Improvement of carbon anode quality in view of reducing energy consumption and environmental emissions in aluminum industry

从降低铝工业能耗和环境排放出发提高碳阳极质量

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05331
• 负责人: Kocaefe, Duygu
• 金额: $ 3.35万
• 依托单位: Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=738200
• 关键词: Improvement; carbon; anode; quality; view

The global objective is to improve anodes by developing new technologies, which are not yet used in industry, in view of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They are original and fundamental in nature. Project 1- Utilization of graphene in anode production: The energy consumption is a major part of the aluminum production cost. Improving anode quality decreases the cost, energy, carbon consumption, and GHG emissions. Graphene conducts electricity efficiently. It has been the subject of many innovations, but it was never used in anodes. Replacing a small part of coke with graphene could decrease the anode electrical resistivity, hence energy consumption. The study also aims to produce graphene from rejected anodes instead of graphite to add value to industrial rejects. This has never been done before. Project 2- Rheological behavior of anode paste: A new tool will be developed to understand the rheological behavior of anode paste and correlate this with anode properties. This will make the assessment of anode quality possible from the paste quality before anode production. It will also permit the determination of the optimum pitch quantity, which is currently adjusted by trial and error in plants. Project 3- Utilization of high softening-point pitch (HSPP) in anode making: The low softening-point pitches release volatiles containing PAHs during anode baking and increase the GHG emissions. HSPPs have lower volatile content, which would decrease the GHG emissions. However, the volatiles provide half of the energy needed for anode baking. A decrease in volatiles will increase the fuel requirement. The objective is to determine the impact of using HSPP on anode quality, cost, and GHG emissions. Project 4- Anode assembly without using cast iron: Anodes are paired with an anode assembly and installed in an electrolysis cell. The anode assembly consists of steel stubs that fit into anode holes, a crossbar that connects the stubs, and a rod that is attached to the crossbar. Hot cast iron at is poured into the space between the stubs and the anode carbon to hold them together. The electrical resistances of cell components affect energy consumption. In this project, a new anode assembly will be developed, which will eliminate the utilization of cast iron and hence anode/cast iron and cast iron/steel interface resistances, reducing the energy consumption. Also, the amount of anode butts produced will be reduced since a larger portion of the anodes can be used for the electrolysis.

全球目标是通过开发尚未用于工业的新技术来改进阳极，以减少能源消耗和温室气体排放。它们在本质上是原始的和根本的。 项目1-石墨烯在阳极生产中的利用：能源消耗是铝生产成本的主要部分。提高阳极质量可降低成本、能源、碳消耗和GHG排放。石墨烯可以有效地导电。它是许多创新的主题，但从未用于阳极。用石墨烯代替一小部分焦炭可以降低阳极电阻率，从而降低能耗。该研究还旨在从废弃阳极中生产石墨烯，而不是石墨，以增加工业废弃物的价值。这是前所未有的。 项目2-阳极糊的流变行为：将开发一种新的工具来了解阳极糊的流变行为，并将其与阳极性能相关联。这将使在阳极生产前从糊质量评估阳极质量成为可能。它还将允许确定最佳螺距量，目前在工厂中通过试验和错误来调整。 项目3-高软化点沥青（HSPP）在阳极制造中的利用：低软化点沥青在阳极焙烧过程中释放出含有多环芳烃的挥发物，增加了温室气体排放。HSPPs具有较低的挥发物含量，这将减少温室气体排放。然而，挥发物提供了阳极焙烧所需能量的一半。挥发物的减少将增加燃料需求。目的是确定使用HSPP对阳极质量、成本和GHG排放的影响。 项目4-不使用铸铁的阳极组件：阳极与阳极组件配对并安装在电解槽中。阳极组件由安装到阳极孔中的钢短柱、连接短柱的横杆和连接到横杆的杆组成。热铸铁被倒入短柱和阳极碳之间的空间，使它们结合在一起。电池组件的电阻影响能量消耗。在本项目中，将开发一种新的阳极组件，该组件将消除铸铁的使用，从而消除阳极/铸铁和铸铁/钢界面电阻，降低能耗。此外，由于阳极的较大部分可用于电解，因此产生的阳极残端的量将减少。