Studies on the Hall-Heroult aluminum electrowinning process
Studies on the electrolysis of cryolite-alumina melt showed that even the best equipped smelter, functioning at 960 ºC, has only 33% energy efficiency. For stable functioning of the smelter at 3% alumina the minimum wt% ratio NaF/AlF3 was found to be 1.11. The anodes located on down-stream row were found to face more turbulence; raising their level by 4 cm resulted in decreasing the number of burnoffs. A careful selection of potlining material improved the pot life. The stability of the aluminum-bath interface is one of the major factors affecting the current efficiency. An improved cell design has been proposed to achieve the ultimate aluminum-bath interface stability. The proposed cell design should allow a reduction of the cathode-to-anode distance producing a lower voltage and improving the power efficiency.
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sociedade Brasileira de Química
2000
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| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-50532000000300008 |
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