Improvements of vibrated bulk density analysis at VM-CBA and petrocoque S.A

Abstract

Anodes for aluminum production are composed of coal tar pitch (CTP) and calcined petroleum coke (CPC). The anode composition depends on the reduction technology. For Søderberg anodes, as used by VM-CBA, the coke and pitch contents range from 67 to 79% and from 33 to 21%, respectively. Coke quality control includes sampling and analysis of chemical and physical properties. These tasks are associated with uncertainties, which may lead to wrong decisions. Since 2010, VM-CBA and Petrocoque S.A studied possibilities to reduce the standard deviation (STD) of the vibrated bulk density (VBD) analysis. The result of this work was a reduction of the difference between the VBD results of the two labs from 0.018 to 0.006 g/cm3.