UC Rusal starts bench tests of industrial cell on inert anode

Rusal has started bench tests of an industrial cell working on inert anodes. The tests are conducted in Krasnoyarsk.

The current strength makes up 3kA. The company developed a new construction of the electrolysis cell specially for the inert anodes.

If the tests are successful, in 2015 UC RUSAL will start industrial tests of the cells with inert anodes at the Krasnoyarsk aluminium plant (KrAZ). In 2017 the company can start using this technology at existing production sites, first of all,the Krasnoyarsk aluminium plant.

Currently aluiminum production is impossible without emissions of carbon dioxide and carbonic oxide as well as polyaromatic substances. The use of the inert anodes will help to provide 900 kilos of oxygen per ton of aluminium instead of these emissions. In the scale of a plant like KrAZ, this amount would increase to 900 thousand tons of oxygen per year. Besides, the burning rate of inert anodes during aluminium production is 300-400 times lower than that of traditional carbon anodes. Inert anodes are is consumed by 1.5-2 cm per year and carbon anode – by the same amount daily.

In June 2011 this project has become the participant of the Skolkovo fund. The planned co-financing with the fund of development and implementations of the inert anode aluminium production technology will make up 750 million RUR by 2015. Skolkovo has already provided the grand at the amount of 130 million RUR.

The technical Director of UC Rusal ,Viktor Mann noted, “The inert anode technology can make revolution in aluminium industry, as each stage of its development contributes to the technical progress. We hope to start implementation of this technology at our plants working under Soderbergh technology in the nearest 5 years”, the press service of Rusal reports.

Source: http://www.xakac.info/news/2013020628942

Translated by Alexandra Utyasheva