Abstract
When an aluminium reduction cell reaches end-of-life, the liners and cathode must be removed, the steel casing cleaned and then relined with fresh carbon cathode and refractory insulation material. The end-of-life materials are called spent pot lining (SPL) and the carbon rich fracture and the ceramic refractory materials are termed 1st cut and 2nd cut, respectively. In this work, a method for treating 1st cut SPL has been investigated, using heat and low pressure. The purpose is to produce a material fit for reuse. Experiments were performed at 1200-1300 °C and 10 mbar to atmospheric pressure and a filter collected condensates evaporating from SPL. Weight loss was not highly affected by varying the temperature between 1200-1300 °C, but the pressure during experiments was significant. Gas analysis was performed, and the condensates were investigated by XRD and XRF. An LCA study has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed post-life-treatment.