In the electrolytic aluminum production, changing the characteristics of the interface between carbonaceous cathode material and molten aluminum to achieve wetting of the carbon by the metal is desirable. Tests were performed in the laboratory and in industrial cells with cathode material containing boron oxide. When exposed to molten aluminum with a titanium content, wetting by the metal occurred, presumably due to in-situ formation of titanium diboride. The viability of applying this concept to improve the performance of aluminum production cells is being explored with the support of the Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies.
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