Analysis of Energy Sustainability and Problems of Technological Process of Primary Aluminum Production

Yury Valeryevich Ilyushin and Egor Andreevich Boronko ()
Additional contact information
Yury Valeryevich Ilyushin: Faculty of Economics, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, 199106 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Egor Andreevich Boronko: Department of System Analysis and Control, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, 199106 Saint Petersburg, Russia

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-38

Abstract: This paper is devoted to the problem of magnetohydrodynamic stability (MHDS) in the energy-intensive process of primary aluminum production by electrolysis. Improving MHDS control is important because of the high costs and reduced efficiency caused by the instability of magnetic and current fields. In this work, a methodological analysis of modern theoretical and numerical methods for studying MHDS was carried out, and approaches to optimizing magnetic fields and control algorithms aimed at stabilizing the process and reducing energy costs were considered. This review identified key challenges and proposed promising directions, including the application of computational methods and artificial intelligence to monitor and control electrolysis in real time. In this paper, it was revealed that wave MHD instability at the metal–electrolyte phase boundary is a key physical obstacle to further reducing specific energy costs and increasing energy stability. The novelty of this paper lies in an integrated approach that combines modeling and practical recommendations. The purpose of this study is to systematically summarize scientific data, analyze the key physical factors affecting the energy stability of electrolyzers, and determine promising directions for their solution. The results of this study can be used to improve the energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of aluminum production.

Keywords: aluminum; electricity; metallurgy; electrolysis; electrolyzer; methodological analysis; magnetic field; magnetohydrodynamic stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2194/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2194/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2194-:d:1642473

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().