Abstract: To address the engineering requirements for preheating new anodes and recovering waste heat from spent anodes in aluminum electrolytic cells, a new heat exchange box structure was designed in this study, and its internal heat transfer characteristics were analyzed using CFD simulations. A three-dimensional simulation model was used to investigate the effects of optimizing anode arrangement and installing air ducts on heat transfer performance. The results show that optimizing the anode arrangement helps balance the temperature field in the new-anode region. The average temperature of the spent anodes decreases by 21.5 °C, and the waste heat recovery and utilization rate increases by 7%. With the air-channel dimensions held constant, installing a 900 mm-long air duct increases the waste heat utilization rate to 69% and raises the average temperature of the new anodes to 170 °C. A single unit is estimated to save approximately 70,500 yuan in electricity costs annually. This study provides a theoretical basis for the design and on-site operation of anode heat exchange boxes, facilitating the practical application of spent-anode waste heat recovery technology in energy conservation and emissions reduction projects in aluminum electrolysis.