Constellation, le dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Résumé

Carbon anode, which carries the electricity and provides the carbon necessary for the electrochemical reaction in the electrolytic cell, is an essential component of the primary aluminum production. Energy efficiency and environmental impact are still the key issues in modern aluminum smelters; thus, it is important to control the quality of anodes which strongly influences the energy consumption and the greenhouse gas emissions. As the uniform current distribution appears to be one of the indicators of the anode quality, an experimental system has been developed to measure the current distribution in an anode. This article describes the measurement system used for laboratory anodes and presents the experimental results. The results are also compared with the electrical resistance distribution measurements in the anodes, and the comparison shows good agreement.