch) and top-former bellow pressure of the vibro-compactor on the optimum compaction time as well as the effect of compaction time on anode properties were investigated. The results showed that there are three stages of anode formation during vibro-compaction, good quality anodes can be produced by using compaction time around the optimal value, and the utilization of sound analysis reduces the compaction time. • Raw materials as well as the mixing and compaction parameters affect the anode quality. • Anodes go through three stages during vibro-compaction. • Utilization of optimum compaction-time will improve the anode properties. • The sound of the vibro-compactor can be used to determine the optimum compaction-time. • The method developed can assure that each anode is compacted using its specific compaction-time.

Study on the cracking of carbon anodes used in aluminium industry

AbstractCarbon anodes are used in aluminium electrolysis. Their quality plays a major role in the stability of cell operation and energy consumption. The improvement of the quality of carbon anodes is essential to respond to the many challenges the aluminium industry is facing with respect to issues related to carbon loss, energy use, cell performance, and production cost, especially for high amperage cells. The presence of cracks increases the anode resistivity, and, as a result, power consumption, production cost, and greenhouse gas emissions also increase. Therefore, it is important to know how the cracks form during anode production. An industrial measurement campaign was carried out at the Aluminerie Alouette Inc. (AAI) plant in Sept‐Îles, Québec, Canada. The effect of raw materials (type of coke, pitch, and butts), vibro‐compaction (vibro‐compactor type, balloon pressure, and vibration time), and the position of anodes in the baking furnace on anode cracking was investigated. It was found that the anode centre is the region that contains the most cracks compared to other parts of the anode. The cracks in the horizontal direction are more predominant than those in other directions. The raw materials and the operating parameters of each anode production step affect anode cracking.