Exchangeable cathode for aluminium prodn. cell

An exchangeable, wettable cathode, for a fused salt aluminium prodn. cell, is made of an aluminide of Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo or W, free of a metallic Al binder phase. Pref. the cathode is made of gamma titanium aluminide. The cathode may consist of individual exchangeable elements having similar horizontal dimensional to those of the working faces of the anodes or may consist of aluminide balls or granules. The cathode has reduced brittleness and its aluminuim component, which has a solubility of about 1% in the molten aluminium in the cell, is easily recovered from the aluminium product for recycling. The aluminide cathode can be sintered or cast so that complex-shaped and/or one-piece cathodes can be formed.