Use of leaching cake from refractory lining of dismantled electrolysers in cement production

A hydrometallurgical technology has been proposed for processing the refractory part of the lining of aluminum production electrolysers dismantled and disabled for overhaul. Fluorine-containing compounds are transferred to the solution, which allows obtaining cryolite for being used in the electrolysis process. It is recommended to use solid residue from leaching (cake) with a minimum content of alkalis and fluorine as an additive to the mixture for cement production. According to the results of experiments on obtaining portland cement by traditional firing technology, the limiting content of alkali metal oxides (not higher than 4.5% by weight, calculated as Na₂O) in the leaching cake was determined, the optimum content of this additive in the charge is from 5 to 12% depending on chemical composition of lime used.

1. Grjotheim K., Welch В. Aluminium smelter technology. Dusseldorf: Aluminium Verlag; 1993, 260 р.

2. Solheim A., Skybakmoen E. The future of the Hall-Héroult technology. Tsvetnye metally i mineraly: sbоrnik dokladov X Mezhdunarodnogo kongressa = Non-ferrous metals & minerals: book of papers of the tenth international congress. 10–14 September 2018, Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk; 2018, р. 300-309. (In Russ.).

3. Burdonov A. E., Zelinskaya E. V., Gavrilenko L. V., Gavrilenko A. A. Investigation of substantial composition of alumina-bearing material of aluminium electrolysers for usage in primary aluminium technology. Tsvetnye metally. 2018;3:32-38. https://doi.org/10.17580/tsm.2018.03.05.

4. Zenkin E. Yu., Gavrilenko A. A., Nemchinova N. V. On «RUSAL Bratsk» JSC primary aluminum production waste recycling. Vestnik Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo tehnich-eskogo universiteta = Proceedings of Irkutsk State Tech-nical University. 2017;21(3):123-132. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21285/1814-3520-2017-3-123-132.

5. Malyshkin A. V., Rozhnev A. N. Processing of the aluminium electrolysis dust as a flotation waste. Tsvetnye metally i mineraly: sbоrnik dokladov X Mezhdunarodnogo kongressa = Non-ferrous metals & minerals: book of pa-pers of the tenth international congress. 10–14 September 2018, Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk; 2018, р. 468-472. (In Russ.).

6. Holywell G., Breault R. An overview of useful methods to treat, recover, or recycle spent potlining. JOM. 2013;65:1441-1451. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11837-013-0769-Y.

7. Patrin R. K., Bazhin V. Yu. Spent linings from aluminum cells as a raw material for the metallurgical, chemical, and construction industries. Metallurgist. 2014;58(7-8):625-629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11015-014-9967-2.

8. Sørlie M., Øye H. Cathodes in aluminium electrolysis. 3rd edition. Dusseldorf: Aluminium–Verlag; 2010. 662 р.

9. Yurkov A. Refractories for aluminum: electrolysis and the cast house. Cham; Heidelberg; New York; Dordrecht; London: Springer; 2015, 254 р. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11442-2.

10. Kaplan F. S., Aksel'rod L. M., Puchkelevich N. A., Yurkov A. L. On the choice of thermal insulation materials for aluminum electrolysis cells. Novye ogneupory = Re-fractories and Industrial Ceramics. 2003;10:26-33. (In Russ.).

11. Suvorov S. A., Skurihin V. V. High-temperature thermal insulation materials based on vermiculite. Novye ogneupory = Refractories and Industrial Ceramics. 2002;12:39-44. (In Russ.).

12. Kulikov B. P., Istomin S. P. Aluminum production waste treatment. Krasnoyarsk: OOO “Klassik Centr”; 2004, 480 р. (In Russ.).

13. Tschöpe K., Schoning Ch., Grande T. Autopsies of spent pot linings – a revised view. Light Metals. 2009:1085-1090.

14. Comov V. V., Nemchinova N. V., Pyavkina A. A. On disposal methods of aluminum production spent pot lining. Vestnik Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo tehnicheskogo uni-versiteta = Proceedings of Irkutsk State Technical University. 2015;5:155-161. (In Russ.).

15. Zhao Xia, Ma Lei. Hazardous waste treatment for spent pot liner. In: Earth and Environmental Science: IOP Conference Series. 2018;108(4):042023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/108/4/042023.

16. Bazhin V. Yu., Patrin R. K. Modern ways of processing waste refractory lining of an aluminum electrolyzer. Novye ogneupory = Refractories and Industrial Ceramics. 2011;2:39-42. (In Russ.).

17. Holywel G., Breault R. An overview of useful methods to treat, recover, or recycle spent potlining. JOM. 2013;65(11):1441-1451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-013-0769-y.

18. Somov V. V., Nemchinova N. V., Korepina N. A. Analytical methods of researching the aluminium electrolysis cell fulfilled lining samples. Zhurnal Sibirskogo federal'nogo universiteta. Tekhnika i tekhnologii = Journal of Siberian Federal University. Engineering & Technologies. 2017;10(5):607-612. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17516/1999-494X-2017-10-5-607-620.

19. Siljan O. J., Slagnes S., Sekkingstad A., Aarman S. Olivinе-based refractories in potlinings of aluminium electrolysis. Light Metals. 2004;405-411.

20. Proshkin A. V., Pingin V. V., Simakov D. A. Analysis of the lining of the RA-300 electrolyzer. Tsvetnye metally Sibiri: sbornik dokladov X Mezhdunarodnogo kongressa = Non-ferrous metals of Siberia: book of the reports. September 2007, Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk; 2007, р. 133-141. (In Russ.).

21. Silveira B. I., Dantas A. E., Blasquez J. E., Santos R. K. P. Characterization of inorganic fraction of spent potliners: evaluation of the cyanides and fluorides content. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2002;89(2-3):177-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3894(01)00303-X.

22. Bazhin V. Yu., Vlasov A. A., Patrin R. K. A utilization placer waste disposal of aluminium smelters. Bezopasnost' zhiznedeyatel'nosti. 2010;9:18-21. (In Russ.).

23. Baranov A. N., Morenko A. V., Gavrilenko L. V. Gav-rilenko А. А. Resource-saving processing technologies of salt slags on the bottom of aluminum electrolyzers. Rus-sian Journal of Non-ferrous Metals. 2011;52(4):357-359. https://doi.org/10.3103/S1067821211040031.

24. Harisov V. M., Bel'skij S. S. A mixture for smelting silicon. In: Pererabotka prirodnogo i tekhnogennogo syr'ya: sbornik nauchnyh trudov = Processing of natural and man-made raw materials: book of the scientific pa-pers. Irkutsk: Irkutsk National Research Technical Univer-sity; 2018, р. 40-44. (In Russ.).