Study on the Inter-Electrode Process of Aluminum Electrolysis (Ⅱ)—Digital Analysis of the Anode Gas Distribution Patterns on the Anode Surface Using A See-Through Cell

The evolution behavior of anode gas during aluminum electrolysis has been a hot spot of research for energy saving and process control. In the present work, the bubble evolution behavior during aluminum electrolysis was investigated using a lab-scale see-though cell. The bubble evolution characters on an 11 cm2 (bottom surface area) flat anode, an 11 cm2 slotted anode, and a 50 cm2 flat anode were investigated with statistical analysis, respectively. The results showed that bubbles tended to generate and adhere to certain regions on the anode surface due to the heterogeneity of the carbon material, and the adhering regions moved when current density was increased. The anode slot lowered the actual current density on the anode significantly by reducing the anode bubble coverage. Influenced by the group effect of bubbles, the 50 cm2 flat anode behavior constituted a lower bubble coverage rate, lower average bubble size, and lower actual current density than the 11 cm2 flat anode.