18 March 19:42
In Krasnoyarsk, RUSAL launched the world's first electrolyzer with inert anode technology instead of self-baking ones.
The company notes that the main difference of the new technology is the abandonment of carbon anodes. Traditional aluminum production is inevitably accompanied by CO₂ emissions, which are released during the combustion of carbon anodes.
The inert anode does not enter into chemical reactions, alumina decomposes into aluminum and pure oxygen, thus, a fundamentally new technology avoids greenhouse gas emissions. On the contrary, for every ton of aluminum produced using the new technology, about 900 kg of oxygen enters the atmosphere. There are no other emissions typical for the production of aluminum with carbon anodes.
“The company has been working towards this result for almost twenty years. From the first scientific research and collaboration with Moscow State University to the production of industrial aluminum of popular grades (A7 and P1020 according to the international classification) on an inert anode. RUSAL has already produced 6,000 tons of metal using the new technology and supplied it to clients from various industries. The project survived crises and skepticism, but in the end it proved: the technology works and is ready for scaling,” RUSAL representatives note.
The ability to replace EcoSoderberg technology with inert anodes significantly expands the prospects of this invention.
“Replacing EcoSoderberg with inert anode technology is a breakthrough decision for our company. It combines modern science and industrial efficiency. We are developing and beginning to implement technologies that form the basis of the aluminum industry of the future,” said RUSAL technical director Victor Mann.
The company notes that the choice of site was not accidental. It was at the Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelter that the industrial introduction of the inert anode began. First – in baths where previously pre-baked carbon anodes were used, and now in baths where metal was smelted using the Soderberg technology – the most common in industry enterprises built in Soviet times.
The industrial implementation of inert anode technology opens the way to a fundamentally new model of aluminum production. They plan to scale up the technology and integrate it into existing production facilities. This opens up the possibility for future modernization of much of Russian aluminum production, since EcoSoderberg is home to the largest domestic smelters.
