BigPatents India

The present invention relates to a method of pre-heating a pot (1) provides with anodes (10) and cathodes (5) for the production of aluminium by electrolysis, said method including the following steps: prior to the pot being supplied with current, forming a layer of the granular conductive material (25) over a part of the surface of a cathode, said granular conductive material being graphite-based and taking the form of contact blocks (13),laying each anode on the layer of granular material, so that said layer is between the anodes and the cathodes,crushing said layer of granular conductive material (25), so that said layer only extends, after crushing, over a part of the lower surface (14) of each anode (10),establishing an electrical connection between the stem of each anode and the anode frame,energizing the pot so as to cause an electric current to flow between the cathodes and the anodes.