Wettable Ceramic-Based Drained Cathode Technology for Aluminum Electrolysis

The goal of the project was to develop the ceramic based materials, technology, and necessary engineering packages to retrofit existing aluminum reduction cells in order to reduce energy consumption required for making primary aluminum. The ceramic materials would be used in a drained cathode configuration which would provide a stable, molten aluminum wetted cathode surface, allowing the reduction of the anode-cathode distance, thereby reducing the energy consumption. This multi-tasked project was divided into three major tasks: (1) Manufacturing and laboratory scale testing/evaluation of the ceramic materials, (2) Pilot scale testing of qualified compositions from the first task, and (3) Designing, retrofitting, and testing the ceramic materials in industrial cells at Kaiser Mead plant in Spokane, Washington. Specific description of these major tasks can be found in Appendix A - Project Scope. Due to the power situation in the northwest, the Mead facility was closed, thus preventing the industrial cell testing

Pilot demonstration of cerium oxide coated anodes

Cu cermet anodes were tested for 213 to 614 hours with an in-situ deposited CEROX coating in a pilot cell operated by Reynolds Manufacturing Technology Laboratory. At high bath ratio ([approximately]1.5) and low current density (0.5 A/cm[sup 2]), a [ge]1 mm thick dense CEROX coating was deposited on the anodes. At lower bath ratios and higher current density, the CEROX coating was thinner and less dense, but no change in corrosion rate was noted. Regions of low current density on the anodes and sides adjacent to the carbon anode sometimes had thin or absent CEROX coatings. Problems with cracking and oxidation of the cermet substrates led to higher corrosion rates in a pilot cell than would be anticipated from lab scale results