RU2239006C1 - Device for delivery of loose materials to electrolyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: non-ferrous metallurgy; production of aluminum in electrolyzers at upper current supply to self-burnt anode.

SUBSTANCE: proposed device has bin secured to electrolyzer anode casing, valve-type volumetric proportioner connected with bin and located coaxially relative to proportioner; device is also provided with electrolyte scum punches equipped with rod and drive. Bin is secured to electrolyzer anode casing at spaced relation and is provided with box secured to its lower part and mounted at spaced relation to vertical wall of gas-collecting bell of electrolyzer. Rear wall of bin is provided with protective shield. Proportioner is made in form of tube whose volume may be regulated by means of changeable plates of various thickness which are secured to fins centering the rod relative to tube. Proportioner is provided with upper and lower valves; external edge of upper valve has bevels at the top and at the bottom. Loading neck of bin is provided with screen made in form of sleeve and lateral sides from neck of upper wall of bin are inclined. Box is made in form of bell-mouth.

EFFECT: enhanced operational reliability.

4 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to non-ferrous metallurgy, in particular to the production of aluminum on electrolyzers with a top current lead and a self-baking anode.

A device for feeding bulk materials into the electrolyzer according to the patent of the Russian Federation No. 2135644, class. C 25 C 3/14, 1998 (1). In a known electrolyzer containing an anode casing, a gas collection bell section with a vertical wall, a feed device consists of a hopper tightly attached to the anode casing, a volumetric valve-type doser connected to the hopper, and coaxially placed relative to the batcher of the electrolyte crust with a rod and driven. A device for supplying raw materials is connected to the gas collection bell through a transition chamber made with a hermetically sealed hatch, while the punch with a dispenser is equipped with a return spring. The top wall of the hopper is part of the anode area.

This cell is adopted as the closest analogue of the proposed technical solution.

A disadvantage of the known device is the following. The hopper attached by the back wall close to the anode casing has an insulating effect on the anode of the electrolyzer, the side surfaces of which are burned out, which negatively affects the process for producing aluminum.

Another disadvantage of this design is that the device for supplying bulk material with its lower part is connected with a gas collection bell, i.e. bulk material is fed into the bath through a pipe, which is part of the gas collection bell. This pipe differs from the bell in that it has not only a front wall, like a bell, but also a back wall, which is exposed to strong thermal stress and quickly burns out, as a result of which alumina clogs the duct, and anode gases having a high temperature pass through the transition the camera penetrate the hopper and disable the metering springs. The dispenser stops closing and spontaneous leakage of alumina occurs. On the other hand, the metering springs are affected not only by the heat of the gas stream, but also by the heat of the anode body, the casing of which fits snugly against the rear wall of the hopper.

The objective of this proposal is to increase the technical and economic indicators of the electrolyzer.

The technical result of the proposal is to increase the reliability of the device for feeding bulk material (alumina, fluoride salts and crushed electrolyte).

The technical result is achieved by the fact that in the device for feeding bulk materials into the electrolyzer, consisting of a hopper attached to the anode casing of the electrolyzer, a volumetric valve-type batcher connected to the hopper, and an electrolyte crust punch with a rod and a drive coaxially placed relative to the batcher, the hopper is attached to a gap to the anode casing and is equipped with a box attached to its lower part and installed with a gap to the vertically made wall of the gas collection bell, while the back wall b the unker is equipped with a protective screen, and the dispenser is made in the form of a pipe with the possibility of regulating its volume with interchangeable plates of various thicknesses attached to the ribs that center the rod relative to the pipe.

In addition, the technical result is achieved by:

- that the dispenser has upper and lower valves, and the outer edge of the upper valve of the dispenser is made with bevels above and below;

- that the loading neck of the hopper is provided with a grid in the form of a glass, and the sides of the neck are made inclined;

- that the box is made in the form of a bell.

The essence of the proposal is as follows. The main distinguishing feature of this proposal, ensuring the operability of the device for supplying bulk material - alumina, fluoride salts and crushed electrolyte (APG), is that this device is equipped with a box attached to the bottom of the hopper and installed with a gap to the vertically made wall of the gas collection bell. The box performs the same functions as the pipe of the closest analogue, with the only difference being that its rear wall is outside the bell and does not come into contact with it and therefore it does not burn out to the same extent as the pipe. Therefore, gases cannot penetrate into the dispenser and act on its springs.

On the other hand, securing the hopper with a gap to the anode casing provides not only a decrease in the insulation of the anode, but also reduces the thermal effect of the anode on the APG drive and the metering springs. The installation of a protective screen on the rear wall of the hopper also contributes to this.

The execution of the dispenser with the ability to adjust its volume with interchangeable plates of various thicknesses, attached to the ribs, centering the rod relative to the dispenser pipe, allows you to increase or decrease the amount of material supplied, because different electrolyzers and at different points in the bath, the dissolution rate of raw materials is not the same.

The common features of this proposal and the closest analogue are the following features. The presence of a hopper, a volumetric valve-type batcher connected to the hopper, and an electrolyte crust punch with a rod and a drive coaxially placed relative to the batcher.

The main difference is that the hopper of the device for supplying bulk material is attached with a gap to the anode casing to reduce insulation of the anode and is equipped with a box attached to its lower part and installed with a gap to the vertically made wall of the gas collection bell.

Another difference is that to reduce the thermal effect of the anode on the drive and the metering springs, the rear wall of the hopper is equipped with a protective screen.

Another difference is that the dispenser is made with the possibility of regulating its volume with interchangeable plates of various thicknesses, attached to the ribs that center the rod relative to the dispenser pipe.

Another difference is that the hopper neck is equipped with a net in the form of a glass for trapping foreign bodies, and the sides of the upper wall of the hopper are made inclined.

Another difference is that the outer edge of the top cover of the dispenser is made with bevels above and below.

Another difference is that the box is made in the form of a bell.

Given the above, it can be concluded that this proposal meets the condition of patentability “novelty”.

To compare the proposals with other well-known solutions, a search was carried out in patent and scientific and technical literature.

Known RF patent No. 2061797, class. C 25 C 3/14, 1993, “Device for powering an aluminum electrolyzer with alumina” (2). In the known device, as well as in the proposed, the camera with the punch made outside the bell gas collector and installed with a gap to it.

The difference in the proposed design lies in the fact that the camera attached to the hopper is fixed, and only the punch made in the form of a rod vertically mounted inside the camera is movable, while in the known embodiment, not only the punch made in the form of a horizontally mounted rod is movable and bunker (aka camera), as the punch is rigidly attached to the bottom of the hopper associated with the drive.

Known RF patent No. 2106433, class. C 25 C 3/06, 1995 (3). Known technical solution provides for the supply of bulk material to the molten surface of the electrolyte of an aluminum electrolyzer using a punch installed in the box. In this case, the box, as in the proposed embodiment, is installed outside the gas collection bell. The difference lies in the fact that the proposed solution provides for the installation of the box with a gap to the vertically made wall of the gas collection bell section, while in the known solution this wall is made obliquely.

The proposed technical solution is tested in an industrial environment. Given the above, we can conclude that it meets the eligibility conditions of “industrial applicability”.

The proposal is illustrated by drawings, where figure 1 shows a General view of the device, figure 2 - dispenser at the time of loading, figure 3 is a side view.

A device for supplying bulk materials to the electrolyzer, including the anode casing 1, a gas collection bell section with a vertically made wall 2, comprises a hopper 3, a volumetric valve-type batcher 4 connected to the hopper 3, and an electrolyte crust punch 5 with a rod 6 and coaxially placed relative to the batcher drive 7. The hopper 3 is attached to the anode casing 1 with a gap of 8 and is equipped with a box 9 attached to its lower part and installed with a gap of 10 to a vertically made wall 2 of the gas collecting bell section. Box 9 is made in the form of a bell. The rear wall of the hopper 3 is equipped with a protective screen 11.

The volumetric dispenser 4 is made in the form of a pipe 12 installed in the lower part of the hopper 3 and installed in it with the possibility of moving the hollow rod 13 with two shut-off valves - the upper 14 and lower 15, as well as the ribs 16, centering the rod 13 relative to the pipe 12. K a shell 17 is attached to the upper valve 14, equipped with a travel stop 18 from below, and a disk 19 from above. A spring 20 is installed outside the shell 17, which abuts against the disk 19 from above, and from the bottom to the support flange 21 attached to the hopper 3. The stem 13 is provided with a protrusion 22 at the top and set n movably inside the sleeve 17. The outer edge of the top flap 14 provided with bevels 23 - 24 and top - bottom.

The filler neck 25 of the hopper 3 is provided with a grid 26 in the form of a glass, and the sides of the neck 25 of the upper wall 27 of the hopper are made inclined.

The lower part of the hopper 3 is equipped with an inspection hatch 28, and the hopper itself is equipped with racks 29, with which it can be installed anywhere on the supporting part 30 of the anode casing 1.

The ribs 16, centering the rod 13 relative to the pipe 12 of the dispenser 4, are provided with holes for fastening the interchangeable plates of various thicknesses with bolts (not shown in the drawing).

The work of the proposed design of the cell is as follows. For example, four devices for supplying bulk material can be installed on each electrolyzer. In the initial position, when the punch 5 and the upper valve 14 of the dispenser 4 are in their highest position, the raw materials (for example, alumina, fluorine salts or crushed electrolyte) from the hopper 3 enters the pipe 12 of the dispenser 4. When a signal for switching on arrives, the actuator 7 moves the rod 13 down compressing the spring 20 by the disk 19 and reaching the protrusion 22 to the upper valve 14, lowers it to the “closed” position. At the same time, he opens the bottom valve 15. Thus, the raw material from the dispenser enters the box 9 and then with the punch 5 into the punched hole of the electrolyte crust. Further, the spring 20 helps the actuator 7 return the punch to its original position, as well as setting the lower valve 15 to the “closed” position, and the upper valve 14 to the “open” position.

The volume of the capacity of the dispenser 4 is calculated so that after pushing the raw materials into the hole of the crust of the electrolyte in the box 9 always remained a hill of alumina. This slide serves as an obstacle to the contact of the punch 5 with the electrolyte, on the one hand, and on the other hand, it serves as a shutter for the penetration of anode gases to the dispenser 4. The formation of an alumina slide above the hole in the electrolyte crust is facilitated by the implementation of the duct 9 in the form of a bell.

The implementation of the outer edge of the upper valve 14 with a bevel 23 on top helps to eliminate the alumina freezing on this edge, and the presence of a bevel 24 on the bottom helps to more completely fill the capacity of the dispenser 4, especially in those cases when caked materials are fed from the hopper to the dispenser. In addition, the presence of bevels contributes to loosening of raw materials at the bottom of the hopper.

The regulation of the volume issued by the dispenser 4 single servings of raw materials is carried out by interchangeable plates of various thicknesses.

The presence of a grid 26 in the form of a glass in the neck prevents the penetration of foreign bodies into the hopper.

The execution of the sides of the neck 25 of the upper wall 27 of the hopper inclined prevents the hanging of alumina and other bodies on it.

Industrial tests of the proposed design showed a sufficiently high reliability of the device for supplying raw materials to the electrolyzer, as well as reducing the crumbling of the lateral surface of the anode at the points of attachment of the hopper to the anode casing.

Claims (4)

1. A device for feeding bulk materials into the electrolyzer containing a hopper attached to the anode casing of the electrolyzer, a volumetric valve-type batcher connected to the hopper, and an electrolyte crust punch with a rod and a drive coaxially placed relative to the batcher, characterized in that the hopper is attached with a gap to the anode casing of the electrolyzer and is equipped with a box attached to its lower part and installed with a gap to the vertically made wall of the gas collecting bell of the electrolyzer, while the back wall Kera has a protective screen, and the dispenser is configured as a tube with the possibility of adjusting the volume of interchangeable plates of different thickness, attached to the ribs, a centering rod relative to the tube. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the dispenser has upper and lower valves, and the outer edge of the upper valve of the dispenser is made with bevels above and below. 3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the hopper neck is provided with a net in the form of a cup, and the sides of the neck of the upper wall of the hopper are made inclined. 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the box is made in the form of a bell.

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