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

Résumé

Carbon anodes are used in electrolytic production of aluminum. Good quality anodes decrease carbon and energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and increase anode production as well as anode life. Many factors such as quality of raw materials, anode recipe and operational parameters of different units (mixing, compacting and baking) affect anode properties, consequently, anode quality. One of the important anode properties is density. High density anodes have longer life and they have to be changed less often during the electrolysis. Too low or too high density is the indication of the presence of cracks and pores which increase the electrical resistivity, thus, energy required to produce the anodes. In this work, the evolution of anode structure (development of pores/cracks), consequently, anode properties (density, electrical resistivity) during baking was studied by stopping the anode baking at the intermediate temperatures and measuring the anode properties. In addition, an apparatus was developed for continuously monitoring the development of anode electrical resistivity during anode baking. This knowledge can be helpful for improving the anode quality.