DEVELOPMENT OF THE AP39: THE NEW FLAGSHIP OF AP TECHNOLOGY

摘要

A new milestone has been achieved with AP30 technology. Dur-rning the summer of 2009, the AP39 cell was fully demonstrated at Saint-Jean de Maurienne (France). This new cell combines very high productivity (at 385 kA) with a high level of process per-rnformance (anode effect frequency, current efficiency and energy consumption) and has the potential to go beyond 400 kA. After the modelling and design phase, three years of testing have led to the development of a reliable cell with appropriate process control parameters. Several measurement campaigns have confirmed the cell thermal, electrical and MHD equilibrium. However, in order to achieve world-class performance, the process from pre-rnfeasibility study to start-up and operation must be highly efficient. Along with the AP39 technology results, this paper describes the comprehensive support provided to smelter projects throughout the world and the latest smelter project performance levels ob-rntained.