Determination of metal inventory and current efficiency in commercial aluminum reduction cells

A method for the determination of the metal inventory in commercial aluminum reduction cells, based on radioisotope dilution, has been developed, employing a198Au tracer. By taking a large number of samples from the cells, the current efficiency is evaluated from the slope of the cumulative metal inventory vs time data. The method allows a determination of the current efficiency over a period of 2 to 3 days with a relative precision of approximately 1 pct. The paper gives a thorough discussion of the sources of error inherent in the procedure suggested.