Quantification of sodium present in dry aggregates and anodes

In aluminum industry, it is important to determine the concentration of contaminants present in anode raw materials as rapidly as possible in order to adjust the anode recipe. Sodium, which is an impurity coming largely from anode butts, significantly influences the anode reactivity, and an increase in its concentration increases the anode consumption. A simple and inexpensive method was developed to quantify the sodium content in dry aggregates and anodes without grinding the samples. The method is based on potentiometric principles using a sodium-ion specific electrode. A sample can be analyzed easily within thirty minutes. In order to prevent the rapid degradation of the specific electrode due to experimental conditions, sodium is extracted from samples by electrophoresis prior to the test. The comparison shows that the measured sodium concentrations obtained are similar to the results determined by other test methods