Abstract
Potroom dust or particulates are major contributors to a smelter’s total environmental burden. A wider study on the environmental contribution of these particulates was conducted across multiple prebake smelters, part of which was to determine the composition and particle size distribution of this dust and its material sources. This has provided an understanding of the fate of particles within the potroom, after the point of emission. In general, anode cover material and feed alumina were found to be contributors of coarser dust that tends to settle on various surfaces in the potroom (floor, pot superstructures, rafters), thereby becoming a source of recirculating dust. In contrast, bath fume was found to be the dominant contributor to fines/ultrafines, from operations involving open cells and hot, fuming materials in the potroom. Such fines are fluoride-based, highly mobile and readily emitted from the potroom. Particles also tend to decrease in size at higher potroom elevations.
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Wong, D.S., Tjahyono, N.I., Hyland, M.M. (2014). The Nature of Particles and Fines in Potroom Dust. In: Grandfield, J. (eds) Light Metals 2014. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48144-9_94
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48144-9_94
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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