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1770027 
Book/Book Chapter 
Aluminium smelter hot cavity bath treatment processes 
Coulombe, P; Gaboury, A; Riverin, JF 
2007 
LIGHT METALS 
219-222 
English 
WOS:000247423900035 
Cavity cleaning during anode change generates a material
that consists of chunks of anode cover material and frozen cryolite melt. This material is
scooped and placed in bins for transport and further processing and recycling as fresh anode
cover material. Handling of the cavity bath material can be labour intensive and can generate
significant air emissions (particulate and gaseous fluorides). In a context of sustainable
development smelters must address this issue by ensuring that novel treatment processes are
incorporated into new plant design or retrofitted to existing facilities. This article reviews
typical processing methods in use in the industry and highlights a new process implemented at the
Alouette Smelter where cavity bath is processed as a hot material directly from the potlines,
sized, cooled and then processed in the existing cold bath treatment plant. Implementing this
system in a Brownfield facility imposed constraints for space, interfaces with operations and
ramp-up.