Anode technology

Leading the way Experience, know-how, SCAP Rhodax®, Bi-Eirich processes

and high density anode and advanced baking furnace
technology account for our undisputed leadership in the
design and operation of paste plants and anode baking
furnaces worldwide.
Mozal smelter carbon plant, Mozambique (courtesy of BHP Billiton) / Cover photo: Sohar, Oman (courtesy of Sohar)

Our state-of-the-art anode technology Worldwide anode technology users

and know-how, along with our leading-edge kt/year Complete

anode plant
Baking
furnace
Furnace
retrofit
industrial experience, R&D programmes
Alba 1 84 1996
and partnerships, deliver benefits for Alba 2 84 2002
users worldwide. Alba 3 135 1992

Alba 5 169 2005

These benefits include unrivalled performance, low Almahdi 72 2008
investment costs, continuous process improvements,
as well as unprecedented reliability and speed during Alouette 1 125 1992
construction, commissioning and operation. Alouette 2 169 2004

Alro 135 2004

Our adaptable anode technology meets your needs, from
complete anode plant or baking furnace construction Aluar 184 2007
to plant retrofits. Our services include:
Dunkerque 125 1991
• Transfer of anode technology expertise through Egyptalum 173 2000
licensing agreements
Guizhou 66 1997
• Basic engineering of paste plant, baking furnace
and rodding shop Hillside 1, 2 270 1995

• Detailed design engineering packages for baking Hillside 3 70 2003

furnace refractory, insulation and concrete casing Kurri Kurri 100 2004

• Training at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Institut Paul Héroult Lauralco 125 1991

• Technical support during construction, commissioning Mozal 1 135 2000

and operation
Mozal 2 135 2003
• Lab analysis of raw materials, baked anodes and specific Nalco 2 105 2003
construction materials
Sohar 187 2008
• Pre-feasibility studies
Tomago 1 135 1983 2008

Tomago 2 90 1995

Tomago 3 83 2003

Zalco D 82 2003
Sohar showcases our industry leading
anode technology
• Revolutionary SCAP-Rhodax process ®
• Innovative Bi-Eirich mixing line
• Lowest baking furnace capital expenditure due to nine pits
per section
• Significantly reduced baking furnace energy consumption
• New fluewall and headwall designs ensuring refractory
stability with heat expansion
High HSE standards
Our commitment to health, safety and environment (HSE)
excellence is reflected in our process technologies. Our baking
furnace firing solution incorporates a comprehensive safety
system that complies with European standards and is readily
adapted to other world standards. This system controls the
combustion process and sub-systems, including the fuel and
power supply, fume ring main, fume treatment centre and
heating equipment. A thorough approach to risk analysis
allowed us to develop specific equipment and software, a fume
flow per fluewall line monitoring system, safety interlocks,
automatic safety procedures and safety-certified hardware (SIL 2).
Our advanced anode technology also includes bake processes
that minimise waste and reduce environmental impacts.
Thorough combustion of fuel and volatiles in the fluewalls
ensures low tar content in the fumes. Our worldwide expertise
and sophisticated modelling tools yielded a furnace design
that minimises energy consumption and lowers CO2 emissions.
A one-step dry fume treatment centre uses alumina to scrub
the fumes without solid or liquid by-product rejection.
Emissions performances
Total particulates < 5 mg/Nm3
Condensed tars < 2 mg/Nm3
Gaseous fluorides < 1 mg/Nm3
Specific flow rate < 4,500 Nm3/t
Sohar, baking furnace (courtesy of Sohar)
Green process
With many paste plants in operation and carbon research
facilities in three global regions, our focus on continuous
improvement includes developing and optimising green
processes to address the challenges of amperage creep and
declining raw material quality.
Our innovative approach and extensive experience in
green anode processes ensure you benefit from the best
basic engineering, including specifications, flow sheet
and technical assistance, to produce high density anodes.
SCAP-Rhodax®: a revolutionary process
Developed in conjunction with Solios Carbone at our
Dunkerque plant, this breakthrough paste plant process
results in an anode with improved density and high resistance
to thermal shock cracking. At the Alba and Sohar smelters,
licensees use our proven SCAP-Rhodax® process to:
• Produce an aggregate with a naturally high grain-to-sand
(G/S) ratio after the fines fraction addition
• Lower investment and maintenance costs due to the
need for just two fractions as opposed to four or more
on conventional preparation lines
The Bi-Eirich mixing line
The use of two Eirich continuous mixers provides an alternative
to conventional mixing processes, reducing investment and
maintenance costs while producing anodes with similar
characteristics. We have gained strong industrial experience
with this process at the Alucam (15 t/h) and Sohar (30 t/h)
smelters. At our Alma smelter, the use of a high throughput
Eirich mixer enables paste line capacities ranging from
30 t/h to 70 t/h.
High densification vibrating compactors with counter
pressure and vacuum
Our industrial experience at the Alma, Aluchemie, Boyne
Smelters and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne facilities enables us
to help you optimise your vibrating compactors to produce
high density anodes. These compactors enable increased
anode density by two to four points with the absence of cracking
(baked apparent density above 1.60 with typical coke quality).
SCAP Rhodax® an incredibly simple
and efficient process
Recycled
anode Coke
Rhodax
crusher
Sands
Grains
Grains separation Fines circuit and UF
> 300µ
< 300µ
Baking process In addition to the detailed design engineering for baking
furnace brickwork, our firing control system specifications
and technical assistance help lower fuel consumption
ABF design
and tar emissions as well as enable uniform temperature
We constantly strive to lower your investment and operating
distribution. Key innovations are:
costs through initiatives such as:
• Global and integrated safety functions with monitoring of
• High anode production capacity and low refractory mass
fume characteristics in each fluewall line, safety-certified
• 3D modelling to optimise fluewall design for flow and equipment and integrated safety management
temperature homogeneity, pressure drop and refractory
• Automatic control of draft, heating and blowing
deformation with heat expansion
• Gas and oil injection and continuous monitoring of
• New fluewall concepts
combustion including use of combustion analyser
Our advanced anode technology and know-how produce
tangible results:
Rodding shop and anode
• Low energy consumption • Homogenous level of baking
handling facilities
Fuel (oil/gas) 1.8-2.4 GJ/t Typical Lc average 30-33 Å

Packing coke 5-10 kg/t Standard deviation 1Å Our simulation modelling optimises the rodding shop
design (configuration, conveyor lengths, machine numbers
and trolleys) and anode handling equipment (furnace
• Average internal fluewall life currently over 150 baking
tending assemblies, auxiliary cranes and conveyor layouts
cycles (about seven to eight years) assuming efficient anode
from the furnace to the storage area). For an existing
butt cleaning in the rodding shop
operation, it enables the analysis and improvement of
rodding shop performance by reducing cycle time and
Furnace retrofit capabilities include anode size increases,
increasing reliability.
concrete casing (tub) modification and conversion of closed
furnace to open furnace design.

New fluewalls are prefabricated outside the furnace, which

facilitates fluewall replacement and avoids slowing down
furnace production during maintenance.
ABF firing control system
With numerous AP baking furnaces in operation and several
carbon research facilities across three continents, we
continuously improve the firing operation by developing
and optimising firing control system hardware and software
in collaboration with equipment suppliers.
Technical assistance
We also provide experienced technical assistance during
smelter start-up and operation.
• Green process optimisation leading to increased anode
density and improved thermal shock resistance with
high G/S ratio
• Baking process optimisation resulting in decreased gas
consumption and tar emissions and increased baking
homogeneity and fluewall life
• Control of carbon dust problems including raw material
specifications and baking process optimisation
• Raw material and anode manufacturing process
optimisation supported by our R&D programme

Our state-of-the-art anode technology is part

of the industry’s most comprehensive smelter
technology and services package.
Furnace thermal profile

Rio Tinto Alcan head office Technology sales department

1188 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec H3A 3G2
Canada
Telephone: +1 514 848 8000
Fax: +1 514 848 8115
Mailing address
PO Box 6090
Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7
Canada
725, rue Aristide Bergès
Centr’Alp - BP 7 -
38341 Voreppe Cedex
France
Telephone: +33 (0)4 76 57 80 00
Fax: +33 (0)4 76 56 61 10
Design and production: www.tmdesign.ca
www.riotintoalcan.com © Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited
www.ap-technology.com February 2009