Sustainable Mining and Metallurgy

Regular furnace side is the key factor for aluminum reduction cells to achieve good economic indicators and long cell life. In the production process, the furnace side is eroded and damaged with the increase of cell age or due to poor management, which further affects the current efficiency of aluminum reduction cells and the safe production of aluminum reduction cells. In this paper, the feasibility of the regeneration of the electrolytic cell furnace side was analyzed from the aspects of the electrolyte system, the damage mechanism of the furnace side and the conditions for the establishment of the furnace side. Taking the electrolytic cell with unstable cell condition, thin furnace side or no furnace side as the test cell, the practical operation scheme was put forward, and the changes of the furnace side thickness, voltage, current efficiency and the temperature of the cooling hole in the whole cell before and after the furnace side regeneration were compared. After the regeneration of the furnace side, the average thickness of the furnace side A and B increased from the previous 3cm and 7cm to 9cm and 13cm, respectively, and an ideal furnace side was formed in the position where there was no furnace side before. The temperature of the cooling hole decreased, the operation of the electrolytic cell was gradually stable, the running voltage of the cell was obviously reduced, and the current efficiency was also improved.