The magnitude of the horizontal components of electrical current flowing through the aluminium on the cathode blocks of an electrolytic reduction cell are reduced by ensuring that the current transmitted decreases towards the edge of the electrolytic cell. This is achieved by making the contact resistance between the carbon lining and the cathode bars embedded in the carbon cathode blocks increase towards the edge of the cell. The result is that the tendency for the melt to bulge upwards and the consequent stirring effect, as is the case with known processes and apparatus, is considerably reduced.
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