OREANDA-NEWS  On 12 December UC RUSAL, the world's largest producer of alumina and aluminium, announced an expansion of the RA-400 pilot area at the Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter to test several new RA-400T cells that will be used at the Taishet aluminium smelter, which is currently under construction. The RA-400T upgrade and operational testing programme has cost the company approximately USD 35 mln.

The RA-400Т has been designed by UC RUSAL’s Engineering and Technology Centre for the greenfield Taishet aluminium smelter whose construction is underway. This technology is an upgrade of the basic RA-400, which was first installed at the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter in 2005 and is now ready for mass use.

With its daily aluminium output of three tonnes, the RA-400T will become the most productive cell in the world's aluminium industry. The start-up of a new RA-400T cell does not require a power cut for the entire potline, which gives it a significant advantage. This innovative project took over two years and was a winning combination of the best engineering solutions, practical experience from previous projects (RA-300 and RA-400) and an analysis of similar foreign projects.

Compared with the RA-400, the new technology is less energy-intensive, has a lighter busbar and shorter cell-to-cell distance, which allows shop floor space to be saved inside a potroom. The modernised alumina point feeding system also has a longer service life and consumes less compressed air.

Tests on the new cells in Sayanogorsk will help the company's engineers assess their reliability, start-up methods and also train the staff to service these new cells before they are installed at the Taishet aluminium smelter.