Patent ID: 7470354
Filing Date: 2008-12-30
Classification: C25C

Abstract:
1. A method for electrolytic production of aluminum metal from an electrolyte including aluminum oxide, the method comprising: performing electrolysis in an electrowinning cell comprising at least one inert anode and at least one cathode, the at least one anode and the at least one cathode being arranged so as to face each other, wherein the at least one anode evolves oxygen gas and aluminum is discharged onto the at least one cathode during the electrolysis, the at least one cathode being substantially horizontal; and directing the oxygen gas to flow into grooves in an electroactive surface of the at least one anode so as to be drained away from an interpolar room, and so as to establish and enforce an electrolyte flow pattern between the at least one cathode and the at least one anode and over the at least one anode, wherein the grooves of the at least one anode define a plurality of anode teeth, each of the anode teeth having a V-shaped bottom surface which slopes from a center line of a respective anode tooth toward an adjacent groove, and wherein the grooves are sloped in a longitudinal direction of the grooves and away from the at least one cathode.