THE MANUFACTURE OF CONTINUOUS SMELTING ELECTRODES FROM CARBON-PASTE BRIQUETTES

Continuously consumed electrodes are used in the manufacture of ferro alloys, aluminium, silicon metal and calcium carbide. The raw material for the electrodes is a carbon paste which is normally added to the e lectrode in large solid sections. The option of manufacturing such ele ctrodes from small paste 'briquettes' is examined with respect to an i ndustrial experiment used to predict the quality of a briquette-formed electrode. It is shown that successful predictive models may be formu lated using a two-phase slow-flow approach. Consideration is also give n to the briquette manufacture of Persson and Bruff electrodes, two di fferent commercially important devices for the production of silicon.