Industrial Experimental Study on High Efficiency Recovery Technology of Side Waste Heat in Aluminum Electrolytic Cells

In the context of the dual carbon strategy, efficient recyclingRecycling and utilization of waste heat from aluminum electrolysisAluminum electrolysis cellsCell is one of the implementation paths for the aluminum electrolysisAluminum electrolysis industry to achieve deep energyEnergy conservation and carbon reduction. In response to the technical bottleneck problem of difficult recoveryRecovery of waste heat on the side of aluminumAluminum electrolytic cellsCell, a dedicated heat exchanger for waste heat recoveryWaste heat recovery on the side of the electrolytic cellCell has been developed. The flow rate of the heat transferring medium in the heat exchanger has been optimized and controlled, and the heat extraction rate has been adjusted to ensure stable operationOperation of the electrolytic cellCell without affecting it. The radiant heat on the side of the electrolytic cellCell shell has been efficiently recovered. The technology was tested in an industrial scale on a 200 kA test cellCell. The results showed that the overall operationOperation of the aluminum electrolysisAluminum electrolysis cellCell waste heat recoveryWaste heat recovery system was stable and efficient, with an average heat recoveryRecovery of 77 734 kJ/h, equivalent to 21.59 kWh, 317 kWh per ton of aluminumAluminum, and a heat recovery efficiencyHeat recovery efficiency of 99.71%. The system has achieved stable, efficient, and precise regulation of heat recoveryRecovery within the range of 18.44–21.59 kWh, and can optimize and regulate the furnaceFurnace, which is conducive to the long-term, efficient, and stable production operationOperation of aluminum electrolysisAluminum electrolysis cellsCell.