US20140138240A1 - Aluminum smelter including cells with cathode output at the bottom of the pot shell and cell stabilizing means - Google Patents

Aluminum smelter including cells with cathode output at the bottom of the pot shell and cell stabilizing means Download PDF

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Publication number
US20140138240A1
US20140138240A1 US14/232,145 US201214232145A US2014138240A1 US 20140138240 A1 US20140138240 A1 US 20140138240A1 US 201214232145 A US201214232145 A US 201214232145A US 2014138240 A1 US2014138240 A1 US 2014138240A1
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electrolytic cell
cathode
electrolytic
cell
aluminum smelter
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US14/232,145
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English (en)
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Olivier Martin
Steeve Renaudier
Benoit Bardet
Christian Duval
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Rio Tinto Alcan International Ltd
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Rio Tinto Alcan International Ltd
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Assigned to RIO TINTO ALCAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED reassignment RIO TINTO ALCAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: DUVAL, CHRISTIAN, BARDET, Benoit, MARTIN, OLIVIER, RENAUDIER, Steeve
Publication of US20140138240A1 publication Critical patent/US20140138240A1/en
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25C—PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION, RECOVERY OR REFINING OF METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25C3/00—Electrolytic production, recovery or refining of metals by electrolysis of melts
    • C25C3/06—Electrolytic production, recovery or refining of metals by electrolysis of melts of aluminium
    • C25C3/08—Cell construction, e.g. bottoms, walls, cathodes
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25C—PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION, RECOVERY OR REFINING OF METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25C3/00—Electrolytic production, recovery or refining of metals by electrolysis of melts
    • C25C3/06—Electrolytic production, recovery or refining of metals by electrolysis of melts of aluminium
    • C25C3/16—Electric current supply devices, e.g. bus bars

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a plant for producing aluminum by the electrolysis of alumina, also referred to as an aluminum smelter.
  • the practice is known of producing aluminum industrially by the electrolysis of alumina using the Hall-Heroult process.
  • an electrolytic cell is used, notably made up of a steel pot shell, an interior refractory coating, and a cathode made of carbonaceous material, connected to conductors which deliver the electrolysis current.
  • the electrolytic cell also contains an electrolytic bath notably made up of cryolite in which the alumina is dissolved.
  • the Hall-Heroult process consists of partially immersing a carbon block, forming the anode, into the electrolytic bath, the anode being consumed as the reaction proceeds.
  • the liquid aluminum, produced by the electrolysis reaction is deposited in the bottom of the cell by gravity, forming a pad of liquid aluminum that completely covers the cathode.
  • aluminum production plants have several hundreds of electrolytic cells connected in series in production halls.
  • An electrolysis current in the order of several hundreds of amperes, passes through these electrolytic cells creating significant magnetic fields.
  • the pad of aluminum may be unstable, which significantly downgrades the productivity of the cell. It is notably known that the vertical composite of the magnetic field is a determining factor in the stability of an electrolytic cell.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of an electrolytic cell 100 wherein the magnetic field is self-compensated owing to the layout of the conductors 101 connecting this cell N 100 to the next cell N+1 102 placed downstream. To this end, it is noted that conductors 101 are off-center in relation to the cell 100 and circumvent it.
  • Such a magnetic self-compensation method is notably known from patent document FR2469475.
  • the self-compensation method of an electrolytic cell creates a significant amount of design constraints owing to its large size due to the specific arrangement of the conductors.
  • the significant length of the conductors needed to implement this solution generates power loss online and requires a lot of material (aluminum conductors), hence high costs in terms of energy consumption and manufacturing.
  • FIG. 2 shows an electrolytic cell 200 belonging to the state of the art, through which an electrolysis current I 200 passes.
  • the electrolytic cell 200 has an anode 201 , a pot shell 202 notably containing an electrolytic bath 203 , a pad of liquid aluminum 204 and a cathode 205 .
  • the present invention therefore aims to remedy all or part of these drawbacks, by providing an aluminum smelter in which the stability of the liquids contained in the electrolytic cells is improved, and having lower design, construction and operating costs.
  • the subject of the present invention is an aluminum smelter comprising:
  • each electrolytic cell comprising at least one anode, a cathode and a pot shell provided with a side wall and a bottom, each cathode comprising at least one cathode output,
  • electrolysis current initially passing through an electrolytic cell N, placed upstream, and secondly through an electrolytic cell N+1, placed downstream,
  • said main electric circuit comprising an electrical conductor connected to each cathode output of the electrolytic cell N,
  • the electrical conductor also being connected to at least one anode of the electrolytic cell N+1, in order to conduct the electrolysis current from electrolytic cell N to electrolytic cell N+1,
  • At least one of the cathode outputs of the cathode of the electrolytic cell N passes through the bottom of the pot shell,
  • the electrolysis current (I 1 ) passes, in an upstream-downstream direction only, through each electrical conductor extending from each cathode output of the electrolytic cell N in the direction of the electrolytic cell N+1.
  • the invention therefore makes it possible to improve the stability of the electrolytic cells in the aluminum smelter, by acting on the horizontal currents passing though the cells and on the magnetic field generated by the electrolysis current and/or the kinetic stability of the pad of aluminum contained in the cells. It simultaneously allows the conductors conveying the electrolysis current from one cell to another to be reduced in size and weight, and consequently reduces the costs associated with the design and manufacture of the aluminum smelter according to the invention. Energy loss is further reduced.
  • the electrolytic cells are aligned along an axis, and such that the electrical conductor extends in a substantially rectilinear manner and in a manner substantially parallel to the axis of alignment of the electrolytic cells.
  • each cathode further comprises at least one cathode output passing through the downstream side wall of the pot shell.
  • This characteristic has the advantage of further reducing the size and weight of the electrical conductors conveying the electrolysis current from one cell to another.
  • This cathode output passes through the side wall of the pot shell of the cell N on its downstream side, in order to respect the characteristic according to which each electrical conductor extends in the direction of the cell N+1, in the upstream-downstream direction only. Owing to the proximity of the downstream side of the cell N and cell N+1, the length of the electrical conductor connecting this cathode output to the anode of the cell N+1 is less than that of an electrical conductor connecting a cathode output by the bottom of the cell N to the anode of the cell N+1.
  • This embodiment therefore has the advantage of reducing the size and length of the electrical conductors in relation to an embodiment of the aluminum smelter according to the invention in which the cells comprise cathode outputs located only on the bottom.
  • each downstream cathode output passing though the side wall of the pot shell of the electrolytic cell N comprises a metal bar, more particularly made of steel, with a copper insert or plate.
  • the pot shell of the electrolytic cell N comprises several arches secured to the side wall and to the bottom of the pot shell, the electrical conductors connected to each cathode output passing through the bottom of the pot shell of the electrolytic cell N extending between the arches.
  • This characteristic has the advantage of reducing the size of the electrical conductors conveying the electrolysis current from one cell to another.
  • the electrolytic cells include short-circuiting means.
  • the short-circuiting means allow an electrolytic cell to be short circuited so that it can be removed for maintenance, while the other cells in the series continue to operate.
  • the short-circuiting means of the electrolytic cell N+1 comprise at least a short-circuiting electrical conductor placed permanently between electrolytic cell N and electrolytic cell N+1, each short-circuiting electrical conductor being electrically connected to one of the electrical conductors connected to a cathode output of the cell passing through the bottom of the shell of the electrolytic cell N+1, and each short-circuiting electrical conductor being located a short distance from one of the electrical conductors connected to one of the cathode outputs of the electrolytic cell N.
  • the short-circuiting means of the electrolytic cell N+1 comprise at least a short-circuiting electrical conductor placed permanently between electrolytic cell N and electrolytic cell N+1, each short-circuiting electrical conductor being electrically connected to one of the electrical conductors connected to a cathode output of the cell passing through the bottom of the shell of the electrolytic cell N, and each short-circuiting electrical conductor being located a short distance from one of the electrical conductors connected to one of the cathode outputs of the electrolytic cell N+1.
  • the short distance between the short-circuiting conductor and the other conductor form locations for the introduction of short-circuiting blocks. These short-circuiting blocks can be introduced from above or from below in the second case.
  • At least a secondary electric circuit includes electrical conductors running along the right side and/or the left side of the electrolytic cells along at least one line of electrolytic cells.
  • the at least one secondary electric circuit includes electrical conductors extending along at least one line of electrolytic cells, under said electrolytic cells.
  • the electrical conductors of the at least one secondary electric circuit are made of a superconducting material. This allows a decrease in the voltage drop to which each secondary circuit is subjected, thereby saving energy and enabling a less powerful and less expensive power substation to be used for each secondary electric circuit. This characteristic also allows material costs to be reduced in relation to aluminum or copper conductors. It allows the size of the electrical conductors to be reduced, which saves space in the aluminum smelter.
  • the electrical conductor of the at least one secondary electric circuit runs along the electrolytic cells of the line(s) at least two times.
  • This characteristic offers the possibility to reduce the strength of the current passing through this secondary circuit in order to save energy.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of an electrolytic cell of the state of the art
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an electrolytic cell acknowledged as belonging to the state of the art
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of an aluminum smelter according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a cell N and a cell N+1 of an aluminum smelter according to a specific embodiment of the invention
  • FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sections along lines I-I and II-II of FIG. 4 , respectively,
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an electrolytic cell according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of the cell N and cell N+1 of an aluminum smelter according to a specific embodiment of FIG. 4 ,
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along line III-III of FIG. 8 .
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a cell N and a cell N+1 of an aluminum smelter according to another specific embodiment of the invention.
  • FIGS. 11 and 12 are cross-sections along lines IV-IV and V-V of FIG. 10 , respectively.
  • FIG. 13 is a schematic top view of the cell N and the cell N+1 of an aluminum smelter according to a second specific embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 14 is a cross-section along line VI-VI of FIG. 13 .
  • FIGS. 15 and 16 are schematic top views of an aluminum smelter 1 according to specific embodiments of the invention.
  • FIGS. 17 , 18 and 19 are schematic side views of grooved cathodes that may equip a cell of an aluminum smelter according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 20 is a schematic front view of a grooved cathode block that may equip a cell of an aluminum smelter according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 21 is a schematic top view of a grooved cathode block that may equip a cell of an aluminum smelter according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 3 shows an aluminum smelter 1 including a plurality of electrolytic cells 2 .
  • the electrolytic cells 2 can be rectangular, for example. They thus have two long sides 2 a corresponding to their length and two short sides 2 b corresponding to their width.
  • each cell 2 can be divided into a right side and a left side.
  • the left side and the right side are defined in relation to an observer located at the main electric circuit 4 and looking in the overall direction of the direction of the electrolysis current I 1 .
  • the long sides 2 a of each cell 2 can be divided into an upstream side and a downstream side.
  • the upstream side corresponds to the long side 2 a of a cell 2 adjacent to the preceding cell 2 , i.e. that through which the electrolysis current I 1 passes first.
  • the downstream side corresponds to the long side 2 a of a cell 2 adjacent to the next cell 2 , i.e. that through which the electrolysis current I 1 passes next. More generally speaking, upstream and downstream are defined in relation to the overall direction of the electrolysis current I 1 .
  • the cells 2 are aligned along two parallel axes, so as to form a line F and a line F′.
  • Each line F, F′ may comprise, for example, a hundred or so cells 2 .
  • the lines F and F′ are connected electrically to each other in series.
  • the cells 2 are connected electrically to each other in series.
  • a series of cells 2 which may contain several files F, F′, is connected to its ends to a power substation 3 .
  • the electrolysis current I 1 passes through the cells 2 one after the other, defining a main electric circuit 4 .
  • the electrolytic cells 2 are arranged so that their long sides 2 a are perpendicular to their alignment axis.
  • the aluminum smelter 1 comprises two secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 separate from the main electric circuit 4 .
  • the strength of the electric currents I 2 and I 3 is between 20% and 100% of that of the strength of the electrolysis current I 1 and preferably between 40% and 70%, and more particularly in the order of half.
  • the direction of flow of electrical current I 2 and I 3 is advantageously the same as the direction of the flow of the electrolysis current I 1 .
  • the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 can both be connected to a power substation 20 and 21 respectively, separate from the power substation 3 , as can be seen for example in FIG. 15 or FIG. 16 .
  • the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 are formed by electrical conductors arranged parallel to the axes of alignment of the cells 2 . They run along the right and left sides of the electrolytic cells 2 of each line F, F′ of the series. The secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 can also pass, in whole or in part, under the electrolytic cells 2 .
  • cathode blocks 8 having a grooved upper face, as can be seen in FIGS. 17 to 21 .
  • the upper face of these cathode blocks 8 comprises at least one channel 8 a extending longitudinally over at least part of the length of the cathode blocks 8 .
  • the upper surface of the grooves is covered by the pad of aluminum and the channels 8 a are thus occupied by the pad 11 of aluminum that forms during the electrolysis reaction.
  • the height of the aluminum pad above the upper surface of the grooves is notably between 3 and 20 cm.
  • the grooves and channels 8 a make it possible to limit the movements of the pad of aluminum 11 during the electrolysis reaction and contribute to stability and to a better yield of the electrolytic cells 2 .
  • Each electrolytic cell 2 can contain a plurality of cathode blocks 8 placed next to each another.
  • channels 8 a on the upper face of one or more of these cathode blocks 8 it is possible to allow for an inclined upper face, such that the cathode blocks 8 placed next to one another form channels 8 b , as is represented schematically in FIG. 19 .
  • cathode blocks with a grooved upper face are notably known from patent document U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,559.
  • the upper face of these cathode blocks 8 having longitudinal channels 8 a may also comprise a transversal central channel 8 c , extending at least partially over the width of the cathode blocks 8 .
  • the central channel 8 c thus crosses the channel(s) 8 a extending at least partially over the length of the cathode blocks 8 .
  • the cathode block 8 comprises a central channel 8 c on its upper face arranged perpendicularly to the channels 8 a extending substantially parallel to the length of the cathode block 8 .
  • an electrolytic cell 2 comprises a metal pot shell 7 made of steel, for example.
  • the metal pot shell 7 has a side wall 7 a and a bottom 7 b . It is lined internally by refractory materials (non visible).
  • the electrolytic cell 2 also comprises a cathode formed of cathode blocks 8 made of carbonaceous material and anodes 9 also made of carbonaceous material.
  • the anodes 9 are designed to be consumed as the electrolysis reaction progresses in an electrolytic bath 13 notably comprising cryolite and alumina.
  • the anodes 9 are connected to a load bearing structure by rods 10 .
  • a pad of liquid aluminum 11 forms during the electrolysis reaction.
  • the cathode comprises cathode sorties 12 passing through the pot shell 7 .
  • the cathode outputs 12 are formed, for example, by metal bars secured to cathode blocks 8 .
  • the cathode outputs 12 are themselves connected to electrical conductors 14 enabling the electrolysis current I 1 to be conveyed from the cathode outputs 12 of a cell N (the one on the left in FIG. 4 ) to the anodes 9 of a cell N+1 (the one on the right in FIG. 4 ).
  • the electrolysis current I 1 first passes through the anode 9 of cell N, then the electrolytic bath 13 , the pad of liquid aluminum 11 , the cathode, the cathode outputs 12 and the electrical conductors 14 that convey it toward the anode 9 of the next cell N+1.
  • the cathode outputs 12 advantageously pass through the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 .
  • This allows the horizontal electric currents to be reduced to improve the yield of the cells 2 .
  • the overall current density is reduced and thus the voltage drop.
  • the current lines tend to extend in a substantially rectilinear manner, and thus vertically in the aluminum pad as they do naturally between the anodes and the electrical conductors.
  • FIG. 7 shows the current lines passing through an electrolytic cell 2 . It is noted that the horizontal electric currents, particularly in the liquid aluminum pad 11 , are substantially reduced in relation to those in FIG. 2 .
  • the electrical conductors 14 extend in a rectilinear manner and parallel to the alignment axis of the electrolytic cells 2 from the cathode outputs 12 of the cell N in the direction of the cell N+1 so that the electrolysis current passes through them only in the upstream-downstream direction when the electrolytic cells 2 N, N+1 are in operation.
  • the upstream-downstream direction corresponds to the overall direction of flow of the electrolysis current I 1 .
  • the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 passing through the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 do not extend under the full width of the pot shell 7 of the cell N; an electrical conductor 14 does not pass completely through an electrolytic cell 2 under its pot shell 7 or on the sides. In particular, they do not pass through the plane containing the upstream side wall of the pot shell 7 of the cell N.
  • the rectilinear extension in the downstream direction only, parallel to the alignment axis of the electrolytic cells 2 , forms the shortest electrical path connecting a cathode output of the cell N, passing through the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 of this cell N, up to the anode 9 of the next cell N+1.
  • the electrolysis current I 1 passing through the cell N passes through the cathode outputs 12 then the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 .
  • the electrolysis current I 1 while passing through the electrical conductors 14 is conveyed in a straight line parallel to the alignment axis of the cells 2 in the direction of the next cell N+1. This notably saves energy.
  • this arrangement limits the overall dimensions near the electrolytic cells 2 . It thus becomes possible to reduce the center-to-center distance separating two adjacent cells 2 in order to increase the available space in the aluminum smelter 1 , for example to add two additional electrolytic cells 2 or to decrease the size of the buildings.
  • electrical conductors 14 extending in a rectilinear manner from one cell to another parallel to the alignment axis of the cells 2 , simplifies the structure of these electrical conductors 14 . Their modularity makes their fabrication more economical.
  • FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of an electrolytic cell 2 according to an embodiment of the invention, along line I-I and line II-II of FIG. 4 , respectively.
  • the pot shell 7 of a cell 2 is supported by a plurality of arches 15 .
  • the arches 15 are placed around the pot shell 7 .
  • the arches 15 are secured against the side wall 7 a and the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 . They are arranged parallel in relation to each other.
  • a space, bounded between two consecutive arches 15 is advantageously occupied by the electrical conductors 14 .
  • the electrical conductors 14 can connect the cathode outputs 12 in pairs.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the top of a cell N (to the left in FIG. 8 ), placed upstream, and a cell N+1 (to the right in FIG. 8 ), placed downstream, according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line III-III of FIG. 8 .
  • the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 arranged parallel to the short side 2 b of the electrolytic cells 2 , are visible.
  • the electrical conductors 14 will also be noted, under the pot shell 7 , which extend in a straight line in the direction of the cell N+1.
  • the arches 15 are noted, mounted on the side wall 7 b of the pot shell 7 of the cell N and between which the electrical conductors 14 extend.
  • the cathode outputs 12 can be aligned according to an axis parallel to the long sides 2 a of the electrolytic cell 2 , as is represented as dashed lines in FIG. 8 .
  • FIG. 10 schematically represents another embodiment of an aluminum smelter 1 according to the present invention.
  • FIGS. 11 and 12 represent a sectional view along lines IV-IV and V-V of FIG. 10 , respectively.
  • the electrolytic cells 2 have first cathode outputs 12 passing through the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 , while the second cathode outputs 12 , located downstream from the first cathode outputs 12 , pass through the downstream side wall 7 a of the pot shell 7 .
  • the electrolytic cells 2 of the aluminum smelter 1 according to this second embodiment thus have “mixed” cathode outputs 12 , as they pass through the bottom 7 b and the side wall 7 a.
  • This arrangement allows further savings to be made in terms of material, owing to the decreased length, and thus the weight, of the electrical conductors 14 .
  • the second cathode outputs 12 passing through the side wall 7 a can include an element made of a material that conducts electricity better, such as steel, notably copper, in the form of a plate 16 or an insert, for example.
  • the copper plate 16 placed on a steel bar allows, by its high electrical conductivity, to rebalance the voltages on the first cathode outputs 12 , passing through the bottom 7 b , and the second cathode outputs 12 , passing through the side wall 7 a , and thus to limit the horizontal electrical currents in the aluminum pad.
  • FIG. 13 schematically shows the top of a cell N, placed upstream (on the left in FIG. 13 ), and cell N+1, placed downstream (on the right in FIG. 13 ), of an aluminum smelter 1 according to the embodiment presented in FIG. 10 .
  • FIG. 14 is a sectional view along line VI-VI of FIG. 13 . As in the embodiment presented in FIG. 4 , the electrical conductors 14 extend between the arches 15 .
  • the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 are parallel to the axis of alignment of the cells 2 .
  • the aluminum smelter 1 can also advantageously include means to short circuit each cell 2 .
  • These short-circuiting means can include electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 , shown in FIGS. 4 , 8 , 10 and 13 .
  • the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 are arranged between two successive electrolytic cells 2 . In FIGS.
  • the electrical conductors 17 are placed in contact with the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 passing through the bottom 7 b of the pot shell 7 of the cell N+1, and at a distance from electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 of the cell N, so that a narrow space separates the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 of the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 of the cell N, as is notably shown in FIG. 10 .
  • the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 are designed to short circuit a cell N+1, for example in order to remove the latter for maintenance.
  • the distance between the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 and the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 of the cell N is thus filled by a block made of a conducting element (not represented) so as to conduct the electrolysis current I 1 from the cell N to the cell N+2 via this block, the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 and the electrical conductors 14 normally placed under the cell N+1 (i.e. the electrical conductors 14 connected to the cathode outputs 12 passing through the bottom 7 b of the shell 7 of the cell N+1 when it is in place).
  • the electrical short-circuiting conductors 17 may be made of aluminum. Given that the electrolysis current I 1 passes through them only occasionally during short-circuiting (for maintenance of a cell 2 , or at intervals of several years), they can be designed to work at the highest allowable current density, which allows their mass to be limited.
  • the electrical conductors forming the secondary electric circuits 5 and/or 6 can be made of a superconducting material.
  • These superconducting materials can, for example, contain BiSrCaCuO, YaBaCuO, known from patent applications WO2008011184, US20090247412 or even other materials known for their superconducting properties.
  • the superconducting materials are used to convey current with little or no loss through the generation of heat by the Joule effect, as their resistivity is zero when maintained below their critical temperature.
  • a superconducting cable comprises a central copper or aluminum core, ribbons or fibers made of a superconducting material, and a cryogenic envelope.
  • the cryogenic envelope can consist of a sleeve containing a cooling fluid, such as liquid nitrogen for example.
  • the cooling fluid maintains the superconducting materials at a temperature below their critical temperature, for example below 100 K (Kelvin), or between 4 K and 80 K.
  • the use of electrical conductors made of a superconducting material to form the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 is of particular interest owing to their length, in the order of a few kilometers.
  • the use of electrical conductors made of superconducting materials requires less voltage in relation to that required by electrical conductors made of aluminum or copper. It is thus possible to decrease the voltage from 30 V to 1 V. This represents a 75% to 99% decrease in energy consumption in relation to electrical conductors made of aluminum.
  • the cost of power substations 20 and 21 , of the secondary electric circuit 5 and the secondary electric circuit 6 respectively, is reduced accordingly.
  • the electrical conductors of the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 can be advantageously run along a line F of electrolytic cells 2 at least two times.
  • the small overall dimensions of the electrical conductors made of a superconducting material in relation to electrical conductors made of aluminum or copper facilitates the formation of several turns in series in the loops formed by the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 .
  • the electrical conductor of a circuit in a single cooling sleeve regardless of the number of turns made by this same conductor.
  • the sleeve can contain several passages of the same electrical conductor made of superconducting material.
  • the loop formed by the secondary electric circuits 5 and 6 contains several turns in series allows the strength of the electrical current I 2 , I 3 passing through the secondary electric circuit 5 and the secondary electric circuit 6 , respectively, to be divided (as many times as the number of turns made).
  • the decrease in the value of this current strength allows energy losses due to the Joule effect to be lowered at the junctions between the electrical conductors made of superconducting material and the poles of the power substations.
  • the decrease of the overall current strength with the electrical conductors made of superconducting material allows the power substations 20 and 21 to be reduced in size.
  • the power substation 20 or 21 of the secondary electric circuit 5 or the secondary electric circuit 6 comprising an electrical conductor made of superconducting material can deliver current in the order of 5 kA to 40 kA. This also allows conventional off-the-shelf and thus inexpensive equipment to be used.
  • the electrical conductors made of superconducting material can be placed under the electrolytic cells 2 .
  • the aluminum smelter 1 according to the invention has a set of characteristics, the combination of which contributes, by a synergy effect, to reducing the design, construction and operating costs of this aluminum smelter 1 , and to increasing its productivity.

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  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
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US14/232,145 2011-07-12 2012-07-10 Aluminum smelter including cells with cathode output at the bottom of the pot shell and cell stabilizing means Abandoned US20140138240A1 (en)

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FR11/02199 2011-07-12
FR1102199A FR2977898A1 (fr) 2011-07-12 2011-07-12 Aluminerie comprenant des cuves a sortie cathodique par le fond du caisson et des moyens de stabilisation des cuves
PCT/FR2012/000281 WO2013007892A2 (fr) 2011-07-12 2012-07-10 Aluminerie comprenant des cuves a sortie cathodique par le fond du caisson et des moyens de stabilisation des cuves

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Cited By (4)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20150284863A1 (en) * 2012-11-13 2015-10-08 United Company RUSAL Engineering and Technology Centre Lining for an aluminum electrolyzer having inert anodes
WO2016128824A1 (fr) * 2015-02-09 2016-08-18 Rio Tinto Alcan International Limited Aluminerie et procédé de compensation d'un champ magnétique créé par la circulation du courant d'électrolyse de cette aluminerie
DK179170B1 (en) * 2013-08-09 2018-01-02 Rio Tinto Alcan Int Ltd ALUMINUM MELTING SYSTEMS INCLUDING AN ELECTRIC EQUALITY CIRCUIT
US20180023206A1 (en) * 2015-02-13 2018-01-25 Norsk Hydro Asa An anode for use in an electrolysis process for production of aluminium in cells of hall-héroult type, and a method for making same

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RU2678624C1 (ru) * 2017-12-29 2019-01-30 Общество с ограниченной ответственностью "Объединенная Компания РУСАЛ Инженерно-технологический центр" Ошиновка модульная для серий алюминиевых электролизеров
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AU2012282372A1 (en) 2014-01-30
EP2732074A2 (fr) 2014-05-21
IN2014CN00885A (zh) 2015-04-03
EP2732074B1 (fr) 2017-11-29
BR112014000494A2 (pt) 2017-02-21
NO2732074T3 (zh) 2018-04-28
DK201370805A (en) 2013-12-20
NZ619720A (en) 2014-09-26
CN103649376A (zh) 2014-03-19
WO2013007892A3 (fr) 2013-03-28
CN103649376B (zh) 2016-05-04
EA029022B1 (ru) 2018-01-31
EA201490257A1 (ru) 2014-04-30
AR087123A1 (es) 2014-02-12
CA2841297A1 (fr) 2013-01-17
FR2977898A1 (fr) 2013-01-18
WO2013007892A2 (fr) 2013-01-17

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