Light Metals 2009 Edited by: Geoff Bearne

TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society), 2009

The Hamburg Smelter A Study of the Cathode Performance

1

Till Reek1
TRIMET ALUMINUM AG, Niederlassung Hamburg, Dradenauer Hauptdeich 15, 21129 Hamburg, Germany
Keywords: Dry Start, Cathode Performance, Cathode Restart, Cathode Quality
All equipment on site had been idle for about one year. As the
most likely future of the plant had been a relocation of all assets,
dismantling work had started. Of the 270 cells, 121 linings had
already been broken out. Fortunately, the directive had been to
start with the oldest cells first, instead of clearing the potlines
sequentially.
As the lining materials including cathodes for seven pots was
still on site, the decision was made to use these sets to construct
the first pots to be taken into operation, before a restart of old
linings was to be done.
The work necessary and the method developed to dry-start the
smelter was detailed in last years paper Successful dry-start of
the Hamburg smelter.

Abstract
In December 2005 the Hamburg aluminum smelter was shut
down. At the end of 2006, TRIMET ALUMINUM AG was able
to purchase the assets and successfully restarted the potlines in
2007. In December 2007 the plant was operating at full capacity
again, after facing serious supply limitation of pot lining materials
throughout the year. To be able to reach full production at record
time, unproven Eastern European and Chinese cathodes had to be
acquired. Until August 2008 45 pots with Eastern European
cathodes and 46 pots with Chinese cathodes were started. In
addition to these, 149 old linings that had been idle for more than
one year were restarted. This paper highlights operational
experience with these different groups of pots and describes the
success story of the first year of operation after the restart without
losing a single pot.

Supply situation before restart

At the time the deal was made, the cathode market was not as
tight as it is today. However the available production capacity of
proven suppliers in 2007 was not enough to provide cathode
material for 121 pots on short notice. Several measures were taken
to enable a timely relining and subsequent start-up of the pots.
Firstly, existing contracts for cathodes purchased for the Essen
plant were swapped to suit the Hamburg dimensions. In addition
all proven suppliers were asked if they have any spare capacity.
30 pot sets of cathodes were sourced through these actions.
In addition with 7 sets still remaining from former stock, this left
a deficit of 64 pots or 896 blocks.
This did not account for any pot failures that might occur during
or shortly after restart. An estimation on the number of pot
failures was very difficult to make. The pots had been idle for
over one year and had seen two winters. Cleaning of individual
cathodes had shown cracks due to shrinkage as well as a varying
degree of cathode erosion. Research on restarted cathodes lead to
the assumption that 20% of the restarted pots would fail within the
first year of operation. This would increase the deficit by another
30 pots or 420 blocks.
Pot turnover for the following year 2008 was estimated with
another 30 pots. This cathodes could be partially placed with
proven suppliers as there was still enough production capacity
available.
To cover the deficit, suppliers which had not delivered to
TRIMET yet were approached. In China, one supplier offered
100% graphite cathodes with the first delivery in April 2007
only 4 month from of the inquiry. Due to this short delivery time,
48 pot sets of 100% graphite cathodes were ordered from China to
be delivered between April and October.

Introduction
The plant formerly kown as Hamburger Aluminium Werke
HAW consists of two potlines with Reynolds P19 side-by-side
pots with 270 pots in total. The pots were refitted to poor-mans
point feeder technology and magnetically compensated with two
side risers during the 90s.
In 2005 the then-time owners agreed mutually that it was not
feasible to produce primary aluminium in Germany and the plant
was shut down in December 2005. The future of the facilities was
highly contested in the following year. Several parties expressed
their interest in acquiring the assets to either relocate them or
restart them on site.
In November 2006, TRIMET ALUMINIUM AG, owner and
operator of the aluminum plant in Essen, Germany, finally
reached agreements with the former owners of the plant as well as
the city of Hamburg who holds rights over the land the plant is
built on. On December 1st the keys were handed over and
TRIMET started preparations immediate for the restart of the
smelter.

As it was not possible to source additional 100% graphite quality

in a time frame useful for the immediate start up, the decision was
made to cover 58 pot sets in a 30% graphite quality from an
Eastern European source.
For the end of 2007, deliveries from a supplier in Japan were
accepted together with further lots from proven suppliers to cover
remaining shortages as well as to build a stock for 2008.

Picture 1: Aerial view of TRIMET ALUMINIUM AG, Hamburg

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Condition of shut down cathodes

Potholes vs potage

In total 149 linings were remaining intact when TRIMET took

hold of the assets. Time in operation before shut down was in
average 758 days, the minimum being 113 days and the maximum
was 1506 days. The distribution is shown in Figure 1. All
cathodes were considered suitable for a restart.

No of potholes

25

number of pots

Age Distribution of pot linings

20
15
10
5
0
0

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

500

1000

1500

Days in operation

Figure 2: Number of Potholes vs Potage

Metal penetration into the large joint as well as potholes filled
with metal were recorded. The overall evenness of the cathode
was classified in three categories even, uneven and extreme
uneven. Metal inclusions in the contact area where Anodes would
be set for electrical preheating as well as extreme unevenness
were reason the pot had to be preheated using gas burners instead
of a classical electrical preheat.
Of the 149 cathodes 66 were suitable for electrical preheating, and
83 had to be restarted using gas. Clearly, the linings for electrical
preheating were younger in average with an average time of
operation of 670 days, while the average time in operation for the
gas preheat was 828 days. The standard deviation for both
distributions is similar with 361 days to 399 days respectively.

< 200 < 400 < 600 < 800 < 1000 < 1200 < 1400 < 1600
Pot age [days]

Figure 1: Age distribution of shut down cathodes

All of these cathodes were cleared from bath material and metal
remaining in the pot using manual pneumatic hammers as well as
a small hydraulic excavator. After cleaning, each cathode was
inspected for damages and the overall condition was assessed.
The damages documented most often were cracks along the small
joints between individual cathode blocks. As these cracks were
neither penetrated with bath nor metal, they were classified as
cooling cracks.
Next were potholes on various locations, but most often slightly
off center of the downstream side of the pots. The area is the
border to the largest metal eddy where no clear flow direction of
the metal is established. The metal flow pattern is shown in
Picture 2. The area where most of the potholes occurred is
marked.
Potholes occurred in varying sizes. Younger cells showed a
tendency to fewer potholes, but a clear relation between number
and size of potholes and pot age couldnt be detected as is shown
in Figure 2.

There was no distinction between different cathode qualities

regarding the feasibility for electrical restart. With 50 pots of the
100% graphite quality from supplier A and 64 pots of the 30%
graphite quality from supplier B, both reference groups reflect
more than 75% of the restated cathodes. Both groups showed a
similar age distribution with 759 days to 739 days respectively. Of
the 30% graphite quality, 44% were suitable for electrical restart
compared to 42% of the 100% graphite quality.
Development of cathode voltage drop of restarted Cathodes

X [m]

To estimate the impact of the restart, the cathode voltage drop was
measured and the 6-month average before shut down was
compared to the 6-month average after the restart. The results are
shown in Figure 3. For most pots, no negative impact was
recorded. On the contrary, 55% of the pots show a decrease in
CVD up to as much as 116 mV. Only 15 % of the pots were
measured with an increased CVD.

Percentage of pots

Delta in CVD before shut down and after

restart

Picture 2: Metal flow pattern within the pot. The area with
maximum number of potholes it marked.

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

-125 -100 -75 -50 -25

25

50

75 100

Differenz in CVD [mv]

Figure 3: Difference in CVD before shut down and after Restart

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To determine the severity of the defects, the cathode block with

the most visible defects was broken into 8 pieces. The assumption
was made, that inclusions would be weaknesses in the structure of
the cathode block and thus cracks were more likely to occur at this
locations. As no further inclusions were visible on the crack
surfaces, the defects were judged to be of only medium severity.
There were no other cathodes available anyway, relining started
immediately using this cathode blocks. During casting,
construction and start-up no abnormal behavior was evident.

Devolpment of CVD
480

30 %
before
shutdown
30 %
restart

460

CVD [mV]

440
420
400

100 %
before
shutdown
100 %
restart

380
360
340
300

Laboratory analysis was done on these cathodes. Test results

showed, that physical properties such as sodium expansion as well
as resistivity were more similar to a 30% graphite block of
standard quality. The chemical analysis revealed a composition
including 10 % pet coke as well as a small portion of anthracite.

< 100
< 200
< 300
< 400
< 500
< 600
< 700
< 800
< 900
< 1000
< 1100
< 1200
< 1300
< 1400
< 1500
< 1600
< 1700
< 1800
< 1900
< 2000

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Pot age [days]

Figure 4: Development of CVD data before and after restart of

100% graphite blocks from supplier A and 30% graphite blocks
from supplier B

The following shipments of blocks were of an optically better

quality, as no inclusions were visible and flaking or chipping had
not occurred.

To track the long term development of the CVD, the CVD of all
pots within a certain range of age was averaged. The qualities
listed are again from one supplier per quality only.
The resulting curves are shown in Figure 4 and compared to data
collected before the shut-down.
Whereas the 100 % graphite cathodes run on a comparable level
before shut-down and after restart, a significant improvement was
recorded for the 30% graphite cathode blocks. Especially older
pots show a decrease in CVD, which remains stable on a
significantly lower level than before the shut-down.
The decrease in CVD is attributed to a complete removal of
bottom freeze and sludge.

In total 46 pots were relined during the restart using Chinese

100% graphite cathodes. As of October 1 2008, the oldest pot is
510 days in operation. No immediate problems occurred on pots
where these cathodes were installed.
Eastern European cathodes
The first delivery arrived in the beginning of July 2008. Due to a
preparation phase before starting potline 2 the first pot using these
cathodes was started on October 1, 2007.
The cathode blocks showed no visible defects and were of good
quality.
In total 45 pots were built using Eastern European 30% graphite
cathodes during the restart. The oldest cathode has seen 364 days
in operation so far. One pot is showing an increased iron content
of 0.3% since a pot age of 150 days. No problems occurred on the
other pots.

Material quality of new cathodes

Chinese cathodes
The first shipment of Chinese 100% graphite cathodes consisted
of 31 blocks and arrived in time at the end of March. Upon
unpacking the cathodes, surface damages were visible on the
majority of the cathode blocks. Mostly, surface inclusions of a
white loose powder were visible. On the same blocks sub-surface
inclusions had lead to flaking of the surface. A picture of parts
that chipped of the cathode blocks are shown in Picture 3.
Laboratory analysis categorized the white powder as alumina.

Cathode performance
For both cathode types, no special measures were taken during
construction. The standard Hamburg relining procedure was
followed, using an alumina insulation layer and a barrier brick
layer beneath the cathode. For all pots the bricks were supplied by
the same supplier. The ramming paste for all pots was from our
standard supplier.
All selected pots were preheated to 850C to 900C prior to
adding bath. Both electrical as well as gas preheat were used.
During electrical preheat the 30% graphite cathode showed a
much faster heat-up rate resulting in two days preheating time,
instead of three days.
Measurement pots were selected and measurements of the
cathodic current distribution were done weekly as well as
measurements of the cathodic voltage drop.
To evaluate the cathode performance during operation, the
development of these figures was investigated.
Development of the cathodic current distribution (CCD)
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the development of the standard
deviation of the cathodic current distribution for Chinese and
Eastern European cathodes respectively. Each graph shows the
individual development of three pots.

Picture 3: Flakes of cathode material covered with the material

from the inclusions

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Noticeable is a very high standard deviation for the Chinese

cathodes immediately after start-up. The standard deviation
lowers to a level of 400mV to 500mV within the first 100 days.
However after 300 days of age, the standard deviation starts to
increase to a level of up to 600mV again.

Development of cathodic voltage drop

The cathodic voltage drop is measured monthly on all pots in
operation to track general pot performance as well as to evaluate
performance trends for different cathode qualities. The
development of the new cathode types as well as both a 30%
graphite reference and a 100% graphite reference is shown in
Figure 7. For the reference curves data from both before shut
down and after restart are used. The Eastern European 30%
graphite cathodes show a significantly lower cathode voltage
drop, when compared to the reference 30% quality. At 300 days
of potage, there is a peak bringing the CVD to the same level
when compared to the reference quality. This peak coincidences
with a period of sludge formation in the pots. As the age
distribution of the Eastern European cathodes is extremely
narrow, its peak is clearly visible in that curve, but not in the 30%
graphite reference curve. As the sludge went back to normal
levels, the CVD dropped to extremely good values of about 350
mV again.

Standard dev [mV]

Chinese Cathodes
800
600
400
200
0
0

100

200

300

400

500

potage
For the Chinese 100% graphite cathodes, the measured CVD is on
a similar low level compared to the 100% graphite reference
quality. It is also showing a peak in the recent measurements.
Again, the visibility of this peak is due to a very narrow age
distribution. However, this peak can only partly be traced to
sludge formation. One main concern is that the period of sludge
formation has already passed, but the CVD has not returned to
previous levels yet.
Due to other measurements, such as the cathodic current
distribution, the average CVD is expected to return to levels
above the reference only.

Figure 5: Development of the standard deviation of the cathodic

current distribution over potage for 3 pots with 100% graphite
Chinese cathodes
The worsening in the CCD did not have a noticeable impact on
pot operation so far.
Two of the three measurement pots of the Eastern European
cathodes show an even and stable level of the standard deviation.
With 200 mV to 400 mV the overall level is significantly lower
compared to the Chinese cathodes.
The third measurement pot shows an increasing trend in the
standard deviation. This is the pot running on an increased iron
content mentioned before. The time where the increased iron
content appeared first correlates to the time where the standard
deviation increased as well.
Incidentally, this pot is the only pot of the measurement group
which was preheated using gas burners. This method was
introduced at the Hamburg smelter only for the restart as some
pots couldnt be preheated electrically due to cathode erosion.
When all old linings were in operation again, it was also used to
start new pots, to increase the overall speed of the start-up.

Development of CVD

CVD [mV]

460
440
420
400
380
360
340
320
300
< 50 < 200< 350 < 500 < 650 < 800 < 950< 1100< 1250< 1400< 1550< 1700
< 1850

Pot age
100%; Supplier A
30%; Supplier B

standard dev [mv]

Eastern European Cathodes

100%; Chinese supplier

30%; Eastern Europe Supplier

Figure 7: development of CVD over pot age for proven 100% and
30% Graphite blocks as well as new suppliers

800
600

Conclusions

400

Restarting old linings

149 old linings were successfully restarted, without any pot
failures. After cleaning the cathode surface from both bath as well
as metal left in the pot from shut down, pots could be preheated
using both electrical as well as gas preheat. Temperatures between
850C and 900C were reached before liquid bath was added to
the pots.
Damage to the cathodes was recorded and used to categorize if a
pot was suitable for electrical preheat. The main damage type
recorded was cooling cracks, followed by potholes. However the
occurrence could not be linked to pot age. Even though younger
pots displayed a lower likeliness for potholes, old linings were
recorded without any potholing.

200
0
0

100

200

300

400

500

potage
Figure 6: Development of the standard deviation of the cathodic
current distribution over potage for 3 pots with 30% graphite
Eastern European cathodes

350

Immediate damage to the cathodes resulting from the restart was

not detected as a very strict cleaning and preheating procedure
was applied. On the contrary, a significant improvement in
cathode voltage drop was determined for the overall pot
population. This is attributed to all sludge and bottom freeze being
completely removed from the cell before restart. However, the
long term effects of shutting down and restarting a pot still have to
be determined. Especially the effect on overall pot age cannot be
estimated.
New cathode qualities
During the restart of the Hamburg smelter, cathodes from two
unproven cathode sources were used in significant numbers. 91
pots were relined using these materials. No immediate issues with
both cathode qualities were registered.
45 pots were relined using Eastern European 30% graphite
cathode blocks. From visual inspection to the standard deviation
of the cathodic current distribution these blocks performed within
expectations. The development of the cathodic voltage drop was
above expectations.
The 100% graphite blocks sourced in China were visually as well
as in laboratory results inferior to comparable 100% graphite
cathode blocks. The first shipment showed surface inclusions of
alumina which had lead to chipping and flaking on the surface..
The following shipments appeared to be of better quality.The
physical properties were more similar to a 30% graphite cathode
block of proven quality In total and 46 pots were started using
100% graphite Chinese cathodes.
In operation, the Chinese cathodes performed within expectations
with regard to the cathode voltage drop development. However,
the long term development of CVD will have to be determined,
before a final remark can be made about their performance.
The standard deviation of the cathode voltage distribution shows a
significantly higher variation when compared to other qualities.
Other properties especially CVD are expected to be negatively
affected by this development.

351