RUSAL announces the launch of lighter, more compact and efficient RA-550 pot

Leading global aluminium producer UC RUSAL has launched the first RA-550 pot of new generation running at over 550 kA at the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter.  The US$28 million project is expected to make the aluminium smelting process at RUSAL significantly energy-efficient.

An RA-550 cell consumes around 12 kW*h/kg of aluminium unlike the previous generations which would consume almost 10-15 per cent more metal. As per RUSAL’s design documents, the production capacity of each pot is 4.21 tonnes per day, twice the daily output of an RA-300 pot that is currently being used at SAZ. RUSAL has plans to use RA-550 for the modernization of current facilities as well as for constructing new smelters in the future.

RUSAL made sure that the RA-550 is way lighter, more compact and environmentally less harmful due to the design and technical improvements done on it. The aluminium maker expects the exhaust gas treatment efficiency will now reach 99 per cent as pot tending has been automated wherever it was possible. RUSAL has plans to start four more RA-550 pots at the pilot area at SAZ before the end of the year, and three more in 2017.

“The physical launch of RA-550 is genuinely a technical and engineering breakthrough,” said RUSAL Technical Director Victor Mann. “The start-up of this first pot confirms that with new technical solutions we managed to eliminate the previously existing limitations to continue increasing the pot amperage to beyond 1 MA. Also, their smaller size means we can install eight RA-550 pots within an area where only seven S-255 pots fitted in.”

RUSAL started developing the RA-550 technology two years ago and project was aimed at maximizing the use of equipment and materials produced domestically as part of the ongoing national import substitution programme. The key contractors engaged with the project included Russian Engineering Company, which not only manufactured and installed cathode shells and busbar but also set p the pilot area.

The start-up of the new pot marks an important milestone for the aluminium producer. The project involved state financing from the Industry Development Fund and the Ministry of Education and Science.

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