| Electric Siphon Tube Heater for Aluminium Tapping Crucibles |
ALTECH Ltd., of Reykjavik, Iceland has developed a novel siphon tube heater for primary aluminium smelters using electric induction technology. 
All aluminium smelters use siphon tubes to tap
molten metal from electrolytic cells in the Potrooms. The tapping
crucibles which collect the metal are transported between cells either by
crane or specialist vehicle. All smelters experience problems with
plugging of cold siphon tubes, particularly at shift change, or when new
tubes are installed. Removing the plugs and cleaning of the tubes is
tiresome, time consuming and dangerous.
Preheating the siphon tubes to around 600°C prior to insertion in the cells alleviates the problem of plugging. ALTECH has developed an electric induction heater for siphon tubes. Preheat time is about 20 minutes for heating one metre of tube to 600°C using a 50 kW, 3 kHz power inverter. A longer length of siphon tube may be heated with a corresponding increase in the preheat time. Where a plug has to be cleared from a siphon tube, the heating time is simply extended until the tube temperature approaches 1.000°C. The movable coil travels up and down the tube using an electrically driven chain hoist. Heating time and coil travel speed is programmed in the PLC control system. An insulating cover minimises heat loss during the preheat operation. Source: Altech Ltd |
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