News El 6 Chelyabinsk
Unique anodes by EPM Group for magnesium electrolyzers go to serial production
Moscow, July 6, 2020: Graphite anodes with special treatment for magnesium production by EPM Group undergo a three-year testing cycle at AVISMA (a branch of VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation PJSC) and are going to serial production.
A highly efficient technology was employed in the production of anodes to protect the material from oxidation for the entire period of product operation.
This technology has been developed jointly by the EPM Group's Research and Development Center, Doncarb Graphite (Novocherkassk), St. Petersburg Mining University with the participation of VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation PJSC.
"Anodes used for the electrolysis of magnesium are new products for EPM, it is one-of-a-kind in Russia. A number of pilot batches have already been delivered to customers in Kazakhstan and Israel," commented Nikolay Naumov, General Director of EPM Group.
Background:
EPM Group is a leading Russian company specializing in graphitized carbon products. Its core activity is the production of high-tech electrodes, cathodes, and other graphitized carbon products for steelmaking, aluminum, ferroalloy, silicon, chemical, and machine-building enterprises. It has customers in more than 60 countries around the globe. EPM Group includes the two largest electrode plants—in Novosibirsk and Novocherkassk—as well as Doncarb Graphite LLC (sites in Novocherkassk and Chelyabinsk).
Doncarb Graphite LLC (part of the EPM Group) is a leading manufacturer of carbon-graphite structural materials and shaped products in the Russian Federation and the CIS. The company has mastered and manufactures products from pyrolytic, isostatic and siliconized graphite, graphitized plastics with anti-corrosive and heat-conducting properties, carbon and carbon-carbon composite material products. Product range includes graphite electrodes (with a diameter from 75 to 200 mm), coke plates, trolley bus and locomotive contact strips, pipeline cathodic protection components, acid-resistant tiles, special chemical equipment, and graphite heat-exchange equipment.
Anodes of magnesium electrolyzes are positive electrodes in electrolytic cells to produce metallic magnesium and gaseous chlorine. In such a system, the anodes must have good electrical conductivity and be resistant to gaseous chlorine, so they are made of graphite. The physical and mechanical properties of graphite anodes affect the service life of the anodes and the electricity consumption. Anode blocks are subjected to a special treatment to protect them from oxygen oxidation. The anode protection technology applied by Doncarb Graphite allows obtaining products of the required quality and reducing energy losses during electrolysis.
