Towards a design tool for self-heated cells producing liquid metal by electrolysis

Abstract

As part of an effort to assess the technical feasibility of producing metals by molten salt electrolysis, a design tool is under development for the purposes of estimating the threshold cell size and current for self-heating operation. To make the model broadly applicable to the production of different metals, two major issues must be addressed. First, accurate values of the heat transfer coefficient are required in order to model the position of the ledge. In the Hall-Héroult cell, the heat transfer coefficient is determined experimentally from industrial operation, an approach that is not possible for a cell that has never been built. Second, thorough treatment of transport phenomena in the cell involves solving the equations for liquid and gas flows simultaneously; however, the methods used to model the turbulent flows in the Hall-Héroult cell are usually not well coupled.