Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), UAE, announced that its Technology Development & Transfer department has successfully filed a patent application on September 2015 regarding a removable hinged grating for easy access to the outer shell of electrolytic cells, facilitating safer inspection and measurements as well as natural cooling and temporary forced cooling during cell start-up. The invention relates to the way in which operators and maintenance inspectors access functional elements of the smelter potline in order to monitor certain parameters related to the operation of the cell, such as potshell outer surface temperatures or voltage drops of cathode connections.
In the previous arrangement, access to the intercalary space between the potshells is closed by a heavy top structure (a slab) that requires the use of a machine or crane to be removed, explained Mark Jordan, lead engineer – R&D, Technology Development & Transfer. The space between the potshell and the slab was fitted with a grating for worker safety and to allow air heated by thermal contact with the potshell to move upwards, thereby cooling the potshell by natural convection. The intercalary space was accessed through the grating using rod-shaped probes through a narrow aperture – a task that is often difficult.
Working alongside Jordan were Mahmood Abdulmalik, senior manager, Technology Engineering, and Syed Fiaz Ahmed, engineer I – R&D, Technology Development & Transfer. This cross-functional Technology Development team, which comprised representatives of the engineering, operations, process, and maintenance departments at EGA, began to assess the particular drawbacks of this top cover arrangement. Focal points included the lack of convenient and quick access to the inner volume of the intercalary space during routine operations, maintenance and inspections, or in case of emergencies.
“Our objective was to devise an economical way of redesigning the grating adjacent to the top slab in order to improve access into the intercalary space, while meeting all the requirements of electrical insulation and worker safety,” explains Jordan. “Our team developed a simple, yet novel, type of hinged grating that allows workers to use a rotation axis to lift the grating – thereby creating more substantial access to the space below while also contributing to greater cooling by convection.”
The use of the hinged grating on the top cover design, implemented across EGA Reduction Technologies, has already yielded measurable operating cost reductions and increased productivity at EGA. The patent application filing for the new invention, developed at EGA Jebel Ali (DUBAL), was achieved with the support of Takamul – an innovation protection support program developed and operated by the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee. The company believes that this new technology will set the industry benchmark for utilization in this type of plant.