Discretised aluminium reduction cell model for simulation and control

As primary production of aluminium with the Hall-Heroult process is highly energy-intensive, there is a need to improve the process efficiency through better regulation of important process variables like the anode-cathode distance and concentration of alumina in the electrolyte. Dynamic aluminium reduction cell models can be used in simulation studies for the development of advanced controllers, but most models in the literature are lumped-parameter models with global process variables that do not capture local cell behaviour. As modern cells are increasing in size, spatial variations within the cell become significant. Process abnormalities can occur in a local region before propagating through the entire cell. Therefore, a discretised cell model is required for control development. This paper presents a two-dimensionally discretised cell thermal model derived from first principle equations. It is integrated with discretised alumina mass balance and cell voltage model to capture the coupling effects between the processes. This model is suitable for the development of advanced alumina feeding and cell thermal control.