Development of a Sampling Device for Furnace Dross

A series of tools for sampling dross generated by aluminium melting furnaces were constructed and tested using the furnaces at Sapa Heat Transfer. The goal was to create a device that recovered samples with metallic aluminium content similar to that in the overall dross removed from the furnace. Metallic aluminium content was measured by remelting the samples and furnace dross with salt flux, and weighing the mass of the recovered metal. The key to a successful result was choosing the correct size of holes in the sampling device to allow metal to drain as the sample was removed.