Fundamentals of managing spent potlining (SPL)

Abstract

As of recent, there is a renewed interest in the activities around the management, handling and treatment of spent potlining, or SPL. In this article the authors have combined their knowledge about the subject of SPL into a single publication in an effort to provide a most comprehensive review of modern methods of management and treatment of SPL globally. The article starts with providing the essential characteristics of SPL that are important for the storage and handling of the material. Too often engineers must guess these characteristics and in this article these are summarized for reference. Following that, the article then goes into details on the various modern treatment methods that are applied in different regions of the world. In close, some new developments or initiatives will be discussed.