Experimental Studies of the Impact of Anode Pre-heating

Heating New Anodes Using the Waste Heat of Anode Butts Establishing the Interface Thermal Contact Resistance

“…This may in turn permit the reduction of the ACD saving reducing even more the cell energy consumption. Trying to characterize this extra energy saving was outside the scope of the present study, although previous work has indicated a gain in current efficiency of up to 1% [5].…”

“…Moreover, the heating of the newly inserted anode comes at an energy premium of approximately 0.13 kWh/kg produced Al. The thermal issues arising due to anode change can be reduced by pre-heating the anodes, as demonstrated by Fortini et al [5], using induction, and Jassim et al [6], using a gas fired heating station. Evidently, the efficiency and availability of the heat source has to be assessed carefully so that the benefits from pre-heating are not negated by increased energy consumption.…”

An Overview of Opportunities for Waste Heat Recovery and Thermal Integration in the Primary Aluminum Industry

“…Experimental studies suggest that anode preheating to temperatures approaching 500°C at the anode bottom surface, and 200°C at the anode core, could reduce pot cell energy consumption by as much as 0.04 MWh per ton of aluminum produced, and increase current efficiency. 10 From baked anode properties, we estimate that this sort of preheating would require roughly 0.04 MWh per ton of aluminum, or 9700 MWh yearly. This is equivalent to 1.1 MW of continuous high-temperature heat.…”