Spatial thermal condition in aluminum reduction cells under influences of electrolyte flow

• A model is developed to estimate the effect of electrolyte flow in aluminum cells.
• The model shows electrolyte flow has great effect on spatial electrolyte temperature.
• Local dynamics can be estimated in the model based on the proposed discretization.
• Process anomaly related to electrolyte flow can be pinpointed.

Electrolyte temperature and ledge thickness are two important variables in an aluminum reduction cell, which are often subject to local cell conditions, in particular, local convective heat transfer induced by electrolyte circulation even during normal operation. Understanding the spatial distribution of these two variables is important in the Hall Héroult process for effective alumina feeding to minimize process faults, and to maintain the material and energy balance, as they are coupled via the existence of the ledge layer. In this study, a three-dimensional dynamic model is developed to estimate the spatial cell thermal conditions, and the resulting ledge profile, by mapping a steady state electrolyte flow in the proposed discretized domain. This modeling approach allows the model to be expanded such that different process dynamics can be captured to achieve better estimation, where spatial information can be used to optimize cell operation.

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