Compositions suitable for use in an electrolytic cell for producing aluminum are provided. The compositions can contain a powder blend of boron oxide, a titanium dioxide, aluminum, and titanium diboride. The powder blend can be compacted into tiles and arranged as a cathode surface. The boron oxide and the titanium dioxide in the tiles can be made to react under low temperature molten aluminum to produce titanium diboride in situ. The reaction yields a dense dimensionally stable wettable cathode substrate that can reduce the power consumption in the aluminum electrowinning process.

A hanging bar for supporting an anode (10) without lugs which is formed by a first lower portion of the body (11) and a second upper hanging portion (12) which comprises: two elongated splints (15) having a width similar to said second upper hanging portion (12); two plastic spacer pieces (33) connecting the ends of said two splints (15) being each one of said two plastic spacer pieces (33) formed by a base (28) from which two pillars (20) emerge, leaving between both pillars (20) a central housing zone (34), wherein on said base (28) and between said pillars (20) there is a planar surface (31) and on the inner portion of said base (28) there is an inclined surface (30), two pivoting supports (17), being each one of them housed in the central housing (34) of said two plastic spacer pieces (33), wherein said pivoting supports (17) are formed by a straight piece (43) which finishes in one of its ends in a bushing (27) in the center of which has a first hole (39) which matches second holes (38) of said pillars (20) and third holes (40) of said elongated splints (15) in such a way that within the holes (38, 39, 40) a short axis (21) is housed wherein said pivoting supports (17) pivot; and a pair of pivoting lugs (16) which are supported by said pivoting supports (17) being each pivoting lug (16) formed by a first elongated portion (36) and a second short portion (37) integrally connected to each other at 90° providing an L shape wherein said first portion (36) has first toothed notches (26) and wherein said second short portion (37) has second toothed notches (25).

A hanging bar for supporting an anode (10) without lugs which is formed by a first lower portion of the body (11) and a second upper hanging portion (12) which comprises: two elongated splints (15) having a width similar to said second upper hanging portion (12); two plastic spacer pieces (33) connecting the ends of said two splints (15) being each one of said two plastic spacer pieces (33) formed by a base (28) from which two pillars (20) emerge, leaving between both pillars (20) a central housing zone (34), wherein on said base (28) and between said pillars (20) there is a planar surface (31) and on the inner portion of said base (28) there is an inclined surface (30), two pivoting supports (17), being each one of them housed in the central housing (34) of said two plastic spacer pieces (33), wherein said pivoting supports (17) are formed by a straight piece (43) which finishes in one of its ends in a bushing (27) in the center of which has a first hole (39) which matches second holes (38) of said pillars (20) and third holes (40) of said elongated splints (15) in such a way that within the holes (38, 39, 40) a short axis (21) is housed wherein said pivoting supports (17) pivot; and a pair of pivoting lugs (16) which are supported by said pivoting supports (17) being each pivoting lug (16) formed by a first elongated portion (36) and a second short portion (37) integrally connected to each other at 90° providing an L shape wherein said first portion (36) has first toothed notches (26) and wherein said second short portion (37) has second toothed notches (25).

A removable electrode module for engagement with an electrolysis chamber comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a suspension structure. The suspension structure comprises a suspension rod coupled to the first electrode. The second electrode is suspended or supported by the suspension structure, which comprises at least one electrically-insulating spacer element for retaining the second electrode in spatial separation from the first electrode.

A removable electrode module for engagement with an electrolysis chamber comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a suspension structure. The suspension structure comprises a suspension rod coupled to the first electrode. The second electrode is suspended or supported by the suspension structure, which comprises at least one electrically-insulating spacer element for retaining the second electrode in spatial separation from the first electrode.

An electrowinning system is provided that is capable of suppressing accumulation of a side reaction product on an anode and a rise of an electrolysis voltage caused thereby, and an electrowinning method is provided using the system. To solve this problem, the electrowinning system of the present invention applies predetermined electrolysis current between an anode and a cathode placed in an electrolyte, thereby depositing a desired metal on the cathode, in which the electrolyte is a sulfuric acid-based or chloride-based solution containing ions of the metal, and the anode has a catalytic layer, containing amorphous iridium oxide or amorphous ruthenium oxide, formed on a conductive substrate.

An electrowinning system is provided that is capable of suppressing accumulation of a side reaction product on an anode and a rise of an electrolysis voltage caused thereby, and an electrowinning method is provided using the system. To solve this problem, the electrowinning system of the present invention applies predetermined electrolysis current between an anode and a cathode placed in an electrolyte, thereby depositing a desired metal on the cathode, in which the electrolyte is a sulfuric acid-based or chloride-based solution containing ions of the metal, and the anode has a catalytic layer, containing amorphous iridium oxide or amorphous ruthenium oxide, formed on a conductive substrate.

The invention relates to an electrolytic cell (1) for the production of aluminium (2) including collector bars structure modifications (13,14,15,16) under the cathode (4), namely a copper collector bar held in a U-shaped profile or directly embedded into the cathode. This leads to an optimized current distribution in the liquid aluminium metal (2) and/or inside the carbon cathode allowing for operating the cell at lower voltage. The lower voltage results from either a lower anode to cathode distance (ACD), and/or to lower voltage drop inside the carbon cathode from liquid metal to the end of the collector bar.

An anode assembly is provided having a pair of channels; anodes in slidable communication with the channels; conduit to direct carrier gas to the anode; and conduit to remove reaction gas from the anode. Also provided is a method for continuously feeding anodes into a electrolytic bath, the method having the steps of stacking the anodes such that all of the anodes reside in the same plane and wherein the stack includes a bottom anode; contacting the bottom anode with the electrolytic bath for a time and at a current sufficient to cause the bottom anode to be consumed during an electrolytic process; using gravity to replace the bottom anode with other anodes defining the stack.

An anode assembly is provided having a pair of channels; anodes in slidable communication with the channels; conduit to direct carrier gas to the anode; and conduit to remove reaction gas from the anode. Also provided is a method for continuously feeding anodes into a electrolytic bath, the method having the steps of stacking the anodes such that all of the anodes reside in the same plane and wherein the stack includes a bottom anode; contacting the bottom anode with the electrolytic bath for a time and at a current sufficient to cause the bottom anode to be consumed during an electrolytic process; using gravity to replace the bottom anode with other anodes defining the stack.