Development of an inert ceramic anode to reduce energy consumption in magnesium production. Final Report

摘要

The objective of this work is to develop a dimensionally stable ceramic anode for production of magnesium metal in electrolytic cells, replacing the graphite anodes currently used by The Dow Chemical Company magnesium business. The work is based on compositional and design technology for a ceramic anode developed in the former Central Research Inorganic Laboratory. The approach selected is to use a ceramic semiconductor tube as the material to interface with the bath and gaseous atmosphere in the cell. The testing goal was to demonstrate six anodes surviving a 30 day test lifetime with acceptable wear rates and electrical performance in a laboratory scale magnesium cell test. State of the art slip casting techniques were used and advanced in the pursuit of a virtually flaw free ceramic anode shell. Novel core materials were also invented to allow for the complete, crack free fabrication of the laboratory scale anode. Two successive anodes were tested and exceeded the 30 day cell lifetime goal with excellent wear characteristics. More aggressive testing of the ceramic anode revealed that the anode had a rather narrow operating region.