Abstract
Impurities in the electrolyte of an aluminum reduction cell are known to affect current efficiency and other aspects of potroom operation. Traces of phosphorus and sulfur are generally present in the cells and their behavior is of interest due to their known adverse effect on the process of aluminum production In this study, data analysis was performed on the phosphorus concentration and different process parameters registered during the three years of daily measurements at the Alcoa Fjarðaál smelter. Experimental samples taken during power outages were also collected and analyzed for the sulfur and phosphorus concentrations in the bath.
High bath height was found to be correlated with higher phosphorus concentration in the metal. Moreover, there is a very strong negative correlation between superheat and phosphorus in the metal. Elemental analysis shows an increase of the phosphorus and sulfur concentration during power outages.
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Meirbekova, R., Haarberg, G.M., Thonstad, J., Ziegler, D.P., Brynjarsson, J., Saevarsdottir, G. (2015). Effect of Operational Parameters on the Behavior of Phosphorus and Sulfur in Aluminum Reduction. In: Hyland, M. (eds) Light Metals 2015. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48248-4_93
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48248-4_93
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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