Ait sep oct 2014

25 years

September/October 2014

Promoting the aluminium industry for

Volume 26 No 5

THEJOURNAL JOURNAL OF OF ALUMINIUM ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION PRODUCTION AND THE AND PROCESSING PROCESSING

ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL TODAY SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

TODAY

NEWS

PRIMARY

ROLLING

ENVIRONMENT

INCLUDES ELECTRODES SUPPLEMENT

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Phone: +49 211 881-0 Fax: +49 211 881-4902

E-mail: communications@sms-siemag.com Internet: www.sms-siemag.com

Visit us at ALUMINIUM 2014 Hall 9, Booth No. 9C20 October 7 to 9 D端sseldorf, Germany

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CONTENTS 3

www.aluminiumtoday.com

4

LEADER & NEWS UPDATES

15

Brazil - Current scenario and trends

18

North America - Can sheet capacity

22

China and Guinea: An odd couple on so many counts

Volume 26 No. 5 – September/October 2014 Editorial Editor: Nadine Firth Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855115 nadinefirth@quartzltd.com

24

COVER

EVENTS PREVIEWS

September/October 2014

Promoting the aluminium industry for

Volume 26 No 5

25 years

THEJOURNAL JOURNAL OF OF ALUMINIUM ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION PRODUCTION AND THE AND PROCESSING PROCESSING

Consulting Editor: Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM

Russia - Aluminium in construction

26

AluSolutions 2015

28

11 AASTC

Production Editor: Annie Baker

PRIMARY

TODAY

Sales International Sales Manager: Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855116

31

Global stability masks massive local changes

Area Sales Manager: Anne Considine anneconsidine@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855139

EXTRUSION

Sales Director: Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117

37

Optimisation of die wear and tear for 6063 alloy

ROLLING

Advertisement Production

43

Production Executive: Martin Lawrence

Circulation/subscriptions Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Annual subscription: UK £217, all other countries £237. For two year subscription: UK £391, all other countries £426. Airmail prices on request.

Single copies £40

Bauxite:

NEWS

PRIMARY

ROLLING

Installation and commissioning of an aluminium hot finishing mill

ENVIRONMENT

INCLUDES ELECTRODES SUPPLEMENT

Cover picture courtesy of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA)

AluSolutions 2015

46

Thickness control

50

Cast Study: FATA Hunter

52

Diamond mill designed for automotive body sheet

55

Coolant management in aluminium flat rolled product manufacturing

Supporters of Aluminium International Today

ENVIRONMENT 26

ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL TODAY is published six times a year by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email: aluminium@quartzltd.com Aluminium International Today (USO No; 022-344) is published bi-monthly by Quartz Business Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Aluminium International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

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31

55

61

The Aluminium Story

66

The Aluminium Advantage

68

Desulphurisation techniques

72

Environmental technology: The DAN-ECO2 system

76

Sorting of aluminium

80

Recycling of aluminium alloys

COMPANY PROFILE

72

82 ZALCO: Open for business THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

ELECTRODES SUPPLEMENT

TODAY ELECTRODES SUPPLEMENT FEATURING PAPERS FROM THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ELECTRODES AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR PRIMARY ALUMINIUM SMELTERS

87

104

88

ISAL rodding plant upgrade

90

Anode Spikes: A controllable cost

92

The reduction of emissions from anode baking furnaces and paste plants

HEALTH & SAFETY 101 Interview with Svein Tore Holsether, CEO Sapa

PERSPECTIVES ISSN 1475-455X

Aluminium International Today

@AluminiumToday

104 Providing melting solutions September/October 2014

4 COMMENT

INDUSTRY NEWS

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Rio Tinto earnings up

Nadine Firth Editor “Back to school” As I write this there is a real feeling of the end of the summer and going “Back to school” here in the UK. It also feels a bit like that in the aluminium industry; with everyone returning from summer vacations and the announcements of industry events and conferences already filling the diary on page 12.

Aluminium 2014 is just around the corner and is expected to be bigger and better than ever!

As always, Aluminium International Today will be present and this very issue will be available to visitors to our stand (9G15). See you there!

Another exciting event to add to your 2015 diary has been launched by us here at Quartz Business Media.

AluSolutions 2015 will be held in Toronto on 21st - 22nd October 2015.

More information about how you can be involved and help to promote a sustainable aluminium industry can be found on page 26.

Back to this issue and there is a host of relevant articles on primary aluminium, extrusion, rolling, and the environment.

There is also a supplement thrown in for good measure, with papers from the 6th International Conference on Electrodes and Support Services for Smelters, which was recently held in Iceland.

I hope you enjoy the issue and if you would like to set up a meeting at an upcoming event, please get in touch! nadinefirth@quartzltd.com September/October 2014

Rio Tinto has announced a 21% increase in first half underlying earnings to $5.1 billion.

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh said: “Our outstanding half year performance reflects the quality of our world-class assets, our programme of operational excellence and our ability to drive performance during a period of weaker prices. These results show that our current strategic and management focus is making a meaningful contribution to cash flow generation.

“During the first half we have increased underlying earnings by 21% to $5.1 billion and enhanced operating cash flow by eight percent.

We delivered what we said we would, exceeding our $3 billion operating cash cost reduction target six months ahead of schedule while producing record volumes and driving productivity improvements across all our businesses.

“We have decreased net debt by $6 billion compared with this

time last year, through our stronger operating cash flows, sharply reduced capital spend and proceeds from divestments. We are confident Rio Tinto’s low cost, diversified portfolio will continue to generate strong and sustainable cash flows over the coming years.

“This solid foundation for growth will result in materially increased cash returns to shareholders, underscoring our commitment to deliver greater value.”

The aluminium-intensive Jaguar XE The Jaguar XE brings new levels of aluminium-intensive lightweight construction expertise to the segment.

Designed around Jaguar’s modular vehicle architecture, the XE is the only car in the class to use an aluminium-intensive monocoque, with lightweight aluminium accounting for 75% of the structure.

This milestone in body engineering, a product of Jaguar's world-leading expertise in highvolume production of aluminium vehicles, ensures that the Jaguar XE combines outstanding design with benchmark levels of ride and handling - it will be the true driver’s car in the segment.

Lightweight construction is a core element of Jaguar’s DNA and Jaguar is at the cutting-edge of aluminium technology in the automotive industry. The Jaguar XJ, XK and F-Type have all been developed using exceptionally stiff bonded and riveted aluminium

structures: Now the XE becomes the latest model to use this aerospace-inspired technology.

The weight reduction realised ensures that the XE is the most fuel-efficient Jaguar yet with fuel consumption and CO2 emissions on the NEDC combined cycle of over 75mpg and less than 100g/km respectively.

“The Jaguar XE body uses over

75% aluminium content, which far exceeds any other car in its class.

This gives us a body structure with unrivalled low weight; it's light but also immensely strong with extremely high levels of torsional stiffness. We’ve made sure our aluminium-intensive body structure exceeds all global safety standards without compromising on vehicle design or refinement.”

Hydro optimises production Hydro will reduce remelt activities at its primary metal plant in Sunndal, Norway, and replace volumes by ramping up production at its SU3 potline.

The SU3 potline consists of two

production halls with a total production capacity of 100,000 tpy. Due to the economic downturn following the financial crisis, Hydro curtailed SU3 in 2009 – 50% of the production capacity

was restarted in 2011 and 2012.

Hydro has now decided to restart parts of the remaining potline, and to prepare for a complete startup by mid-year next year.

For up-to-date news & views www.aluminiumtoday.com Aluminium International Today

6 INDUSTRY NEWS

IN BRIEF Ma’aden: Beginning of commercial production of its subsidiary Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has announced the beginning of the commercial production of the Aluminium Smelter at its subsidiary (Ma’aden Aluminium Company).

The financial impact of this commercial production will be reflected in the company’s financials for the third quarter of 2014.

Note that Ma’aden Aluminium Company is 74.9% owned by Maaden, and 25.1% owned by Alcoa, and that the aluminium smelter is designed to produce 740,000 tons per year.

Kety ups 2014 profit goal Poland's leading aluminium products maker Kety has raised its full-year net profit forecast by 34% to 170 million zlotys ($54 million) reflecting a rebounding Polish economy.

"Due to the high progress in executing the forecast after six months of 2014 and stable outlook for the second half of the year the board of Grupa Kety decided to increase the forecast," Kety said in a statement.

The company is benefiting from Poland's accelerated economic growth, which reached 3.4% in the first quarter and is expected to stay at 3.3% in the second.

Kety said its net profit in the April-June period rose by 40% to almost 55 million zlotys, while for the first half of the year it rose to 81 million zlotys.

Delegate registration open for ARABAL 2014 Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has announced that the registration is open for the 18th International Arab Aluminium (ARABAL) Conference through its website www.arabal.com.

The conference will be held from November 25th - 27th, 2014 at the Gulf Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain.

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Novelis: First quarter 2015 Novelis has reported net income attributable to its common shareholder of $35 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 compared to $14 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014.

Excluding certain tax-effected items, net income was $30 million, up 43% compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2014.

“Excellent plant productivity, strong winter results in South America boosted by World Cup beverage consumption, and good year-over-year demand trends drove a strong start to the new fiscal year,” said Phil Martens, president and chief executive officer for Novelis.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 was $235 million, a 15% increase compared to $204 million reported for the

prior year. The increase was primarily driven by significantly higher volume, partially offset by pricing pressures in the Asian markets and a higher fixed cost base due to expansions ahead of revenue generation.

Novelis’ new recycling centres in Germany and Brazil are ramping up production and will help the company achieve its mid-decade target of 50% recycled aluminium in its products on the way to its ultimate goal of 80% recycled content by 2020.

In addition, rolling expansions in Korea and Brazil are adding capacity to grow shipments and capitalise on strong global demand for aluminium flat rolled products, particularly in the beverage can market. In June, the company completed the sale of its

Canadian consumer foil business in line with the company's strategic focus on core premium markets.

“Demand trends continue to be favourable and our investments in rolling, recycling and automotive sheet finishing lines have positioned the company well to capture growth in our core can sheet and specialty markets as well as the emerging automotive business,” said Martens. “The first of our new global auto finishing lines are on track to begin shipping product in the second half of this fiscal year and will allow us to maintain our leadership position in the technically demanding, highgrowth automotive aluminium sheet market, while growing our premium product portfolio.”

Gulf investments The Gulf region’s investments in the aluminium sector are forecast to reach $55 billion by 2020, compared to $30 billion in 2011, thanks to smelter expansions and new projects in the region, according to the organisers of Aluminium Middle East exhibition.

Statistical data shows that the Gulf aluminium industry is growing by 8.4% annually, compared to an average annual global expansion of 3.5%,

making the Middle East the fastest growing aluminium market in the world, said the event organisers who cited figures by Harbor Intelligence, a company specialised in global aluminium market trends, analysis and forecasts.

The Gulf region’s aluminium production reached 3,739,290 tons, in 2012 compared to 3,488,357 tons in 2011 and is expected to increase to 5 million tons by 2015, making it the

biggest single player worldwide.

They say the region is not only one of the key aluminium producers in the world, but is also among major consumption markets of the metal.

The Gulf aluminium industry has several competitive advantages over its counterparts across the globe. These include huge reserves of raw materials, energy and natural gas.

AluSolutions 2015 announced

The dates for AluSolutions, the only event aimed at promoting sustainability in the aluminium industry, have been announced as 21st – 22nd October 2015 at the International Centre, Toronto, Canada.

AluSolutions will provide a platform to discuss industry

sustainability challenges and the latest developments for aluminium production and processing.

The two-day exhibition will host equipment OEMs, plant suppliers, smelters and recyclers, while the conference will invite international speakers to discuss growing sustainability across the industry,

recycling targets, case studies, technological innovations and a look at what the future might hold.

More information and how to register for free entry can be found here: www.alusolutions.com We look forward to welcoming you to Toronto next year!

For up-to-date news & views www.aluminiumtoday.com September/October 2014

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8 INDUSTRY NEWS

IN BRIEF Economical preheating furnace improves safety VHE has completed the fabrication and installation of a preheating furnace for the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter at Straumsvík in Iceland.

The furnace, which is semiautomatic, is able to heat 15 tonnes of scrap to 200°C within two hours. At this temperature all water and many low-boiling point organics are fully removed.

The oven is electrically heated and uses the recirculating air principle for best efficiency.

Exports drive growth of aluminium foil production

Alcoa: Jet engine first Aerospace manufacturer Alcoa has announced a 10-year, $1.1 billion agreement with Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), for jet engine components.

Under the deal signed at the Farnborough Air Show, Alcoa will supply key parts for Pratt & Whitney’s engines, including the forging for the first ever aluminium fan blade for jet engines.

The forging was developed for

Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower engines using an advanced aluminum alloy and a proprietary manufacturing process. Also for the PurePower engines, Alcoa is developing a fan blade forging using its most advanced aluminumlithium alloy.

“We’re going where no materials scientist has gone before,” said Alcoa chairman and chief executive officer, Klaus Kleinfeld.

“Combining Alcoa’s proprietary

alloys and unique manufacturing processes with Pratt & Whitney’s design, we cracked the code on forging an aluminium fan blade that is lighter and enables better fuel efficiency. Through this exciting new 10-year deal, Alcoa will deliver not only aluminium fan blade forgings but also a range of other advanced product forms, from blades and vanes to structural castings, for some of Pratt and Whitney’s best-selling engines.”

Garmco: $50m investment The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) has reported half-year results which continue to show a modest, but steady, recovery in demand for both thin and thicker gauges.

This is largely led by a strong showing from exports, which are 28% ahead of 2013.

European deliveries remains flat with demand showing a very small decline of 0.2% compared with last year.

ALBA wins safety award Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) was granted the 2014 Occupational Excellence Achievement Award run by the National Safety Council – USA. This award is granted to organisations that meet strict criterions based on the results in their safety performance in accordance with the OSHA requirements in the USA. Alba won the award based upon the reduction in its injury rates during 2013.

Alba has consistently maintained a high track record of safety, health and environment, and over the years, it has won numerous accolades for the same.

For up-to-date News & Views www.aluminiumtoday.com

September/October 2014

Bahrain-based Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco) plans to invest $50 million for capacity expansion.

The $450 million annual turnover company will be boosting its re-melt and casting facilities in parallel with Alba's potline 6 expansion.

“Plans are finalised, feasibility studies have been completed and all necessary permits are in place.

“A new casting facility will add 120,000 metric tonnes of casting capacity and forms an integral part of Garmco’s 3-5 years strategic plan,” said Graham Bruce, chief executive.

The mill’s current capacity is 165,000 metric tonnes annually.

Garmco meets a third of its raw material requirements through the re-melt of scrap materials, which will also be expanded.

“The expansion will create up to 60 jobs for Bahrainis” Alba is a fundamental part of Garmco’s supply chain and supplies the bulk of its raw material needs.

“In fact, we would like to purchase more, which is why we look forward eagerly to the potline 6 expansion and Alba being able to cover more of our needs than at present.”

Mr Bruce is confident that the

company will be able to leverage its more than “30 years of aluminium rolling experience and an excellent reputation for quality” to remain one of the largest downstream aluminium facilities in the Gulf region for rolling, cutting and fabricating aluminium, even as new mills are set up in the region.

“Fortunately, these new entrants will target different markets and different product ranges. Garmco mainly specialises in producing high quality rolled aluminium products with various sizes and alloys including circles, sheets and coils,” he added.

Novelis: World Cup boosts aluminium can sales During the four weeks of the World Cup tournament, there was a 35% increase in sales when compared to the same period last year, according to major aluminium recycler Novelis.

During a typical World Cup, consumption of beer alone can exceed normal levels by 20% in households where people are watching the games, according to studies conducted by Nielsen.

Combined with record consumption of soft drinks and other beverages, Novelis estimates

total can consumption has surpassed the two billion mark.

Tadeu Nardocci, president of Novelis South America, comments: “The World Cup has caused an unusual up tick in our winter sales, adding the equivalent of a peak summer month's sales and creating our highest winter sales season on record for beverage can sheet.”

A major supplier of aluminium can stock for the beverage market in South America, Novelis owns and operates Brazil's largest aluminium recycling facility. In

order to meet the growing demand for aluminium into the next decade, Novelis recently completed a US$340 million expansion of its aluminium rolling and recycling operations in Brazil, increasing its annual production capacity of aluminium can sheet from 400 000 to 600,000 tonnes.

Germany may have been crowned the top football team but, at 98%, Brazil is claimed to be world champion in terms of aluminium can recycling rates.

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10 INDUSTRY NEWS

IN BRIEF Alcoa to close Portovesme smelter Alcoa intends to permanently close its Portovesme (CarboniaIglesias, Italy) primary aluminium smelter, which has been curtailed since November 2012.

The closure will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity by 150,000 metric tons to 3.6 million metric tons per year.

Almexa: Further modernisation of Tulpetlac facility Almexa Aluminum S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, Mexico has awarded a contract to FATA Hunter Inc. for the modernisation of the 271 cold mill at the Tulpetlac plant.

The project is to be completed in December this year.

The award is to add hydraulic gap control to the mill and upgrade the mill automation to the latest generation of FATA Hunter’s hSystem.

The mill electrical drives system and PLC will also be upgraded to replace the existing system, which had become obsolete.

Napco expansion plans The National Aluminium Products Company SAOG (Napco), has announced an expansion initiative.

Sayyid Wasfi Jamshid Abdullah Al Said, chairman of the Board of Directors, Napco, said: "To date, Napco already exports a total of 70% of its output to key markets that include the GCC, Europe, Africa and Asia.

“The expansion will help bring the company to a whole new level as it seeks to gain a wider reach in both international and regional markets and increases our production capacity. It also complements NAPCO’s vision to provide high quality extrusions to Oman and the rest of the world.”

For up-to-date News & Views www.aluminiumtoday.com September/October 2014

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Energy efficiency targets The European Aluminium Association (EAA) recently welcomed the European Commission’s Communication on Energy Efficiency as a positive step to truly align climate, energy and growth agendas and boost energy efficient solutions.

“Boosting the solutions that the EU industry can deliver for energy saving and climate change is the right thing to do in order to couple these goals with the EU growth and jobs agenda. Yet, more should be done and we will be part of the debate to demonstrate the energy efficiency potential we can deliver,” said Gerd Götz, Director General of the EAA.

Buildings currently account for 40% of Europe’s energy consumption in the EU and have a large potential for energy savings.

Aluminium is the champion material to make existing buildings more energy efficient. Extensive work undertaken by EAA shows that the CO2 payback of investments in aluminium technologies can be as short as one year.

“With Europe’s quest for more resource-efficiency and energy independence, we should not only focus on the long-term, but take immediate action. Energy savings are being missed due to lack of focus on practical measures. The renovation of buildings is a perfect

example. The rate of renovation staggers at 1.4% per year. We need stronger policies and financial instruments to get this number above 2%. This is indispensable if Europe wants to achieve its energy savings objectives by 2050” stressed Götz.

EAA has developed three renovation case studies in Greece, Germany and The Netherlands and performed simplified life-cycleassessments that illustrate the way in which aluminium contributes to the enhancement of the energy performance of existing buildings.

For more information: www.alueurope.eu/publicationsbuilding/

Triment increases recycling content The percentage of recycled aluminium in the production of aluminium is becoming increasingly important at Trimet Aluminium SE. Already today, 200,000 tons of aluminium scrap are melted down annually and made available for re-use in the production plants of the materials specialist. In addition to Trimet’s remelting plants in Gelsenkirchen and Harzgerode, the company increasingly uses the recycled material in the foundry of its primary location in Essen for

the production of rolled ingots and billets. Here alone, 80,000 tons of aluminium scrap are utilised annually.

“By increasingly using aluminium scrap from our customers and also third parties on the market for producing primary aluminium, we are significantly increasing the energy efficiency of the production process. This also improves the eco-balance of the products for which our aluminium is used later on,” says Thomas Reuther,

Member of the Management Board of Trimet Aluminium SE. “Due to the continuing high demand for the material and its wide variety uses, there is more aluminium in circulation every year. The issues of sustainability and resource conservation particularly justify a 100% recycling rate for the material. We are continually investing in equipment and methods to promote this development in an economic and ecologically efficient manner,” he continues.

Aluminium packaging protocol A new protocol accounting for the aluminium packaging recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA) for recycling will allow PRNs to be issued on this material from 1st January 2015.

The protocol, which has been developed by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) and has been acknowledged by the Environment Agency (EA), could see as much as 10,000 tonnes of recovered aluminium being counted towards the targets set for the recovery of aluminium packaging.

The new IBA protocol recognises that a minimum of 50% of the non-ferrous content of IBA is aluminium packaging (drinks cans, foil, aerosols etc.).

Its introduction follows a study

by Alupro of material, in cooperation with the UK-based companies that process IBA and in consultation with the EA. Across Europe, aluminium packaging is recovered from IBA and is counted towards the national aluminium packaging recycling rates.

The development of the protocol is part of Alupro’s strategy to try to ensure that all of the aluminium packaging collected for recycling is

counted to arrive at the “true” recycling rate. In the past the sector has expressed concerns about the ability of the PRN system to accurately report the true recycling performance of aluminium packaging. The new protocol will also enable a more accurate comparison between the sector’s recycling performance in the UK with its European counterparts.

Aluminium International Today

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Alumina granules magnified x100. © Claudius Peters

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12 INDUSTRY NEWS

2014 DIARY October 12-16 ICSOBA New challenges of bauxite, alumina, the aluminium industry and a focus on China. www.icsoba.info/icsoba-2014 November 11-13 Aluminium in Road Transport Conference Organised by the Aluminium Federation (ALFED) UK. www.alfed.org.uk 11-14 Metal Expo 2014 Exhibition showcasing range of ferrous and non-ferrous products www.metal-expo.ru/en/ 17-21 Aluminium Rolling Technology Course From Innoval Technology, the course covers all the key aspects of hot and cold rolling of aluminium flat products. www.innovaltec.com/rolling_ tech.htm 25-27 The 18th Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL) The premium trade event for the Middle East’s aluminium industry.

Hosted by Alba at the Gulf Hotel, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. www.arabal.com

27-29 IBAAS Technical improvements and market developments, with special reference to value-added products of bauxite, alumina and aluminium. www.ibaas.info

December 6-11 11AASTC A week filled with up-to-date technical information, research findings and panel discussions on technical issues of concern to the industry. www.11aastc.com For a full listing visit www.aluminiumtoday.com and click on Events Diary

September/October 2014

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Alufoil Trophy: Entries open The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), has announced that entries for the Alufoil Trophy 2015 competition are now open until 21st November 2014.

The Alufoil Trophy recognises and rewards the use of aluminium foil and aluminium closures in all its many forms and uses. From rolls in the kitchen, through sophisticated laminates or as insulation, for use in packaging, construction and automotive products, as well as in many other industrial and decorative applications it is used daily and, in many ways, can be regarded as indispensable.

The competition categories are: Marketing and Design Consumer Convenience

Resource Efficiency Product Preservation Technical Innovation

Many different practitioners in aluminium foil and aluminium closures may enter, including packaging designers, brand owners, foil rollers, foil converters, foil container manufacturers, closure manufacturers, household foil manufacturers, retailers, and industrial solution providers; including combined entries from any of these parties. Interested consumers and consumer groups or associations may also enter.

Commenting on the opening of the Alufoil Trophy 2015 entry ‘window’ Guido Aufdemkamp, EAFA’s Director

Communication said: “The judges are always pleasantly surprised by the many examples of ingenious marketing and design products entered. The Alufoil Trophy also helps to underline the contribution this material makes to product preservation and resource efficiency, as well as recognising technical achievements and developments. We look forward to an exciting competition.”

Entries will be accepted from now until the deadline of 21 November 2014. More details and applications forms are available on www.alufoil.org.

Matalco: Remelting plant plan Lordstown, Ohio, will be the site of Canadian aluminium billet manufacturer Matalco's new $92 million greenfield remelt plant in the USA. John Pereira, vice president of operations for the Brampton, Ontario-based company, said a September 17 groundbreaking has been scheduled for the new plant.

Neither Pereira nor Robert Roscetti, Matalco's director of corporate development, would disclose projected capacity levels

for the plant.

The site selection announcement had been delayed for months. Matalco is believed to have considered locations in Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania, as well as Ohio, for the plant that will produce its 6000 series extrusion-grade aluminium billet.

Matalco has said the US expansion will include and integrate Triple M Metal's new non-ferrous plant in Brampton to

procure and handle all of Matalco's aluminium scrap requirements, as well as process other non-ferrous materials such as copper and brass, independent and separate from Matalco.

Triple M Metal, also a Giampaolo Group subsidiary, has recycling operations in Brampton and Kitchener in Ontario, as well as in the US, Mexico and Europe.

Matalco did not say when the Lordstown facility will be in commercial operation.

Oswego shipments to increase The Port of Oswego has seen record levels of aluminium shipments so far this year and shipments between the port and the St. Lawrence Seaway are expected to increase by 30% this year, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce, a bi-national association that represents approximately 150 marine industry stakeholders.

The Port of Oswego estimates that more than 120,000 metric tons of aluminium will be delivered to the port in 2014, due to high demand from aluminium sheet manufacturers catering to the automotive industry.

The aluminium is shipped by barge from the Aluminerie

Alouette facility in Sept-Iles, Quebec, the largest aluminium smelter in the Americas.

“The bi-national nature of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system makes it a natural conduit for cross-border trade,” said Chamber of Marine Commerce President Stephen Brooks.

“Ships carry more than 36 million metric tons of commodities like aluminium, iron ore, salt and construction materials over this waterway every year between the two countries.”

The aluminium is being used by Novelis Inc. The Novelis facilities in Oswego completed a $200 million

expansion in October 2013 that added two new automotive finishing production lines and increased the company’s capacity to produce aluminium sheet for the automotive industry by 240,000 tons.

The Port of Oswego expects aluminum shipments from Canada to increase even more in 2015 as the new line at Novelis begins production.

According to Aluminerie Alouette, the company expects to ship close to 500,000 metric tons of primary aluminum to ports in Oswego and national metropolis ports including Toledo, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan on barges over the next three years.

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BRAZIL UPDATE 15

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Brazilian aluminium industry: Current scenario and trends Until 2010, the Brazilian aluminium industry was growing due to a high potential of hydroelectricity with an adequate energy price, excellent conditions to explore the huge reserves of good quality bauxite, and a balanced supply of alumina.

This article covers the current upstream and downstream scenario and the trends of the Brazilian aluminium industry.

By Ayrton Filleti* Upstream activities

Nowadays the industry is facing a serious problem of energy supply due to the high prices of energy for smelters; around US$ 60 per megawatt hour (MWh), which is above the world energy average price of about US$ 28/MWh (excluding China).

The high-energy price induced the closure of approximately 183,000 metric tons of primary capacity production in the plants of Valesul (Rio de Janeiro state), Novelis Aratu (Bahia state) and part of Novelis Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais state) in the last four years. Since the second semester of 2013 and early this year, Alcoa Brasil has announced a cut of 278,000 tons of primary, due to the temporary shut down of the Alcoa Poços de Caldas plant and pot lines of Alumar Consortium (Alcoa and Billiton BHP).

Fig 1 explains the history of primary aluminium production in Brazil. During the period from the seventies to 2000, the energy price was around US$ 20/MWh, which was very attractive for the installation of new smelters like Alcoa, Valesul, Albras (CVRD - Brazilian Company) and a pool of Japanese companies; Alumar, Alcan Aratu plant and brownfield expansions of CBA and Alcan Ouro Preto.

On the other hand Brazil is doing very well in bauxite production as a third major producer in the world, just below Australia and China.

In 2013, the total production of bauxite was 33.8 million tons, which is 13.1% of

The Pindamonhangaba Plant (Novelis)

the total world production. This is mainly to supply the Brazilian primary aluminium companies, as the exports are just 25% of the total production.

In terms of alumina, in 2012 Brazil refined 9.9 million tons, making it the third major producer in the world, below China and Australia.

The majority of alumina produced, around 70%, was exported in 2013, thus Brazil is an important alumina supplier in the world scenario.

A major refinery in the world is Alunorte, located in the Amazon region, with a capacity to produce 6.3 million tons/year.

Recently, Votorantim Metais announced that the Rondon Project, to install bauxite mining and refinery located in the Amazon region, was approved by the Brazilian Environmental Agency.

This project will increase the alumina output by three million tons/year. There are also plans by Norsk Hydro to increase its alumina fabrication capacity by three million tons, but a decision is still pending.

In summary, the forecast for primary production industries is very critical and we don’t foresee a bright future for them. The question is if Brazil might be an important exporter of alumina for other countries.

1000 t

Closure - Valesul

1800

Closure - Novelis Aratu

1600 1400 1200

Shutdown 01 line Novelis 0 Preto

Period of competitive energy cost (US 20/MWh)

1000 Albras

800 600 400 200 Alcan CBA

Alumar Valesul Aloa

0 1951 55 70 75 80 82 83 85 86 90 94

4 00 20 Year

6

7

9

10 11 12

13

14

20

14

f

(*) 2014 temporary shut down Alcoa Poços Caldas +01 line Alcoa Alumar

Fig 1. Evolution of primary production

*Technical Director, The Brazilian Aluminium Association (ABAL) Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

16 BRAZIL UPDATE

Downstream activities

So far, the Brazilian consumption of aluminium per capita is 7.5kg per inhabitant, per year, which is very low compared to developed countries (around 28kg per inhabitant, per year). This is for economic reasons and also due to the low purchase power of the population.

Anyway, there are several factors that will positively influence the economy in Brazil for the coming years and as a result will increase the current domestic consumption, which are: Important sports events in Brazil (World Cup and Olympic games); investments in infrastructure – railways, roads and ports; per capita purchase power increasing due to the low unemployment (around 6%); opportunities in the building and construction sector due to the government incentives motivated by the lack of habitation; stringent legislation for car emissions and fuel efficiency, impacting the utilisation of aluminium in cars/transports.

In the last 10 years, the domestic consumption increased 8% per year, and the forecast is growing for the next 12 years (6.5% per year) reaching a total consumption of 3.2 million tons per year in 2025. In 2013, the domestic consumption

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reached 1513 tons, composed of 30% for packaging, 20% for transport, 16% for building and construction, 10% for electricity and 10% for consumer goods. In particular the high volume of packaging is due to the canning segment with an impressive growth of 10% per year in the last 10 years.

Brazil has well-established companies for rolling, extrusion, wire and cable, foundries and household producers.

The Pindamonhangaba Plant (São Paulo state) is the biggest rolling operation and can recycling plant in South America, with a rolling capacity of 600,000 tons/year.

Supply issues

Studies show that the demand is growing by 6.5% a year and the supplying of primary metal is decreasing, as already mentioned due to the high price of energy.

The prediction is that the primary aluminium supply for 2014 for the domestic market is about 800,000 tons, as part of the production will be exported due to present commercial contracts, and so the lack of primary will be 800 million tons.

Part of this metal deficit is being covered by the successful recycling activities which represented in 2013, 33.7% of the

domestic consumption. The balance to fulfill the needs will be imported.

Comments

The Brazilian Aluminium Association (ABAL) over the last four years has been “fighting” and showing the government and economical authorities the current and future state of the primary aluminium industry. Due to the high price of energy it has been recommending measures to establish an Industrial Policy to define a reasonable price of energy for the energy intensive industries, in order to keep them economically active and therefore maintaining/creating jobs.

There is also an important issue that the aluminium industry in the downstream side is facing: The fast growing of imports, mainly from China, is an additional risk as it is causing enormous problems to the downstream operations.

Thus the Brazilian aluminium industry might be an important industry in the future for downstream activities; nevertheless the upstream will be an important exporter of alumina.

Contact www.abal.org.br

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18 NORTH AMERICA UPDATE

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Myra Pinkham* looks at the North American can market and how a change in attitude towards the can is affecting this sector.

Even though the U.S. aluminium can market is slightly down, on the back of weak demand for carbonated soft drinks, demand for can sheet could tighten up noticeably in the next five years or so as producers switch more production capacity over to automotive sheet and other higher margin products.

At the same time, a combination of aluminium packaging innovations and changing perception, especially by younger drinkers, of beer and certain other beverages in cans, could also contribute to the tightening of this sector. That tightening, however, could be somewhat offset by continued moves to lighten the gauges of can sheet.

After falling a scant 0.2% to 4.48 billion lbs. in 2013, Lloyd O’Carroll, managing director and senior metals analyst for Northcoast Research, Cleveland, predicts that this year overall U.S. aluminium can sheet shipments will see a 1.7% decline to 4.40 billion lbs. Not only is domestic demand expected to inch down by 0.7% in 2014, but exports are expected to fall 6.3% to 750 million lbs.

The falloff in can sheet exports was not unexpected with some aluminium producers redirecting can sheet capacity to other end use markets, Timothy Hayes, principal of New York-based Lawrence Capital Management, says, noting that the first thing they will do is export less.

While the conversion of production capacity is still in the early stages, some such moves have already been made.

O’Carroll notes that some can sheet capacity has already been lost by Atlantabased Novelis Inc.’s Oswego, N.Y. facility and that about half of Alcoa Inc.’s Tennessee plant will be lost this summer as well. “Auto body sheet requires a wide mill with high speeds and high surface quality, which is why can sheet mills are a good candidate,” he declares.

Nevertheless aluminium companies serving the can market will make moves to find a balance, David Gill, vice president and general manager of Novelis’ North American can value stream business, points out. “The can market continues to be a core business for our company so we will continue to make sure that our customers’ needs are fulfilled,” he says.

Others are also trying to find that balance. Matt Meenan, a spokesman for the Aluminum Association, says that while

Can sheet capacity the industry has announced $1 billion in investments to add hundreds of thousands of tons of high-strength aluminium auto sheet capacity, they are also committed to meet the needs of their can customers.

“Given the present ample North American can sheet capacity, we view this emerging industry dynamic as a positive one for sheet producers,” he says. “The aluminium industry will adjust as needed to respond to changing market conditions and consumer demands.”

During the company’s recent quarterly earnings conference call, Phil Martens, Atlanta-based Novelis’ president and chief executive officer, says that it will, however, not be until 2017-18 before there is any significant tightness, especially with the conversion trend being no surprise. “I think everybody in the industry is very aware of the shift, not just from can to auto, but how time is being allocated on the hot mills.”

There are differing opinions about when it will happen. Martens says it might come quicker than some think, partly because it is a little more complicated from a mill hour point of view to produce a ton of auto sheet than to produce can sheet.

“Also, one thing that continues to surprise everyone is continued acceleration of automotive use of aluminium,” he says, adding that what that means to can sheet capacity will continue to get clearer and clearer, quarter by quarter.

Another factor is the continued light gauging of can sheet, which, according to Hayes, has resulted in approximately 10

million lb. per year reduction in can sheet demand. Meenan observes that the average weight of aluminium cans have fallen to about 13 grams (in 2012, which is the most recent year that data is available), although the rate of decline has been slowing in recent years.

“We can’t lighten the gauge of cans infinitely,” Gills says. “There are technological barriers.” He does, however, admit that continued light gauging is one reason than the decline in aluminium can sheet is steeper than that for aluminium can shipments.

According to Robert Budway, president of the Washington-based Can Manufacturers Institute, year to date domestic can shipments were essentially flat with demand for alcoholic beverages, largely beer, up 3.4%, while demand for non-alcoholic beverages, largely carbonated soft drinks, (which account for about 60% of aluminium can consumption) was down 2.9%. Hayes attributed the soft drink decline to an overall desire by Americans to eat healthier and efforts, including by First Lady Michelle Obama, to get soft drinks out of the nation’s schools.

“Americans are drinking double the amount of tap water as they had prior to the Great Recession,” Budway observes, although he says canned energy drinks, juices, iced tea and less sugary soft drinks are showing some strength. These, however, are too small niche markets to “move the needle” as far as canned soft drink demand, according to Hayes.

*North American correspondent September/October 2014

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20 NORTH AMERICA UPDATE

At the same time, demand for cans by beer breweries is increasing at a greater rate than overall beer consumption.

O’Carroll writes in the second quarter Northcoast Quarterly Aluminum Update that while beer consumption was down 2.4% in 2013, shipments of beer cans were only down 1.2% to 33.2 billion cans last year. Likewise while the Beer Institute says beer consumption is up 0.8% thus far this year, shipment of beer cans is also outperforming that, Budway says.

One reason for this, Meenan says, is that aluminium cans have made considerable inroads into the overall beer market. He observes that 10 years ago 48% of beer was sold in cans compared with 55% today with its main competitor, glass bottles, going from 42% of the beer market to 35% today. The remainder of beer, Paul Gatza, director of the Boulder, Colo., based Brewers Association, says, is sold via draught or kegs.

Much of this gain, he says, has been by craft brewers – microbreweries, regional breweries, nano breweries and brewer pubs – which have been seeing their sales increasing by double digit rates over the past six years, while overall beer consumption has been falling by an average of 1% per year.

“Craft beer is a great story,” Gill says.

“Not only are sales growing quite nicely, but demand for cans is growing right along with it.”

Ten years ago craft brewers used virtually no cans at all, as when they first started the brewers found that it was simpler for them to use bottles – or just sell draught beer. “But can makers have since done a good job of outreach to get craft brewers interested in cans,” Gill says. “In fact, some new brewers are finding it so easy that they have gone directly from draught to cans,” sometimes with the aid of mobile canners that go from brewery to brewery.

According to Russ Phillips, author of the craftcans.com blog, while Oskar Blues Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo., is usually credited with being the first craft beer brewer to use cans, they were the first to can beer in house. Capital Brewery Co. Inc., Middletown, Wis., was the first to offer cans, having their beer canned by another brewery.

Currently 412 of the more than 2,700 craft breweries in the USA are canning their beer, including some of the larger craft brewers. Last year Samuel Adams, the largest U.S. craft brewer, introduced its wider lipped “Sam Can.” Already No. 2 and No. 3 craft brewers Sierra Nevada and New Belgium had converted some of their production to cans.

“Canned beer is now the fastest growing segment for craft brewers,” says Roger Davis, owner of Red Hare Brewing Co., Marietta, Ga., which went directly from September/October 2014

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draught and kegs two and a half years ago without ever bottling their beer.

Gatza says that today craft brewers sell 10-15% of their beer in cans, 55-60% in bottles and 30% in draught and kegs.

“Cans seem to have almost a hip appeal to our customers, who are largely millennials, who didn’t grow up with the negative perception of canned vs. bottled beer,” Davis says, adding that many millennials actually feel that the look of cans are “cooler” than that of glass bottles.

Some look at cans as mini-kegs, Gills says. “In the past people had the perception that beer in a bottle was of higher quality. But truthfully there is no difference as far as taste, or perhaps it is better. If you want a fresher beer, you should get it in a can,” he says, as cans keep out light and oxygen, both of which could be harmful to the beer.

Billion cans Aluminum Beer Cans % Change Aluminum Soda Cans % Change Total Aluminum Cans % Change

“And they can go places that bottles and kegs can’t go,” including ballparks, concerts and such outdoors activities as hiking and kayaking.

New shaping technologies, as well as the ability for “bill boarding” with new colourings and graphics also make the can more exciting to consumers, fillers and brewers.

Gill says this includes the use of thermo graphic ink that changes colours with the temperature of the can. “Companies are also able to create multiple labels in a single run. In addition, the use of coloured end tabs have allowed them to differentiate their package, which is something that has been very popular with consumers.”

There have been several instances of shaped cans and different can sizes, the Aluminum Association’s Meenan notes.

2014e

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

32.2

32.8

33.4

33.4

33.8

33.0

33.8

33.2

33.6

2.4%

1.6%

1.8%

0.1%

1.3%

-2.3%

2.3%

-1.8%

1.1%

69.2

67.4

64.0

62.9

62.6

59.4

58.4

57.3

56.1

2.3%

-2.6%

-5.0%

-1.8%

-0.3%

-5.1%

-1.7%

-2.0%

-2.0%

101.4

100.1

97.4

96.3

96.5

92.5

92.2

90.5

89.7

2.3%

-1.3%

-2.8%

-1.1%

0.2%

-4.1%

-0.3%

-1.9%

-0.9%

Source: The Can Manufacturers Institute, The O’Carroll Aluminum Bulletin

Also sustainability issues are important to craft brewers and their customers, Davis notes, so the recyclability of aluminium cans and the fact that there is three and a half times less carbon dioxide emissions producing can vs. glass bottles, is a selling point.

Industrywide – not just for craft beer, but for all beverages – cans have on average a 68% recycled content, according to Budway, with potential for that to go even higher.

One example of an effort to do so is Novelis’ new evercan can sheet for can bodies, which is certified to have at least 90% recycled content. Gill says this product, which has been used by Red Hare for all of its beer cans since April, is a good fit for Novelis, which is seeking to have an average of 80% recycled content in all of its products by 2020.

Red Hare’s Davis calls this partnership a win-win for both companies. “We haven’t noticed any difference in the taste of our beer and we believe it is just the right thing to do for the environment.”

Gill says that Novelis is also having discussions with a number of other companies in both the USA and Europe to also use its evercan product. He would not say the status of these talks, but expressed optimism that interest will pick up for the product in the next few years.

Other big selling points of cans, according to Gatza, are that they are lighter weight, therefore they can be more easily and more cost effectively shipped.

One of the more popular, in addition to the Sam Can’s wider mouth and flared lip aimed to improve the drinking experience, has been the Budweiser bow tie can.

Also last year Sly Fox Brewing Co., Pottstown, Pa., was the first brewer to use a “360” ends can, which allows the top to actually come off. The end result is the conversion into what resembles a drinking cup.

Gill says that Novelis, as well as some of its competitors, have developed certain highly formable alloys, as well as new metal forming technologies to facilitate such shaping of cans.

Also, resealable aluminium cans for both beer and soft drink use have been rolled out in certain markets. Hayes, however, says that while there has largely been a favourable reaction, he is uncertain whether this will be more than a niche market as they are more expensive to make and cost is a huge consideration when companies choose whether to use aluminium or glass bottles.

Another future niche market could be for wine. Budway says there have already been some wins, such as the canning of sparkling wine by Coppola Winery, with other wineries reportedly considering such a move as well.

It is not, however, a given that this market will see the same success rate as canned beer, says Gatza, who is uncertain how the high acidity level of wine would react with can linings. “That could be a real or perceived issue,” he says.

Aluminium International Today

22 CHINA UPDATE

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China and Guinea: An odd couple on so many counts Following the ban on bauxite exports by Indonesia earlier this year, Chinese companies have been exploring Guinea as an alternative source for the ore. This article by Paul Adkins* seeks to explore the pitfalls awaiting Chinese explorers.

One only has to look at the big picture to see that Guinea is not an ideal situation for Chinese investment.

Guinea is a country with a population about the same as Tianjin in China, and about half that of Beijing. French-speaking thanks to its history as a colony of France, the country runs with inflation sitting at more than 10%, and with a steep trade imbalance despite its wealth of commodities. More troublesome for investors is that corruption and political instability are part and parcel of the landscape.

Guinea’s economy is tiny, at just US$7bn. Compare that with the reported US$19bn that is anticipated to be spent on the Rio-Chinalco Simandou project, and the scale of the economy and more importantly, the scale of the risks involved starts to reveal itself. The success or failure of that massive project could well have a snowball effect on other Chinese investment projects.

Indeed, the presence of a large number of Chinese in the country has not sat well with everyone there. At least one antiChinese militia group has been established, aiming to cleanse the country of Chinese citizens and money.

Even without political instability and racial discord, Guinea is a difficult place for extracting ores. There is little infrastructure available, so any major project must include railway construction. As well, Guinea suffers from very shallow coastal waters, meaning that wharves must be built long enough to allow ships to anchor safely. The Simandou iron ore project includes a plan to build an 11km wharf, long enough for very large iron ore carriers to berth.

There are some similarities to the two countries that might make Chinese investors feel slightly more comfortable.

Both have had recent histories of despotic rule, and revolutions. Both were admitted to the World Trade Organisation within a few years of each other (Guinea 1995, China 2001). The two countries have shared friendly relations going back to

1957 when Premier Zhou En Lai included Guinea on his African tour.

But trade is severely imbalanced. China is number one supplier to Guinea, with about 14% of all Guinea’s imports coming from China, while China barely rates a mention on Guinea’s list of export customers (Ireland and the Ukraine buy more from Guinea than China does.) Of course that imbalance will tilt in the opposite direction once iron ore and bauxite start to flow in significant volumes, but that is likely to be some years away.

The problems are not just on the Guinean side. China has a sorry history when it comes to foreign outbound investment.

According to one commentator, in 2010 30% of Chinese outbound investment projects were loss making, and 40% were breakeven.

Between 2004 and 2010, 14 Chinese companies lost a combined CNY95bn in overseas ventures, or about US$15 billion at present exchange rates.

China’s outbound investment is controlled by several organisations within the Beijing bureaucracy. Although the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) are the main regulators, many other government departments have involvement on some level. These include Ministry of Finance, SAFE, China Development Bank, China Exim Bank and the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have difficulty in replicating their domestic success in overseas ventures. In China, environmental laws have been lax and policing almost non-existent (although this has changed recently). There are no labour unions to deal with. Chinese suppliers for capital items do business in the same cultural framework and in the same language. Often the failure to understand and address these fundamental differences is what causes Chinese outbound investment to fail.

It’s very difficult for Chinese businessmen to understand that outside China their way

of doing business may not work. One commentator sums this failure up in one word – “hubris.”

All of this does not mean that Chinese companies will not be successful at obtaining bauxite and getting it shipped to the motherland. But the problem is that China needs the bauxite sooner than Guinea will be able to provide it. China stockpiled huge quantities of bauxite ahead of the Indonesian ban, and as of July 2014, about 36 million tonnes of the stockpile still remained.

But China’s monthly consumption of bauxite, runs to about 10 million tonnes (especially accounting for the lower yield from Indonesian ore), and with the domestic mining industry not able to keep up, China must get supplies from somewhere.

To date, the largest single replacement has come from alumina, but this is a poor alternative for a country that is long on alumina refining capacity. Australia, Fiji, the Dominican Republic, Ghana and several other countries have been supplying China with bauxite since Indonesia stopped, so the longer that it takes for Guinean projects to get off the ground, the more established these alternative sources will become.

There is another risk to China’s hopes of securing bauxite from Guinea. China isn’t the only country courting Guinea for its bauxite reserves. Middle Eastern countries and companies have been active in the country. A sale to a Middle Eastern alumina refinery is likely to generate a better return for producers, since the lower shipping costs can be used as an arbitrage – the ex works price can be higher for the same landed price to the customer who might otherwise have to buy from further afield.

And even if Guinea and China are able to cooperate to build infrastructure, develop mines and provide a stable politicoeconomic environment in which to do business, there’s no escaping one profound difficulty for supplying bauxite and other ores to China – Guinea is on the wrong side of the continent.

*AZ China Ltd September/October 2014

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24 RUSSIA UPDATE

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Aluminium in construction As one of the largest aluminium consuming industries globally, construction has experienced a real rollercoaster ride in Russia over the last 15 years. The boom of the early 2000’s was followed by a sharp decline as a result of the global economic crisis. Since then, the market has recovered, and is steadily on the rise again. By Roman Andryushin* Construction boom in Russia

The Russian State Statistics Service reported that 2013 was a record year for construction with 7% growth in comparison to 2012 both in volume and scope.

More than 258,000 buildings were built, including 239,100 housing units. The net floor area was just under 118 mln m², with 69.4 mln m² in housing. According to KPMG estimates, total investment in the Russian residential and commercial property market in 2013 reached USD 7.5-8.1 bln, consisting of 36.8% for offices, 2.9% for hotels, and 0.7% for housing.

This trend has continued in 2014. In Q1 this year, the number of buildings built increased by 27% in comparison to the same period in 2013. Furthermore, recent data shows that, on average, the pipeline for Russian construction companies is at a record high for the six months, with the majority of these orders in the commercial property sector. The Russian project portfolio for trade property is one of the largest in Europe: KPMG expects about 80 shopping malls to be built by the end of 2014 with more than 2.5 million m² of net floor area, while CBRE ranks Moscow among the top-10 leading cities globally by retail real estate construction.

Modern Russian construction

Even though aluminium has been used in Russian construction for a long time, in 2010 its usage really took off. It was the first time aluminium panels, produced in Russia, were used in a large scale construction project. Unique curtain wall panels were developed and produced to protect buildings in Moscow City, a new business district of the Russian capital. The scale of curtain wall cover was estimated at 15,000m².

In 2012-2013, Russia experienced a boom in demand for construction materials. In particular, they were required in vast quantities for the sports facilities of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. At the Olympics, aluminium was a key construction material for main stadiums

and venues, including the ‘Bolshoy’ Ice Dome, the ‘Sanki’, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track, and the ‘Laura’, ski and biathlon complex.

UC Rusal was a key aluminium supplier to Sochi construction companies which brought innovation, creativity and reliability to Olympic infrastructure made mainly from ‘winged metal’. More than 16,000m² of the ‘Bolshoy’, the ‘Sanki’ and ‘Laura’ are covered with curtain wall panels.

Overall, extrusion is the most dynamically growing segment among aluminium consuming industries in Russia and CIS, with an annual production growth rate of 5-7%. According to UC Rusal estimates, in 2013 the supplies of aluminium profiles on the Russian market reached 330,000 tonnes, with more than a half consumed by the construction industry. The positive trends in the Russian construction sector allow UC Rusal to forecast annual growth in the extrusion market of 5% p.a. till 2017.

Upcoming plans

The positive experience of aluminium usage in sport construction during the Winter Olympics has proven the reliability of aluminium as a sport construction metal particularly in façade works. The weight of an aluminium construction is two or three times less than the weight of an identical steel one, and up to seven times lighter than concrete construction with equal supportive capacity. For example, lowering the weight of a roof also lowers the cost of construction by 12%.

The minimum service period of aluminium in construction projects is estimated to be 80 years. Aluminium is resistant to changes to climate and “works” in a wide range of temperatures, from –80°C to +300°C (unlike steel, which breaks down at low temperatures), which is especially important in Russia. In addition, aluminium’s expansion ratio is very low, which helps to avoid flaws in glass or planches covered with aluminium frames.

The Sochi experience of aluminium

usage is incorporated in the preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. New Saint Petersburg stadium for FC Zenit, field for FIFA 2018 semifinal, is using aluminium profile systems for stained-glass windows, windows, doors and façade panels. The total weight of aluminium construction projects, such as window and door profiles, is estimated at more than 350 tonnes while the total façade surface to be covered with alubonds is estimated at 80,000m². Transstroy, one of the largest Russian infrastructure construction corporations, with a 60 year history of working in domestic and other markets, is leading this project. This corporation and UC Rusal are both part of the Basic Element business group.

Conclusion

Buildings constructed using metal and glass are one of the primary features of contemporary urban architecture. The recent construction boom in Russia boosts demand for construction materials: The usage of aluminium profiles is increasing both in residential and industrial construction. This is why the construction industry brings new opportunities for the Russian aluminium industry as current consumers keep on increasing their orders, while a number of new extrusion facilities are being put into operation throughout the country.

*Director of Russia and CIS Sales, UC Rusal, Russia September/October 2014

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AluSolutions 2015 The dates for AluSolutions 2015, the only event aimed at promoting sustainability in the aluminium industry, have been announced as 21st – 22nd October 2015 at the International Centre, Toronto.

As the global aluminium industry strives for a more sustainable future, the metal speaks for itself when it comes to its benefits. Lightweight, strong and infinitely recyclable, value-added aluminium products can lower energy costs and carbon emissions in applications.

In addition, recent technological advances and environmental awareness mean that efforts are in place to ensure that the aluminium made today is more sustainable than ever.

The aluminium industry now recognises the importance of sustainable business practice and is working towards a greener future.

AluSolutions is the only event dedicated to sustainability in the aluminium industry and is the ideal place to discuss industry challenges and new technology.

The two-day exhibition will host equipment OEMs, plant suppliers, smelters and recyclers, while the conference will invite speakers from around the world to discuss growing sustainability across the industry, recycling targets, case studies, technological innovations and a look at what the future might hold.

The exhibition

The AluSolutions exhibition will provide a platform for the industry to present the latest technology and equipment for sustainable production and processing of aluminium.

We are looking for equipment OEMs, plant suppliers, smelters, recyclers, software providers and many more to join us at this important event in order to: Highlight the efforts your company is going to in order to achieve sustainability in aluminium production.

Promote your products or technology as a sustainable solution to the industry.

Position your company, brand and products alongside this important conference.

Arrange face-to-face meetings with international delegates attending the event over two days.

Network informally for the opportunity to meet new contacts within the industry.

Have an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise by taking a speaking slot on the exhibitor platform.

The conference

The AluSolutions conference theme will be ‘Sustainability in the Aluminium Industry’.

Dedicated sessions will discuss how each area of the aluminium production process is becoming more environmentally aware and how manufacturers/processes are implementing changes to meet new legislations.

With international speakers from across the industry invited to present, this conference will address the major issues faced when achieving sustainable aluminium manufacturing.

Call for papers

Are you an expert in this field? Do you have something to say?

We are currently inviting speakers from the industry to present papers on topics including sustainability awareness and innovation.

For further information or to submit your presentation proposal, please contact: Nadine Firth, Editor, Aluminium International Today T: +44 (0)1737 855115 E: nadinefirth@quartzltd.com Visiting

All visitor tickets to this event are completely free-of-charge!

By attending this event visitors will be able to: Get an update on the international aluminium market place and the challenges affecting the industry.

Join the debate on how the aluminium industry can benefit from new developments in technology and sustainability.

Listen to a great line-up of expert speakers from around the world including a number of case studies.

Network with hundreds of other aluminium business executives over the two days.

For more information visit: www.alusolutions.com Or follow @AluSolutions on Twitter for regular updates and event news

If you are interested in finding out about exhibition and sponsorship packages then contact one of the sales team today: Paul Rossage International Sales Manager Tel: +44 (0)1737 855116 Email: paulrossage@quartzltd.com

September/October 2014

Anne Considine Area Sales Manager Tel: +44 (0)1737 855139 Email: anneconsidine@quartzltd.com

Ken Clark Sales Director Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117 Email: kenclark@quartzltd.com

Aluminium International Today

28 CONFERENCE PREVIEW

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11AASTC: The smelting conference with a difference!

By Phil Black*

The Jebel Ali Golf & Beach Resort, Dubai will provide the location for the conference.

The triennial Australasian Aluminium Smelting Technology Conference (AASTC) is a boutique technical forum offering exclusive access to game-changing research and successful operating paradigms. This 11th AASTC (held regularly from 1984) promises delegates a week filled with up-to-date technical information, research findings and vigorous panel discussions led by some of the world’s foremost exponents of smelting know-how. The conference is well-known for access to the gamechangers in the industry and an exclusive opportunity to see up close the very latest in operating smelting technology. With the changing dynamics of the Aluminium smelting industry it is an appropriate occasion to broaden this year’s “Australasian” Conference to an “AustralAsian” one and so it is being held in Dubai.

The AASTC differs from other conferences in that it is focused on the emerging knowledge and applied research that enhances operations. Each time it is held, the feedback from delegates is that “I preferred it to TMS” or “Great practical and useful knowledge.” While delegates to other events will come away with a good understanding of their commercial prospects in the Middle East and how to go about making the most of their opportunities. 11AASTC delegates will discover what the leaders in aluminium process developments are working on and simultaneously how support industries can make a difference to the bottom line.

As always networking starts before the conference opening with delegates participating in the Golf Tournament sponsored by Simonsen a/c. Others will

join the festivities afterwards, giving the networks a solid workout in the worldclass grounds of the Jebel Ali Golf Resort.

Following registration the next day there will be a high level opening Keynote session, with insights from Industry leaders on changes and challenges in the industry.

Speakers include Abdulla Kalban (CEO, EGA); Yusouf Bastaki (Sr V.P. EMAL) describing the recently completed Phase 2 project; Dr Martin Iffert (CEO Trimet)

explaining the challenges and solutions for “keeping aluminium smelting alive” in the EEC; and Kelly Driscoll’s (CRU) latest global overview on the dynamics of the industry, including China’s influence. Dr Barry Sadler (Net Carbon) will examine how the “black side”, anode manufacturing technology, has responded in the last decade and challenges that could be addressed. The Welcome Reception at sunset is sponsored

by Pyrotek and provides a further opportunity to network and discuss the issues.

On Monday morning the programme

will focus on alumina material supply and management issues with varying quality globally. Delegates will also hear of the latest feeder-breaker sensor technology and its integration into control systems.

Prof Jim Metson (Uni of Auckland), explores alumina quality and specifications enabling better management tools for multisource alumina as a prelude to the Panel Discussion that will be chaired by Stephen Lindsay, Alcoa’s Global expert.

After his opening comments the panel will explore improvements to alumina quality standards that will help lower energy consumption and improve environmental performance.

In the afternoon the registrants will hear several presentations from global smelters on different initiatives taken to increase productivity and simultaneously reduce energy consumption. There will also be papers on the theoretical limits of the various steps taken. These combined with cell life, practical environmental and carbon consumption achievements will form a good basis for the second panel discussion. The second Panel Discussion looks at challenges of simultaneously managing minimising energy consumption and fluctuating energy supplies while fulfilling the demands for production growth. Monday's lunch is sponsored by Regain Services.

The Conference Dinner on Monday evening is hosted by EGA and promises to be a spectacular night in the inviting ambience of the Jebel Ali Golf & Beach Resort.

On Tuesday morning delegates rigged out in their PPE have the opportunity to visit EMAL Phase 2 operations which

*Independent Metallurgical Process Consultant, Geelong, Australia September/October 2014

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CONFERENCE PREVIEW 29

recently completed a successful start-up and is now the largest single potline in the world by productivity.

Tuesday afternoon technical sessions start with the experience at Aluar (Argentina) following its freak flooding causing the loss of potlines, with benefits gained by performing pot autopsies prior to restart. The focus switches to cell linings comparing lining integrity with electrical versus flame preheat, understanding structure of the silicon nitride silicon carbide sidewall materials, and side ledge protection – theory and practice. Novel cathode block design and lower resistance collector bars are reviewed prior to a special discussion and presentations of experience from several smelters – not to be missed!

Wednesday morning’s programme concentrates on all aspects of carbon anodes. After an opening presentation of the performance results from the DX+ technology delegates will then hear from several well-known carbon experts.

They will cover developments in petroleum Coke production, the influence of coke super fines and grindability, and reducing carbon consumption. A paper on use of artificial neural networks to predict the influence of anode properties on performance will arouse interest. The third Panel Discussion explores changing anode production to enhance energy efficiency while maintaining environmental standards.

Environmental issues dominate Wednesday afternoon’s programme. Smelter closure and curtailment is discussed then Hydro Aluminium presents the latest approaches in Norway for waste minimisation. Advanced options for handling spent potlining materials are outlined by Regain Services.

Two papers address dry scrubbing issues including Alcoa’s update of their intensive “in-duct” scrubbing technology.

Recently publicised background PFC emissions from Chinese smelters will be examined.

Thursday morning contains parallel sessions; session 1 covers the dynamics of mass/energy balances of smelting cells, bubble release and horizontal anode baking furnace performance. The parallel session focuses on better monitoring and energy utilization, including anode current pickup and current distribution in the cells, and process monitoring of reduction cells via a steady state estimation model.

There will also be a paper on managing pot fluctuations by utilising better process understanding to develop response plans.

The closing plenary session looks to future technological approaches for the industry. Perruchoud et al (R&D Carbon) will open the deliberations with an interesting analysis of the interrelationship between anode quality, supply options and smelter capacity creep.

Lazar Anode Tech will then describe a potential game-changing anode baking technology. Smelting plenaries include a description of RioTinto Alcan’s latest low energy technology – APXe – and Dr Ali Al Zarouni’s (Dubal) presentation outlining Emirates Global Aluminium plans for technology development over the next 10 years.

We encourage all primary aluminium smelting professionals to find out more at www.11aastc.com. Registration is now open.

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Bauxite: Global stability masks massive local changes In overall global terms, bauxite mine production remained steady for the years 2012-2013. US Geological Survey (USGS) figures, although requiring some degree of estimation for 2013, indicate virtually no change for total world production (258 Mt for 2012, 259 Mt for 2013).

Michael Schwartz* explains.

On a country-by-country basis, and reinforcing that initial image of stability, production was unchanged for China, India, Surinam and Vietnam (47 Mt, 19 Mt, 3.4 Mt and 0.1 Mt respectively). Not one of another 11 countries showed any change of more than 5% (Guinea’s production fell just under 5% from 17.8Mt to 17Mt).

In reality, the image of production stability contrasts heavily with other factors. Again after consulting USGS statistics, there was great variety in the sources for bauxite used in the USA - from Jamaica, which supplied 45%, Guinea (24%), Brazil (21%) Guyana (4%), and other countries (6%). What is more, and in addition to America’s dependency on imports, the average price paid by US operations for metallurgical-grade alumina between January and August 2013 ranged from $351/t to $533/t.

As if that was not enough, in February 2013 Ormet Corporation, owner of the Burnside alumina refinery, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; citing high energy prices and low prices for the finished aluminium, as well as high debts and legacy costs. By October capacity at Ormet had shrunk to 90,000 t/y – at which point even that capacity was shut down and the plant acquired by Almatis of Germany.

Bauxite-reserve figures (defined by the USGS as economically extractable at the time of determination) show their own fluctuations.

Of 28 Bt of reserves globally, 7.4 Bt are in Guinea and 6 Bt in Australia. No other country hosts more than 3 Bt; Brazil contains 2.6 Bt, Vietnam 2.1 Bt, Jamaica 2 Bt and 10 other countries listed by USGS offer on average 0.5 Bt (those classified as “others” total 2.4 Bt).

One situation which could be turned to the USA’s benefit is in substitutes for bauxite. While, as the USGS assessment points out, bauxite is the sole material employed in producing commerciallyviable alumina in the country, there are vast resources of clay that are feasible at least in technical terms, not to mention the domestically available alunite, anorthosite, coal wastes, and oil shales.

All of the materials mentioned would naturally require new plants and different technologies to satisfy the demand for primary metal, refractories, aluminium chemicals, and abrasives.

Taken one stage further, synthetic mullite, produced from kyanite and sillimanite, can be substituted for bauxitebased refractories.

In addition, more expensive silicon carbide and alumina-zirconia can substitute for bauxite-based abrasives.

Rusal prominent…

Even when evaluated on a company-bycompany basis, the complexities and varied fortunes of the bauxite industry are highly evident. Rusal, one of the world’s leading aluminium producers, has experienced exactly these changes in fortune.

Rusal’s bauxite reserves spread across five continents, with the wholly-owned North Urals and 80%-owned Timan bauxite mines in Russia. …and willing to resolve problems

Mining operators are used to requests by local residents. In Hururu, Guyana, Rusal witnessed an exceptional sequence of difficulties in 2013, which had to be resolved by both Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), a joint venture between Rusal and the Guyanese Government, and by the local community through its village council.

Key to BCGI’s investment is the Kurubuka deposit. There is, firstly, the sheer financial scale of Hururu, BCGI’s investment running to $3.4 billion. This investment goes well beyond machinery and employee wages – since 2005 the land parcel in and around Hururu has been leased to BCGI by the village council for roughly $1.3 million per month, and the Hururu road leased for $1.1 million monthly. These tariffs are higher than the average for Guyana.

*Correspondent Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

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exclusive rights to it. Guinea’s position as one of West Africa’s key bauxite producers is set for enhancement by the inauguration of the Dian-Dian project.

Initially, Rusal will build and start the operations (in 2016) at a 3 Mt/y bauxite mine, although the potential is there for 6 Mt/y. Bauxite will be transported via a new 25km road; added to the associated railway and port construction, investment in this initial stage will exceed $220 million. Guinea’s government describes Dian-Dian as enjoying “state importance.”

Brazilian market changeable

Previously, Hururu had little income from external sources. The arrival of a mining company has allowed the community to enjoy financial stability for eight years, with BCGI not impeding local logging activities.

Last year, a group of activists, mostly from small-scale logging businesses, made a blunt demand of $12 million immediately or their protests would continue. BCGI responded by pointing out that protest activity could hinder the entire project, as well as stable jobs for more than 500 people for 15 years. The company and the village council also needed to conclude an additional land rental regarding the construction of a new wharf and associated haulage road.

After protests, BCGI issued an open letter stating that by the end of the 15-year Kurubuka-22 project, $430 million will have been paid into the Amerindian Development Fund. This approach was supported by the appropriate Guyanese ministries, which also took part in BCGIHururu talks.

BCGI was committed to the project during the period of protests, and so in September 2013 all parties signed an additional lease agreement. BCGI agreed to an additional rent increase, and to build new water wells and a new logger trail to avoid road-haulage crossings by the Hururu community.

At present, construction of the Kurubuka-22 mine and its new production complex is due to be completed by the end of 2014. Work is continuing.

Jamaica

One market which has fought back against recession is Jamaica. Her bauxite industry suffered very heavily in the recession of 2008, which led to the closure of three of the island’s bauxite refineries, Kirkvine, Alpart and Ewarton. Jamaica’s government has since been engaged in negotiations for the resumption of operations.

In March this year, Jamaica’s finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, stated that Rusal is likely to stay in Jamaica long-term. At the same time, the minister noted an September/October 2014

encouraging 15% growth over the two preceding quarters in Jamaica’s bauxite sector, a reflection at local level of global economic growth.

Rusal is in the process of investing in a coal-fired electricity generating system for Ewarton, which reopened in July 2010 on a reduced production schedule. Ewarton is now back in full production with a workforce of more than 700 after a series of negotiations between Rusal and the Jamaican government, which agreed to waive its bauxite levy on Rusal for one year (coming to a close as this article is being written) while the coal-fired plant was constructed.

Similarly, complex fortunes have been experienced by Aluminium Partners of Jamaica (Alpart). Alpart’s refinery closed in May 2009, but its current owner, again Rusal, is determined to assure lower-cost and sustainable energy in order to continue operations.

By April 2013, Jamaica’s Minister of Mining & Energy, Philip Paulwell, announced that bauxite mining was to resume in early 2016, if not before, dependent on the state of the global aluminium industry. Paulwell also stated that natural gas supplied by BP to power the refinery would be a major incentive.

A more recent tour of the Alpart refinery by government officials in 2014 even mentioned the idea of processing other minerals such as limestone. Alpart’s Lands Manager, Dr Frank Ross, informed the local newspaper The Gleaner that: “There are significant sources of limestone within our bauxite-mining lease, so there is a huge potential for better usage, along with mining and exporting of the product…I’m very confident that there will be a turnaround.”

Guinea

Mercifully for the bauxite sector, planning and negotiations are not always so complex and fraught. Containing 564 Mt of confirmed reserves, the Dian-Dian resource in Guinea is the largest of its kind anywhere in the world – and Rusal holds

Brazil’s trade ministry has released figures for May and June that show substantial contrasts. May’s statistics show a year-onyear increase in bauxite exports over May 2013, rising this year to 812,636t, or up by 18.32%. A key destination was the USA (305,611t), followed by Canada (165,093t), Ireland (168,188t) and China (112,875t).

June’s statistics showed exactly the opposite pattern, as bauxite exports fell 26.3% over June 2013. The total for June 2014 was 647,807t, compared with 878,887 t a year earlier. This time, Canada was the lead export market for June (280,707t), beating the USA (202,284t) and China (58,368t). Ireland did not register in the June statistics. As can only be expected, revenues for June 2014 fell from $32.34 million for the previous year to $17.5 million.

And the stable markets?

Australia’s bauxite sector experienced stability in 2013, as production scarcely rose (76,300,000t to 77,000,000t). This is likely to change, as Australian Bauxite Ltd has announced a robust programme of investment and exploration in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. More specifically, the company is stressing the quality of its bauxite, the bauxite’s proximity to Eastern Australia’s and Tasmania’s transport infrastructure and the Queensland/NSW deposits’ freedom from Native Title.

Applying the criteria of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC), combined resources total 106 million tonnes, with further exploration expected to reveal much larger resources. Roughly 40 tenements cover more than 5,000km2.

Two projects have just been announced in Tasmania. The Fingal Rail bauxite project area south of Launceston is awaiting an aboriginal cultural heritage assessment so that notice of intent can be submitted to relevant government departments. Fingal Rail is 11km north of Campbell Town where ABX obtained its first mining lease at the Bald Hill project.

The intended export port is Bell Bay, on the northern central coast of Tasmania.

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ABX regards Fingal Rail as a straightforward operation, taking in quarrying and then rehabilitation, the bauxite to be transported by road or rail prior to being stockpiled at Bell Bay along with bauxite from other operations for more efficient exporting.

ABX’s other new project, the DL-130 prospect, is also in northern Tasmania, 75km from Bell Bay. The bauxite is described by ABX as the thickest and highest-grade bauxite ever found on Tasmania, up to 14m thick in parts.

Fieldwork to date has identified a line-oflode of bauxite outcrops extending over 12km and 5km wide. The temporary delay in gaining access to much of the bauxite because it lay within hardwood plantations owned by a company in liquidation has now been resolved as a new company has bought the forestry.

For the first three years, operations will comprise basic quarrying and rehabilitation then transportation to a stockpile at Bell Bay, where the bauxite will be blended with bauxite from other quarries to ensure high-quality exports.

And then there is the factor discussed below which can only constitute a windfall for Australian bauxite – Indonesia’s halt on bauxite exports to China.

PRODUCTS

Politics

Adding to the uncertainty lurking under the surface of a seemingly stable industry, there are the political decisions, each claimed to help the bauxite and aluminium sectors in individual countries. They usually involve taxation, sometimes in the form of export duties.

For example, India announced in mid-July that its export duty on bauxite will be doubled from 10% to 20%, the aim being to help local aluminium producers who are facing shortages as local production has failed to meet producers’ demands, whether private or state-owned. The shortages are sometimes caused by delays in acquiring land for exploitation or by environmental challenges; there is too little bauxite so imports are taxed (in the case of coal-fired plants, the Indian government notes that too much thermal coal is being imported, but it still wishes to impose a 2% import duty).

Sometimes, governments have to pick up the pieces from other organisations’ failures.

In Jamaica, the House of Representatives has agreed a resolution which will lead to the government paying off a $33 million debt arising from Jamaica Bauxite Mines’ failure to supply Glencore with bauxite. The situation arises from the problems

SOLUTIONS

confronting Jamaican bauxite previously described. Payments will be made until 2017 – and with 8% annual interest.

On other occasions, a political decision will have serious impact on a major player.

Indonesia has banned shipments of bauxite to China – having supplied anything up to 68% of China’s bauxite imports in 2013.

As a result of Indonesia’s action, there is now a race to fill China’s void, even if China did stockpile a year’s supply of bauxite. Despite the established presence of bauxite miners such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, the smart money may well go on Australian Bauxite Ltd, again as previously mentioned. Indeed, the time needed for China to work her way through the stockpile may well give ABX time to develop its operations.

Conclusion

Bauxite statistics, whether on a global basis or for individual countries, give the impression of a stable sector. Further examination reveals a complex area of activity, influenced by recession and recovery, political decisions regarding exports and imports, and considerations affecting the environment and local populations.

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34 VOLLERT – ADVERTORIAL

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Automated high-bay warehouses for aluminium coils and plates Intelligently designed intralogistics concepts are part of Vollert’s core competencies.

Particularly when it comes to the industrial manufacture of high-quality aluminium products, the intelligent integration of material flows plays a crucial role. To ensure that all processes in rolling and extrusion plants are always resource-saving, smooth and efficient, today’s manufacturers rely on fully automated solutions. From automatic crane systems for raw aluminium ingots and the logistic connection of hot and cold rolling mills to transport, storage and cooling systems for aluminium coils weighing up to 36 tonnes and at temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius, Vollert offers more than just basic systems engineering.

High-bay warehouse in the new AMAG rolling plant in Austria At its headquarters in Ranshofen, AMAG Austria Metall AG, Austria’s leading manufacturer of aluminium semi-finished and casting products, has invested in a new hot rolling plant as part of the “AMAG 2014” investment programme for the expansion of its product range to include wider and stronger aluminium plates and wider hotrolled strip. Serving as the general contractor, Vollert is additionally supplying a new, ready-touse, fully automated high-bay warehouse for aluminium plates with a total capacity of 1,500 tonnes, in addition to a destacking system. With the destacking of two loading points, a three-axis manipulator combines plates of three to four storage pallets at a time and stacks these on two heavy-duty pallets in each case. The destacking process is fully automatic and includes stacking height detection. The aluminium plates can have virtually any length between 4 and 12.5m and any width between 1 and 2.3m. Short plates up to 6 metres can therefore be stacked on the transport pallets as double stacks to increase storage capacity. The cantilever high-bay warehouse has a length of 117m and a height of only 7.5m due to its narrow construction dimensions. At the loading and unloading stage, the pallets are pulled laterally by four telescopic forks onto the stacker crane. Two lift drives allow for bearing loads up to 26 tonnes.

Bridgnorth Aluminium technology from Vollert

relies

on

For the English aluminium manufacturer Bridgnorth Aluminium Ltd., Vollert builds a 120 metre-long high-bay warehouse for the storage of aluminium coils weighing 12 tonnes. The warehouse, integrated into an existing complex building 11 m in height, consists of two rows of September/October 2014

Particularly when it comes to the industrial manufacture of highquality aluminium products, the intelligent integration of material flows plays a crucial role.

Today’s mega high-bay warehouses operate automatically and are supplied with intelligent cooling systems.

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The new Vollert mega high-bay ware-house in Tianjin, China, is over half a kilometre in length. Overall, the specialists for the Chinese Zhongwang Group are constructing three fully automated high-bay warehouses with a total ca-pacity of around 100,000 tonnes of aluminium coils.

racking, each row consisting of three racks high and 52 bays long with a capacity of storing over 300 aluminium coils. The connection to the new cold rolling mill is enabled by Vollert’s coil transfer cars (Vollert CTC), relying on the MOVITRANS contactless energy transfer system from SEW Eurodrive.

Based on the principle of inductive energy transfer, the energy is transferred from a fixed laid ladder in the ground to the transfer cars. The electromagnetic coupling is transmitted via an air gap and is both maintenance and wear-free. The two transfer cars will take the aluminium coils directly from the transfer storage position in the high-bay warehouse, prepared by the stacker crane. A third transfer car will bring the aluminium coils from the annealing area to the transfer storage position for the stacker crane to collect and store them. Vollert uses an ICS Management Solution (Level 2), which will connect to the Bridgnorth Aluminium existing system (Level 3) for controlling the plant.

500 metre-long mega high-bay warehouse in Zhongwang, China For the Chinese Zhongwang Group, Vollert is currently designing and constructing three fully automated high-bay warehouses at the company’s rolling plant site in Tianjin, China. The largest warehouse measures 504m in length and provides Aluminium International Today

space for a total of 1,500 aluminium coils across 150 rows on five separate levels. Two further highbay warehouses, which are currently under construction, provide around 1,300 and 2,100 storage bays respectively. Altogether, these allow for a total capacity of over 100,000 tonnes of aluminium coils. As production buffers, the warehouses are integrated into a comprehensive material flow system – from the ingot melting stage all the way to the loading of the finished products. To this end, Vollert is supplying, among other things, ingot tilting stations, 14 automatic cranes, and manipulators with spans of up to 31.5m. In addition, the project scope also includes crane runways up to 500m in length, tunnel shuttles, driverless transport systems, stacker cranes and 15 blade lifter pairs. All the support systems move in the high-speed area at speeds of up to 4m per second. To enable the coils to be further processed as quickly as possible following the hot rolling process, Vollert is integrating an active individual position cooling system into the high-bay warehouse. After less than 50 hours, coils at a temperature of 350°C can be cooled down to such a level that they are ready for further processing. By doing so, the Zhongwang Group not only saves times but also storage capacity.

Vollert’s ICS systems are also used here.

ALUMINIUM 2014 Premium hall 9, booth 9J28 When realising efficient processes in aluminium rolling and extrusion plants, customers worldwide trust on intralogistics concepts from Vollert.

Interested? Put us to the test!

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Thermo Scientific RM 315 EC Cold Coating Weight Gauge

Thermo Scientific RM 210 AF Aluminium Foil Thickness Gauge

EXTRUSION 37

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Optimisation of die wear and tear for 6063 alloy A case study by Modar Al Mekdad*, Sutanay Parida*, and Suresh Annadurai*

Die wear and press parameters can be correlated in establishing a Die wear (Dielife) curve. Die wear is influenced by extrusion pressure, billet temperature and die design. Major factors which affect the die wear were considered for data collection. Die bearing was one of the top prioritised points. Once the data collection method was established, profile kg/m and the number of billets extruded per loading were analysed to set the nitriding limit.

This ‘close loop control system’ resulted in a best operating practice for optimising die wear and tear.

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Concept

Die wear can be measured in two different ways: 1. Direct Method: By measuring the bearing roughness before and after each run and comparing the subsequent values.

2. Indirect Method: By measuring the profile weight per metre after each run and then comparing the same with the theoretical weight for establishing a wear relationship.

Factors affecting the die wear and tear: 1. Pressure, temperature and speed 2. Die correction procedure 3. Nitriding limit Pressure

Pressure parameter of a die was maintained in a constant band by addressing the die design aspect. That means when a die is set for its production, it is considered as the design is frozen, and the breakthrough pressure is optimised.

Considering this pressure parameter as a constant factor, other factors like billet temperature and puller speeds are taken as variables.

Billet temperature and puller speed

To achieve the major target values of the production, a die has to run to reach its targeted productivity and recovery, along with an optimised die life. Hence, all run parameters are recorded in the system, and with a defined logic, the best

parameters are frozen. The samples are collected on every die run, and weighed for comparison with the theoretical weight per metre.

Sample collection procedure

The sample is the prime reference factor of this system, hence the collection procedure was focused for its validation and authentication. Procedure steps are as follows: A sample to be collected from its last billet and labeled with all detailed data The sample cut into a 350mm length with a very high precision saw machine Cut samples are checked in a Go- NO GO gauge Soaked for minimum four hours at 24°C temperature Samples are weighed using a very highly-

sensitive weighing scale.

Report generation

A report called the ‘Die Extrusion Monitor Report’ can be generated for any period of running by selecting required fields.

Measured weights are written in the blank column of the report. The person writing the measured weight can catch any overweight sample, and the corresponding die can be held for further analysis.

When the measured weight column is filled up on the floor, this data is fed into the ALEX system in the form called ‘Measured Weight’ as shown in Fig 1. This form also shows the last measured weight, which can be compared while entering new data. Any abnormal record can be caught, and the corresponding die again may be held for further analysis[2,4].

*Gulf Extrusions Co. L.L.C., Dubai, United Arab Emirates Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

38 EXTRUSION

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10266-515

0.830

0.829

0.829

0.828 0.826 0.824

0.823

Kg/m

0.822

0.823 0.820

0.820

0.820 0.818

0.819 0.817

0.816 0.814 0.812 0.810 14

Fig 1. Shows ALEX screen for measured weight entry form.

0 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 ct 1 t 10 ct 1 v 10 ov 1 ov 1 ov 1 ov 1 p c N o Se Sep Sep Oct N 0N O O N O N 6 3 2 9 1 3 2 5 2 1 26 21 28 19 515

Fig 2. Shows the fluctuating curve for die 10266-515.

Data analysis

Once all the profiles’ weight per metre is stored in the system, this same data can be used for analysis. When the graph is plotted for a die over a period, in most cases, the curve is observed as a smooth increasing curve, but in few cases it was fluctuating, and those data are called abnormal data.

The entire smooth curve directly shows a steady wear rate of the die, and the press parameters are frozen as the best optimising parameters. This optimisation could be divided in to two categories: Increasing curve dies; and fluctuating curve dies[3].

Fig 3. Shows the dimensions and weight of two samples for die 05058-206

Dies with increased curve

At a constant billet temperature, the ram speed is increased to achieve the best productivity, with a close observation of surface condition. The maximum number of billets allowed is 100, and then the die conditions are checked. If the bearing conditions of the die are within a permitted roughness limit and the surface hardness is good, then the parameters are frozen as a constant temperature parameter.

Again the same die runs in the press with a variable temperature, and aiming to maintain the same puller speed. The change in the ram speed also gives an indication of the wear rate. The billet temperatures are reduced to maintain a uniform pressure-time graph, so that the least time delay is maintained in achieving the set ram speed. For a low pressure, die exit temperature and quenching parameters are also taken care of to achieve the mechanical properties. Again, the same dies are checked for the bearing condition and with the newly-set billet temperature again, the puller speed is increased to its maximum value, and all September/October 2014

17281 2

3

6

5

1 15

16

9

8

4

7

10

13

14

11

12

Readings Die 1 Profile 1 Die 2 Profile 2 Die 3 Profile 3 Die 4 Profile 4 Die 5 Profile 5 2

1.675

1.62

1.71

1.67

1.76

1.64

1.8

1.74

1.8

3

1.675

1.62

1.71

1.67

1.76

1.6

1.77

1.65

1.78

1.69 1.65

4

1.625

1.82

1.65

1.85

1.66

1.85

1.67

1.83

1.66

1.84

5

1.675

1.63

1.715

1.62

1.725

1.56

1.8

1.66

1.8

1.64

6

1.675

1.63

1.715

1.62

1.71

1.55

1.8

1.66

1.8

1.67

7

1.625

1.82

1.65

1.85

1.67

1.83

1.66

1.83

1.67

1.84

8

1.675

1.6

1.725

1.62

1.735

1.57

1.8

1.66

1.775

1.67 1.67

9

1.675

1.6

1.725

1.62

1.725

1.6

1.775

1.65

1.8

10

2.065

1.8

2

2

2.125

1.95

2.175

1.97

2.175

1.94

11

1.65

1.71

1.7

1.74

1.7

1.69

1.76

1.74

1.76

1.73

12

1.65

1.71

1.7

1.74

1.7

1.67

1.775

1.67

1.75

1.68

13

1.65

1.65

1.7

1.74

1.71

1.63

1.8

1.7

1.81

1.72

14

1.65

1.65

1.7

1.74

1.71

1.64

1.8

1.71

1.8

1.74

14

1.65

1.7

1.69

1.7

1.7

1.61

1.76

1.66

1.77

1.68

15

1.65

1.7

1.69

1.7

1.7

1.61

1.76

1.66

1.77

1.68

16

1.65

1.7

1.69

1.7

1.7

1.61

1.775

1.68

1.78

1.68

Fig 4. Shows the profile and die opening for die 17281-601.

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0.2

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17281 difference in die and profile measurement

Measured value in mm

0.15 0.1

2.05 2

0.05 0

17281 diff1

-0.05

17281 diff2 17281 diff3 17281 diff4 17281 diff5

-0.1

-0.15

1.95 1.9 1.85 1.8 1.75 1.7 1.65 1.6

-0.2 -0.25

Die 17281 template dimension

0.2 2.15 2.1

Reading at points

1.55 Die 1

Die 2

Die 3

Die 4

Die 5

Fig 5. Shows points having a uniform trend for die 17281-601.

the parameters are frozen as the best optimising parameters. These appear on the production card for floor use, and become a target reference for the operator[3].

Dies with fluctuating curve

The collected data of kg per metre for die 10266-515 is shown in Fig 2. This is a fluctuating curve. To understand this phenomenon, a simple example of die 05058-515 is considered. On the first day of the run, the sample weight found is 680g. The second sample collected from the same die after two days was found to weigh 672g as shown in Fig 3. Both samples’ dimensions are measured and plotted in AutoCAD. The theoretical weight of the second day sample was also found to be less than that of the first day sample. When the thickness at different points is closely observed, it is found that the mandrel has a permanent deformation (twist).

The cause of this deformation is due to the starting of the die with aluminium filled up. Hence, this type of back to oven (BTO) practice has been stopped, to avoid this kind of premature deformation.

and the die started running consistently.

Die wear optimisation by setting a nitriding limit

Die nitriding is the most important factor for longevity of the die. A soft bearing surface will result in a lower run time per loading, and an over-nitrided surface will result in flexing of the bearing layer.

A best nitriding result can only be obtained by setting the best interval of billets per nitriding, per die. This is more fruitful when controlled by a computerised programme. A best practice is established with the input from the floor for every inspection after each run.

September/October 2014

Extrusion analysis

For a more efficient data analysis, abnormal cases must be deleted which is not possible by a Manual Method.

However, by converting the data to a spreadsheet and sorting the required columns, or specifically the billet temperature or puller speed, abnormal data can be removed. The occurring data can be freezed as an optimised data[1,2].

Conclusion

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Die correction

Die correction practice is also focused to optimise the die wear rate. By proper study of the samples, deflection due to mandrel or tongue could be taken care. As a result die ran for a maximum duration to complete the order. An abnormal case for a die 17281-601 has been shown in Fig 4 & 5. This die also had a fluctuation curve in the weight per metre. All of the last five readings of the profile and its corresponding die opening are taken at 16 different points to plot the graph.

But the permanent mandrel deformation during the production resulted into a ‘bad shape’ extrusion after every 20 billets. The corrector has to increase the die thickness to balance the flow and also to keep the wall thickness within the limit. Such cases were noted for design feedback. After five corrections, the flow came to a balance

result output of optimised productivity with optimised recovery at an optimised die life. Most of the best parameters are set as target data by default logic[1,2].

Die wear has been measured in an indirect way by measuring the weight per metre of the profile. This wear can be controlled by optimising the profile ID database. Periodic updating of the data will show the continual improvement of the die life.

Daily monitoring of the overweight die data establishes the best operating practice. Computerisation-Data-Control guides the corrector for correcting a die as well as selecting the best nitriding interval to achieve an optimised Die life.

The direct financial impact can be crosschecked from the Weigh Bridge Scale which compares a Truck weight to the Theoretical weight[4,5].

Acknowledgment

The system analyses the best periodic interval of die nitriding, and then the same interval can be fixed for further optimisation. Then this value is interlocked to the planning software, so that a required number of allowable billets (nitriding limit) could be planned for the next die loading.

Computerisation - Profile ID

All the production parameters from profilepress master and die master are summarised into one form called the Profile ID. This contains all of the optimised parameters for a profile, which gives a

We are thankful to our IT team, Ms Maram and Mr Malaz and Quality Engineer, Mr Dinesh. Also to the Extrusion and Fabrication team.

References 1. Press database MIDIS. 2. ALEX database for die master, die run report, weight monitor report and form, and profile ID. 3. Soft copy files for keeping all measurement records of the profiles.

4. Daily report by the overweight controller of the management office.

5. Weigh Bridge Scale report.

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www.aluminiumtoday.com Fig 1 2100mm Hot Reversing Finishing Mill

Installation and commissioning of an aluminium hot finishing mill This article details the installation and commissioning of an aluminium hot rolling line at an integrated aluminium producer in Northeast China. There is a description of the line from a mechanical and process viewpoint, along with the functionalities and major commissioning challenges involved. The results of typical final acceptance testing on various aspects of the product quality conclude this paper.

Siemens I MT received final acceptance certification in the last quarter of 2013, approximately three years after the project kick-off. By John Stevens* Siemens I MT recently received final acceptance certification for an aluminium hot rolling line in Northeast China. The line consists of three preheating furnaces and a reversing roughing mill, provided by other suppliers, and a twin-coiler reversing finishing mill installed by Siemens. Siemens also undertook Level 2 automation for the entire line. The line is capable of producing edge-trimmed or untrimmed coils up to 1.8m wide and 24 tonnes in weight, at a minimum thickness of 2mm, in a comprehensive range of aluminium alloys, using semi-automatic or fully automatic operation.

The finishing mill is intended for threepass finishing of a transfer bar up to 195m long, but the automation allows for onepass finishing of thick strip to coil and fivepass finishing of thin hard alloy strip, or cold transfer bars as an emergency operation. Strip dimensions are measured and recorded by a three-head X-ray gauge, entry and exit temperatures by noncontact pyrometers. In order to achieve final acceptance, Siemens had to demonstrate very tight control of strip centreline thickness, profile and wedge, exit temperature, trimmed width and surface quality on a range of commercial,

marine/automotive and aerospace alloys. It was also proven that the equipment and automation had very low levels of down time.

Equipment description

Slabs of aluminium alloys up to a maximum size of 600 x 1800 x 7000mm are preheated in one of three furnaces.

Once rolling temperature has been reached (380 - 510°C, depending on the alloy), the slab is discharged, laid on the roller table with the short faces vertical by transfer arms or crane and transferred to the roughing mill. The Siemens Level 2 automation system has already produced a pass schedule for the transfer bar, and when the exact temperature of the slab has been confirmed by mathematical modelling and thermocouple measurement this pass schedule is refined.

The roughing mill is controlled by a local Level 1 automation system and in manual operation. The slab is stopped in front of the mill and centred by means of side guides, then rolled back and forth according to the dynamic pass schedule (with passes through the vertical edger if required). When the transfer bar thickness is low enough, it is sent to the heavy shear

to have the head and tail ‘crocodiles’ cut off, then it is returned to the mill for rolling of the last four or six passes. After the last pass, Level 2 recalculates the one or three finishing passes. If three passes are needed to produce the final coil, then the tail end of the transfer bar is cut off at the heavy shear, and after this the head end is cut at the light shear.

The transfer bar is centred by synchronised side guides, then threaded into the reversing finishing mill. The head end emerges and is fed into the exit belt wrapper, which ensures that the strip coils around the partially-expanded exit mandrel under tension. The exit deflector roll lowers and, as soon as tension is established, the mandrel fully expands, the belt wrapper nose arm opens and the wrapper retracts to its park position. The mill and mandrel then accelerate to running speed. When the tail end of the transfer bar is detected in front of the mill, it slows down again to threading speed and the exit pinch roll assembly closes to maintain tension. As the pass ends and the stand is unloaded, if three passes are required then the entry belt wrapper descends to the entry mandrel, and the exit pinch roll assembly opens briefly to allow the strip tail to be

*Process Commissioning Manager, I MT C&R TY PA Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

44 ROLLING centred by synchronised rollers. Otherwise the automatic coil removal sequence described below starts up.

The second pass threads in the reverse direction, when the stand loading is detected the exit pinch roll assembly is opened (deflector roll remains in lower position), pass entry tension is set, the emerging head is fed into the entry belt wrapper, which ensures that the strip coils around the partially-expanded entry mandrel under tension. The entry deflector roll lowers and, as soon as tension is established, the mandrel fully expands, the belt wrapper nose arm opens and the wrapper retracts to its park position. The mill and both mandrels then accelerate to running speed. During the previous pass Level 1 recorded the number of laps on the exit mandrel, so it can track uncoiling, and when only a few laps remain the mill and mandrels slow down again to threading speed and the entry pinch roll assembly closes to maintain tension. The exit mandrel is cooled down and lubricated with a spray of roll coolant. The third pass is a repeat of the second pass, in the opposite direction.

The coil removal sequence starts with the stand unloaded and the tail secured by the exit pinch roll assembly. The coil car rises quickly to just below the coil position with the coil tailing roll raised, the coil car then rises slowly until a hydraulic pressure rise shows that the tailing roll is in contact with the coil. The mandrel is then turned slowly as the coil car continues to rise (lowering the tailing roll in the process), trapping the coil tail at the bottom of the coil. At this point the exit mandrel collapses and the coil car removes the coil from the mandrel, before lowering the coil to the bander saddle where it can be weighed and then secured by steel bands on a semiautomatic banding machine. The coil car then transports the banded coil to the walking beam saddle, where a walking beam removes and stores up to three coils, ready for removal by overhead crane.

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Fig 2 Exit area of Finishing Mill showing exit mandrel, beltwrapper and bander

Alloy

Thickness

Width

C40 Profile

(mm)

(mm)

target

Thickness

Coil Body Tolerance Values Profile

3003

2.50

1270

0.45%

± 0.025 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

5052

3.50

1520

0.45%

± 0.028 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

2024

6.00

1480

0.65%

± 0.042 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

5083

4.00

1500

0.70%

± 0.028 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

5A06

4.00

1480

0.75%

± 0.032 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

7075

4.00

1250

0.70%

± 0.028 mm

± 0.38%

± 10ºC

Temperature

Table 1

Process description

The customer rolls all alloys except aluminium-lithium, including various 4xxx3xxx-4xxx clad alloys, so slab preheat temperatures vary from 390 - 520ºC and rolling speeds from 120 - 360 m/sec.

Siemens-supplied Level 1 and Level 2 automation controls all aspects of automation, leaving the operator free to concentrate on checking strip quality and correcting steering errors.

During the course of commissioning, various process issues arose, and these all had to be solved. Some of these issues are listed below: Refusals to bite on hard alloy slabs Excessive ‘crocodiling’ Cracking of hard alloys during coiling passes September/October 2014

Fig 3 Diagram of the main relationships between Level 2 and Level 1

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ROLLING 45

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‘Telescope’ on untrimmed coils

developed into a major issue; the customer wanted to produce untrimmed coils to a similar standard as trimmed coils.

After several weeks of work the automation system was modified to ensure that untrimmed coils, while not achieving a complete absence of telescoping, had acceptably level sides. This was done by modifying the rate of application of AGC and dynamic roll bending.

Hard alloy refusals were a particular issue with short slabs (below the minimum specified length). By a combination of modifications to the neural networks, to take short slabs into account, and additional ‘one-touch’ controls, allowing the operator to open the roll gap slightly in response to a refusal, followed by automatic re- scheduling, incidence of refusals became much lower.

With alloys containing >4% magnesium, long crocodiles became an issue. After some experimentation we modified the pass reduction schedule to reduce loads in certain passes where the crocodile seemed to develop. This knowledge was then incorporated into the relevant models.

During early commissioning stages of the aerospace alloys there were several scrapped coils caused by the strip cracking as it was coiled on the third pass, leading to strip breaks. Rolling from a hotter slab, at higher speeds, allowed the last pass to be coiled at 300 - 320ÂşC, at which temperature there were no cracks forming as the strip was coiled, and there were no defects caused by hot shortness in earlier passes.

Telescoping of untrimmed coils

Product quality

After completion of all hot commissioning activities, and rolling of production coils in all alloys and product sizes, the mill underwent final acceptance testing. For a range of alloys, thicknesses and widths, Siemens had to show that the mill would produce a precise, high-quality product (Table 1).

It was also necessary for all products to show freedom from surface or flatness defects in the coil body, cold trimmed width -0+3mm compared to target, maximum strip wedge 1.2%, maximum rate of change of thickness 0.5% per m, and maximum rate of change of profile 0.2% per 5m, in all cases to a level of 95% pass rate.

Over a two-month testing period all six products attained pass rates for each parameter, with productivity and equipment

availability exceeding expectations.

Conclusions

Although the whole project took some months more to complete than was originally planned, the final result meets all expectations. The ‘1 + 1’ roughing mill/reversing finishing mill hot line concept offers a good compromise between reduced space and cost requirements and increased output, and in this project the concept proved acceptable for 2xxx, strong 5xxx and 7xxx series alloys, and 4-3-4 clad variants, as well as for the more commonly rolled alloy groups.

Continuous monitoring of product quality showed close control of thickness and profile, and thousands of coils were hot-rolled ready for further processing on the customer’s existing narrow cold mills, or on the new wide cold mill being installed next to the finishing mill.

Siemens site manager John Stevens said ‘This was a challenging project to complete, but thanks to hard work from both the customer and the multinational Siemens commissioning team we were able to hand over a hot mill line which can produce high quality coils of almost every hot-rolled aluminium commercial product’.

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Thickness control Model based thickness control allows damage detection in mill mechanical parts.

By Roger Feist*, Maksim Klinkov** and Lourival Salles de Almeida Neto***

Thickness control of strip and foil is one of the basic and most important controllers of modern aluminium rolling mills. As a general rule, strict thickness performance is on the top of the list of requirements when buying a new machine and, therefore, the thickness controller is always the object of study and improvement trials for rolling mill suppliers.

The model based predictive thickness controller for cold rolling mills developed

by Achenbach is designed to eliminate all major disturbances in thickness by means of entry thickness compensation, eccentricity compensation, mass flow control, speed compensation and other variable compensations known to have impact at the exit thickness. However, attention has turned to the possibility that this model based control is also detecting damages in rotary parts of the mill.

Damages in rotary parts such as back-up roll bearings or winder cones will make a fingerprint on the material thickness that cannot be compensated by the thickness controller, especially if the source of disturbance is after the gap, for example, a recoiler beat.

If it is sure that the entry thickness oscillation and disturbances on thickness

caused by rolling are well compensated, what remains on strip can reveal the failure.

The Achenbach model based controller integrated in OPTIROLL i3 automation system has the ability to deliver a rolling disturbance-free thickness over the strip length allowing failures of rotating parts to be detected by the spectral analysis of the exit thickness deviation. A case study is presented in this paper.

Since the last decade the demand on the high thickness quality is increasing and therefore pushing the mill suppliers to search for new control strategies that would satisfy the customers need.

Achenbach made use of the modern control, in particular the model based predictive one, for this purpose (Fig 1). As a result, the new OPTIROLL i3 is capable of Known disturbances (entry thickness variation, acceleration...)

Feedforward

P2

Internal model

Set point

Unknown disturbances (thermal drift,...)

Disturbance model

Predicted response

P3

Manupilated Variable

Controlled Variable (exit thickness)

Regulator

Predictive controller

Fig 1 Model based predictive thickness controller

FT (amp-abs) Thickness–exit- delta (%) FT (amp-abs) Thickness–entry- delta (%) BUR1: 1.796 Hz

0.30

Model based predictive gauge control in cold rolling mills

0.30

0.25

0.25

0.20

0.20

0.15

0.15

0.10

0.10

0.05

0.05

FT (amp-abs) Thickness–exit- delta (%) FT (amp-abs) Thickness–entry- delta (%) FTF: 0.819 Hz

0

0 0

2.5

5.0

7.5

10.0

Fig 2a Spectrum of the measured exit thickness

12.5

15.0

17.5

20.0

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Fig 2b Spectrum of the measured exit thickness

*Head of Automation Department **Automation Systems engineer ***Automation Systems engineer, Achenbach Buschhütten.

September/October 2014

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bearing caused by excessive clearance between the rotor with the characteristic rotational frequency of the backup roll (BUR1) and its harmonics, (Fig 2 - a); Cage damage of the backup roll bearing which is characterised by the FTF frequency and its harmonics, (Fig 2 - b)).

The spectrums in Fig 2 are constructed directly in the PDA software at constant mill speed. The frequencies revealing the damages were observed over a short period of time at the thickness measurements spectra with the thickness controller active. Figs 3a and 3b show back up roll bearing preparation for inspection.

Conclusion Fig 3a Bearing to be inspected

compensating for the most dominant process disturbances such as: a) entry thickness variation; b) tribological effects; c) rolls eccentricities; d) slowly changing thermal effects. Its effectiveness also gives a possibility of observing the smallest changes in the thickness variation that were not visible before. Recent analysis of the residuals in thickness variation led to the conclusion that the thickness measurement can also be used for damage detection in the rotating mill components like bearings.

Rotating components

Bearings are very important parts in the rolling mill as they undergo oscillating loads and are prone to damage and wear.

Their failure can stop the mill operation or even cause the critical situation with all successive consequences like fire and operation stop.

Due to a rotational movement, most of the bearings defects are related to the rotational speed and can be extracted by means of certain signal processing procedure. The speed, together with the bearing geometry, allows a computation of the characteristic frequencies that would be extracted for each specific bearing component:

Searching for the characteristic fingerprints in the residual deviations of measured thickness together with highly performant gauge controller will assist for the indirect Condition Monitoring (CM).

This synergy is presented below.

Case study

Thickness measurements were recently acquired from a cold rolling strip mill after its modernisation with the introduction of the new OPTIROLL i3 control system. With this control system, most process related disturbances are eliminated from the variable under control allowing the observation of bearing damages, such as: Bearing looseness on the backup roll

The synergy between a new model based predictive controller and well-known signal processing techniques in one package has the power to assist the maintenance team by giving quasi-online monitoring information of the rotating components integrity. Such information is valuable for the preparation of the rolling mill, scheduled inspections preventing undesirable stops for corrective maintenance, or other more serious problems such as fire at the machine.

The thickness control system of OPTIROLL i3 delivers a clean material thickness giving the power to use spectra analysis as presented here moving the rolling mill into the direction where the control system takes over a new task: increase of mill reliability and, therefore, more consistence in production.

Fig 3b Preparation for cage inspection

Ball pass frequency, outer race (BPFO) BPFO = Z.n (1 – d .cos α) 2.60 D Fundamental train frequency (FTF) n d FTF = (1 – .cos α) 2.60 D with: α - angle of contact, D – arc diameter, d – rolling element diameter, Z number of rolling elements and n – shaft RPM. September/October 2014

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Case Study: FATA Hunter 2m wide cold rolling mill at Eurometal S.A. In 2013 FATA Hunter, Division of FATA S.p.A. (a Finmeccanica Company) was awarded a contract for the supply of a 2m wide cold rolling mill and a tension leveling line to Eurometal S.A., Stalowa Wola, Poland. The equipment is being installed on schedule at a greenfield plant located in the new Kleszczów Industrial Park in Poland. By Anthony Tropeano* and Enrico Romano** All the equipment for this new plant has been selected on the basis of its design to make the facility one of the most modern, efficient and environmentally friendly aluminum rolling plants in Europe. The mill features controls that allow it to roll a wide variety of products from foil stock to can body with tolerances that meet or exceed the quality from leading producers.

Eurometal is currently a leading European supplier of aluminium extrusions. The company belongs to the Eko-Swiat Group - a major Polish producer of extrusion billets, primary and secondary alloys, produced through continuous casting technology.

to the production’s requirements of the customer.

The mill has been designed with oversized gearboxes and larger throughshafts on the mill motors which will allow the customer to speed-up the mill just by changing the gearing in the boxes and adding outboard motors. This design eliminates the added cost and downtime of moving the original motors to the outboard position when the mill is upgraded into a mill with a maximum speed of 1200mpm and a high production rate capable of producing 120,000 tons per year.

Modern technology

Main characteristics of rolling mill

The rolling mill is designed for the production of strips made from aluminium alloys of the 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx and 8xxx groups, in widths up to 2100mm and in the thickness range 0.15 to 7.0mm starting from hot rolled or continuous cast strips with a maximum thickness of 10mm.

The rolling of continuously cast strip requires different knowledge than the rolling of hot rolled strip. Specifically, a high reduction on the initial rolling passes is necessary in order to remove the oxide layer and smut from the cast strip surface and thus produce high quality strip. This is critical if foil is to be produced downstream in the future and defects are to be avoided. Accordingly, FATA Hunter supplies cold rolling mills with a high rolling torque capability and the work rolls are sized accordingly in order to transmit this high torque. Similarly, the company’s mills have coolant filters with a large surface area in order to accommodate the higher coolant dirt loading caused by the removal of these oxides.

The rolling mill has been designed with a maximum speed of 1200m/min, with single drive motors for the mill and the payoff and rewind reels. This mill has the capability to roll the entire range of alloys and gauges in the product mix. The mill will start running at 600m/min according

The equipment for the cold rolling mill has been custom designed and specifically manufactured for Eurometal using the latest design concepts in the industry for this type of equipment. This is in accordance with FATA Hunter’s policy of continuously improving the equipment it supplies, not only by supplying the latest technology developed by the company, but also the latest and best available from FATA Hunter’s sub-suppliers.

In the case of the equipment for the Eurometal Project the new technology includes: Upgraded mill housing and chock design for reduced vibration, improved mill stability and reduced chock deflections to achieve improved strip quality, longer roll bearing life and reduced bearing temperatures.

The h System mill controls incorporate the latest release of the software that combines gauge and flatness control with FATA Hunter’s traditional operator friendly interface. The system uses standard operating systems and Siemens hardware to simplify maintenance and minimise the learning curve for the technical staff. The system proposed to Eurometal includes an improved diagnostics package that was developed to help the technician trace quality problems to specific process

parameters and mill components and improved level 2 compilation software for 20X faster data recording and increased data storage capacity.

The fume exhaust cleaning system not only meets the EU requirement of 50mg/m3, it also recovers and purifies the oil from the exhaust fumes and has a lower overall running cost and better ROI than the conventional oil washing system.

The latest shape sensing roll design released by ABB with an improved strip stress measuring system and Digital Transmission Unit.

New work roll induction heating system for tight strip edge control has a faster response time than conventional hot oil spray systems and a lower operating cost.

This system has major, technical and economic benefits over other systems resulting in reduced strip breaks, increased mill productivity and utilisation. Typically rolling speeds increase by around 10% over mills without such a system.

The proposed ABB Millmate thickness gauge uses Pulsed Eddy Current technology as an alternative to the common thickness measurement technology based on X-ray. A weak magnetic field is used for the measurement and the gauge is completely safe to use as the system doesn’t use any radioactive source. The gauge in this revision F offer is the latest generation with an increased performance and operating range and improved IP65 grade protection.

FATA Hunter’s latest strip blow off design that was refined in 2011 for the new cold rolling mill supplied as part of a total green field plant supplied to OARC in Oman.

According to the company, this system provides excellent strip dryness.

FATA Hunter’s coolant filter system that works with the eco-friendly Acticell R wood-pulp based medium that is not only bio-degradable, but can also be burnt as a fuel source. The combination of these systems brings this mill to the forefront of environmentally responsible mill design.

*CEO, FATA Hunter, Division of FATA S.p.A. **Process Engineer, FATA Hunter, Division of FATA S.p.A. September/October 2014

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Mill automation system for AGC control and mill set up

An important feature of any modern cold rolling mill is the automatic control of strip thickness and flatness. An impressive improvement in the quality of the cold rolled products is achieved by utilising such a system, creating greater throughput by reducing “out of tolerance” material (i.e. scrap).

Also, it allows an increase of the actual rolling speed, because the operator is no longer restricted to low mill speed in order to achieve an acceptable strip quality. Finally, the quality of rolled products exiting the downstream equipment strongly depends on the quality of the strip entering that equipment, i.e. the quality of the strip exiting the rolling mill.

FATA Hunter’s supply includes a h-System mill automation package that optimises the performance of the rolling mill. This system includes all the functions necessary to run the rolling mill under Automatic Gauge Control (AGC) and Automatic Flatness Control (AFC). These functions include automatic control of the roll gap as well as mill speed and coiler tension.

In developing this mill automation system FATA Hunter has focused on the following: Mill Performance Package designed to provide excellent mill performance at a

cost-effective price. incorporates FATA Hunter’s extensive process knowledge.

Gauge control strategies are based on mill operating practices of modern rolling mills.

Level II package for pass schedule calculation and editing, coil reports and data management optimises mill productivity and product quality /consistency.

System

PLC Based System Solution unique to FATA Hunter.

Utilises top quality Siemens hardware – no “black boxes” or

FATA Hunter specific programming language.

Easy to troubleshoot for any technician familiar with PLC. Simple “ladder logic” and “Continuous Function Chart”

programming promotes greater “ownership” of equipment by inhouse maintenance staff, decreases dependence on FATA Hunter support and results in better mill uptime. Hardware/software service and support easily available through local Siemens organisation.

Hardware and software training available through local Siemens organisation.

Operator and process training provided by FATA Hunter during commissioning.

Siemens has a good history of providing long-term hardware support.

Complete system testing before shipping to ensure trouble free start up.

Cost-effective solution.

PLC based system minimises hardware cost.

Modular structure of the h-System eliminates costly redundant hardware found in “standardised” systems. Installation downtime minimised by h-System architecture that allows pre-installation of the racks/cabling and pre-commissioning of the system.

Level 3

The h-System will include the provision for a future Level 3 function to enable data transfer to and from the customer’s plant Level 3 system.

Contact www.fatahunter.com

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Diamond mill designed for automotive body sheet With the aluminium auto-body sheet market having to adhere to increasingly challenging emissions and fuel efficiency requirements, rolling companies such as Aleris Europe are investing in advanced cold mills to meet these demands. S. Carter* explains.

At the Aleris Duffel plant in Belgium, Danieli has put into operation one of the most important aluminium cold mills ever built. The Danieli Fröhling-designed Diamond cold rolling mill is the first of its kind in the world, with the ability to produce the complete range of Wide Automotive Body Sheet (WABS) on a single mill stand as well as the flexibility to roll standard products.

In early 2011 Aleris formulated a requirement for a new, wide cold-mill complex centred on a new, single-stand cold mill specifically for WABS. Although Aleris’ initial enquiry was for a 4-high mill, Danieli Fröhling’s and Innoval’s joint German and UK team convinced them of the benefits of the advanced, Diamond mill 6-high solution against strong competition from the world’s leading mill builders.

The car manufacturer’s requirements for body-in-white (BIW) material centre on AA5xxx series, such as 5083, 5182 and 5754; AA6xxx series, such as 6016, 6130 and 6960; and also AA7xxx series alloys with typical strip widths up to 2400mm.

An important WABS attribute is the strip surface finish of both standard ‘mill finish’

and Electric Discharge Texturing (EDT) products; the latter being a requirement by certain car manufacturers for good deepdrawing properties and an attractive appearance after painting.

Danieli took a clean sheet analytical design approach in close co-operation with its sister company Innoval Technology who has experience in WABS products.

This includes material technology development for the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and enabled Danieli to design a cold mill that not only meets the criteria of WABS rolling including EDT but also provides the cold rolling capabilities for a range of other products.

The design factors considered by Danieli for its Diamond Cold Mills for WABS product and production requirements included: Large operational roll separation force range to cover low load EDT passes, as well as high rolling load capability for AA5xxx series hard alloys.

Strip flatness across strip widths that includes mechanical actuation where the control of the thermal cambers is limited, particularly at the strip edge areas.

Interactive dynamic control of the

intermediate and work roll bending.

Optimal pressure distribution between mill stand rolls for minimal roll wear, but ensuring effective control of the strip edges when thermal control is constrained.

Advanced coolant spray actuation and wide control range.

A high level of stack stability and attention to vibration prevention.

Dynamic Roll Offset Cylinders to ensure stable rolling for low roll-separating forces during mill acceleration, constant speed, and deceleration rolling stages.

Massflow Automatic Gauge Control (AGC) to provide the highest level of thickness tolerance.

To meet the above criteria and additional Aleris requirements, a number of special features were incorporated into the mill design. These included: Special AGC (roll load) cylinder design incorporating a nested dual-cylinder design.

Optimised bearing design for EDT rolling.

Danieli’s High-Res roll coolant sprays for perfect spray patterns and fully flexible coolant control.

*Danieli Fröhling

September/October 2014

The Danieli Fröhling-designed Diamond cold rolling mill at the Aleris Duffel plant in Belgium, is Aluminium the first International of its kind in the Today world.

ROLLING 53

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High-quality filtration for possible debris

removal, using Danieli’s DAN PURITY coolant filtration system.

The ability of the mill stand, if required, to use different diameter work rolls.

Danieli’s mandatory Dynamic Roll Offset Cylinders to prevent chatter and mill vibration, while minimising mill hysteresis.

DAN ECO2 fume-cleaning and coolantrecovery system to provide the lowest environmental emissions required, in line with the latest, most stringent European regulations.

Inspection on the mill of thick strip material.

This also is the first aluminium mill in the world to be designed and supplied in line with the European safety directives that came into force as of January 2012 (EN ISO 12100:2010 and EN13849).

6Hi stand configurations to best suit the client’s process requirements.

Highlights of the Aleris project 6-high non-reversing aluminium cold mill.

Strip thickness range down to 0.5mm; strip width range from 1100 to 2350mm.

Maximum strip speed of 1000 mpm.

Maximum coil weight of 25,000kg.

Contract signed on 25 May, 2011.

All key equipment was manufactured in Danieli’s wholly owned workshops.

Mill installation was included in the Danieli scope of supply.

Process site support provided by Innoval Technology.

In-depth mill vibration analysis performed on-site to ensure proper EDT finishing quality.

Danieli ‘Diamond Mill’ concept

Danieli’s ‘Diamond Mill’ concept covers the range of cold rolling mills specifically designed for aluminium rolling including Cold Mills; Thin Strip Mills; Roughing and Universal Foil Mills and Finishing (doubling) Foil Mills. The Cold Mills are offered in single or tandem stands, 4Hi or

Aleris WABS Mill layout

The Aleris WABS Mill has a direct interface with a dedicated third-party, high-bay storage system. Coils are taken from the high bay and transferred to the coil preparation-station where the coil heads are prepared prior to loading onto the entry-side of the mill.

After rolling, initial pass coils can be inspected on the mill as required, and then transferred off the mill where finished passes are inspected prior to each coil being automatically banded. After banding the coils are automatically marked prior to returning to the high-bay storage system.

As an alternative to the layout and coil handling described above, a full pallet conveyor system between the mill and storage system can be specified.

Mill stand for Aleris WABS Mill

The following features common to all Diamond 6-high Cold Mills are included on the Aleris WABS mill:

Parallel profile Intermediate Roll (IMR)

with long-stroke side shifting to provide high levels of flatness performance across a wide strip width ratio. The parallel rolls do not require any special ground roll profile, and are capable of side-shifting under load.

Bottom-mounted, double-acting AGC (Roll Load) cylinders fitted with lowfriction seals for optimal response, and industry-standard Sony Magnescale position transducers.

Top-mounted automatic pass-line height compensation to ensure the mill pass-line is always correctly maintained.

Driven Work-Rolls using universal drive spindles with centralisation to ensure that is no slippage between the work-rolls and the strip.

Modular bend block for WR & IMR bend for a seamless transition from +ve to –ve bending that also features no hydraulic chock connections, and thus accelerate roll-changing times without operator intervention.

All bearings are temperature monitored.

Danieli Hi-Res coolant spray system (patent pending) to ensure high resolution and consistent spray pattern coverage, regardless of roll diameter or spray zone width, using mark-space ratio sprays with multiple spray headers. This solution, which may include Hot Edge Sprays (HES) or hot edge inductors, is the most advanced solution available to the market .

Dynamic roll offset cylinders for stable rolling and roll stack stability

As previously stated, the correct mill design is paramount to ensure the stability of the roll stack under all rolling conditions, both at steady and transient state to prevent mill vibration and to minimise stand hysteresis.

After detailed analysis, stand modelling and calculation of a number of measures are implemented on both standard and WABS duty mills to ensure all of the Aluminium International Today

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aforementioned criteria are met.

The mill design considers the rigidity of the mill stand which in the case of the Aleris mill each stand weighs 100 tons.

The Danieli design for dynamic roll offset includes the following criteria: Compensation for horizontal rolling

rolling.

Special double-acting active AGC (roll load) cylinders to cover the complete rolling load range while maintaining optimal control characteristics at both ends of the rolling range.

Special low level coolant control (if a client’s process related to EDT rolling requires higher than normal coolant filtration for debris removal then this can be also supplied).

Enhanced automation solution.

Additional design considerations for rolling EDT material

Environmental and ancillary equipment

In addition to the mandatory mill stand features listed above, the following items are required and have been implemented on the Aleris WABS Cold Mill: Optimised bearing design for EDT Rolling to ensure that the roller bearings do not skid at low loads but are capable high load

In order to meet the stringent current and scheduled European regulations for emissions, and to enhance Aleris’s own environmental credentials, Danieli’s DAN ECO2 fume cleaning and coolant recovery system was specified and supplied.

Its design achieves current European

+ TUF FILTRATION

forces during all rolling phases.

Ensures stable rolling conditions exist for all normal reduction schedules using the 5mm offset of the IMR. Features an algorithm in the control system will determine the requirement for the deceleration rate reduction or use of the horizontal shifting cylinders.

Essential for EDT passes with roll forces as low as 1100 kN. Without this function unstable rolling conditions may occur, potentially resulting in strip break, chatter and stand vibration.

emission exhaust air concentrations of less than 30 mgC/Nm³ with the additional benefit of recovering up to 50 litres of rolling oil per hour. The DAN PURITY coolant filter provides a high level of coolant filtration required for the process.

Aleris WABS Mill actual performance

A good indicator of the strip quality produced by the mill is the acceptance by the end-users, which in the case of Aleris, the users of the finished products are the automotive industry.

These manufacturers require their suppliers to pass a series of rigorous tests over an extended period, to ensure the product quality is both high and repeatable.

To date, from this Danieli-supplied mill Aleris has obtained full qualification from Audi, General Motors, Daimler, BMW and Volvo.

The less you waste, the more you save.

CRS introduces TUF® (Tough Ultra Filtration) technology—a new way to reduce rolling fluid processing costs and material waste.

Improve the quality and volume of recovered oil with TUF technology, an advanced filtration solution that eliminates the need for costly DE and disposable filter media. Customizable to meet each application’s requirements, TUF technology is a proprietary, service-based offering that lowers operational costs, improves product quality and helps achieve environmental improvement goals.

Find out how you can cut costs. Visit stand 11K25 at the Aluminium International tradeshow. www.EliminateDE.com

September/October 2014

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Coolant management in aluminium flat rolled product manufacturing Within the aluminium industry’s Flat Rolled Product (FRP) sector, proper management of the rolling mill’s coolant of choice plays an important role in maintaining product quality and controlling costs.

By Ed Brownlee* Whether the coolant is being used in a hot mill or a cold mill, whether its formulation is emulsion-based or oil-based, the coolant’s reprocessing system must ultimately minimise particulate and mill lubricant contamination and maintain additive levels. Adding to this challenge is the move by many FRP manufacturers toward stringent zero-waste policies.

FRP producers have several options for controlling contamination. This article will discuss these options and how they affect the rolling mill’s operation, product quality, environmental impact and overall cost.

Coolant in rolling operations

Hot mills typically use an emulsion-based coolant consisting of 5% to 8% oil-based concentrate in water. Although cold mills can also use an emulsion-based product, oil-based coolant is the more common choice. Coolants contain several essential additives, which are used primarily for their load-bearing properties, and are often the most expensive component of the coolant formulation.

Coolant plays a critical role in the operation of every rolling mill and serves three main functions. First, it removes the

heat generated during rolling by the friction of the rolls themselves, as well as the internal friction created by the working of the aluminum. Second, the coolant acts as a lubricant, controlling both the heat generation and the overall product finish.

And third, coolant flushes debris away from the sheet.

During rolling operations, the coolant becomes contaminated with machinery lubricants, hydraulic fluids, water, metallic soaps, metal fines and other debris. These contaminants must be controlled for the coolant to be effective. Two technologies

*Sr. Process Engineer, CRS Reprocessing Services

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are used to control contamination: Distillation and filtration.

Recently, CRS Reprocessing Services developed a repeatable proprietary crossflow membrane filtration technology that is capable of removing particulate without the need for filtering aids.

Distillation

Distillation is the best option for controlling contamination caused by mill lubes, which are the machinery lubricants and hydraulic fluids that leak into the system during operation. Distillation is also used to control contamination by metallic soaps created by the reaction between metallic fines and fatty acid additives.

Distillation also aids in the removal of metal fines, oxides and debris. A dehydration step is often included in the process to remove residual water from the coolant prior to distillation.

During distillation, the coolant is heated under vacuum in order to lower its boiling point. Base oil and additive vapour leave the evaporator vessel, passing through a condenser. Then, after condensing to liquid, the clean coolant is returned to the rolling mill’s clean oil tank. Concentrated contaminants and some un-recovered coolant that remain behind in the evaporator are periodically purged to a waste tank.

Several different companies manufacture off-the-shelf vacuum distillation systems. These are typically sold as skid-mounted, turnkey systems lacking the customisation needed to meet a customer’s specific recovery and throughput requirements. Without such customisation, the distillation process is often inefficient and more likely to send too much base oil and additive out with the waste stream.

Some rolling mills use full-flow distillation to treat their entire coolant system. Fines, oxides and debris are removed along with the mill lubes and soaps, eliminating the need for a filtration system. For most rolling mills, however, the volume of coolant is so large that fullflow distillation is not practical. Those operators can benefit from CRS Reprocessing Services’ expertise in calculating the optimal percentage of coolant volume requiring treatment by distillation before the remainder undergoes filtration.

Filtration

Filtration is a method used to control particulate contamination.

Historically, stack filters or candle filters are employed in tandem with a filtering aid such as perlite, cellulose or, most often, diatomaceous earth (DE). Stack filters use paper as the filtration substrate; candle filters use porous steel tubes, arranged vertically inside the filter housing. In both cases, the filtering aid forms a boundary layer across the September/October 2014

Choice of coolant management systems

When choosing a coolant management system, the manufacturer must look at all the factors contributing to product quality and cost of ownership. The following list highlights some key concerns: Raw material usage – The spent DE used in most filtration systems, as well as base oil and additives that are lost through inefficient processes must be replaced.

Coolant recovery – In a problem tied to the cost of raw material usage, poorly designed distillation systems send too much coolant out with the waste stream.

While no distillation system is 100% efficient, a custom-designed system can minimise base oil and additive losses through the bottoms. Coolant loss is also an issue in filtration systems using DE, which lose coolant with each indexing cycle.

Quality – The dirt load for DE stack filters along with ineffective off-the-shelf distillation units can impact the efficiency of the reprocessing system and – more important – potentially impact downstream product quality. The improvements to downstream product quality that are made possible by better coolant have great value and should not be overlooked.

Waste costs – Filtration systems that index too often, distillation systems with poor recovery rates, and spent DE all have an impact on waste treatment costs.

Utility costs – Inefficient distillation systems waste power. The pumping power required by filtration systems makes electrical costs add up quickly. In fact, pumping requirements for all the various systems must be taken into account.

HSE – Use of DE inhibits the facility’s compliance with zero waste objectives and contributes to the impact of dust particulate.

Labour and maintenance costs – All costs associated with operating the system and maintaining the equipment must be calculated, along with the costs associated with mill downtime.

Capital costs – The price of an offthe-shelf system that may or may not meet specific operating requirements must be evaluated in comparison to the potential cost savings of working with a service provider that owns, designs, operates and maintains the equipment, thereby freeing the manufacturer’s capital for other projects.

With more than 20 years of service experience designing, installing, maintaining and operating distillation systems that meet each customer’s specific needs, CRS Reprocessing Services knows how to maximise the throughput and recovery of expensive additives, thereby ensuring quality and minimising waste.

substrate where the filtration actually occurs. The final micron rating is dependent upon the grade of filtering aid used.

Eventually, the filtering aid becomes “full” and loses flow capacity, and, therefore, loses its ability to clean the coolant. At that point, the spent filtering aid is replaced with fresh material, and the process repeats. Ultimately, the filtration process creates a significant amount of waste in the form of spent DE saturated with coolant.

Clear results: Shown here is an FRP fluid sample before (left) and after (right) treatment using a custom distillation system designed by CRS Reprocessing Services.

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STANDARD Standing Strong For 50 Years.

Eliminating hazards associated with aluminum rolling coolant filtration.

Acti-Cel R® is a filter aid developed and patented by the J.R. Schneider Company for use in non-ferrous metalworking and rolling. It is a direct replacement for, and eliminates the health hazards associated with the use of diatomaceous earth (DE). It is most effective in removing metallic fines, soaps, oxides and other contaminates from mineral oil or paraffin based metalworking coolants by both mechanical and chemical processes.

Before

After

See you in October at Aluminium 2014 in Dusseldorf.

Stop by Booth #11-I-51

1.707.745.0404 www.jrschneider.com J.R. Schneider Co., Inc. (Headquarters) 849 Jackson Street, Benicia, CA 94510, USA

58 CASTOOL – ADVERTORIAL

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Next generation tooling system The ever-increasing demands for higher productivity and recovery at the extrusion press, always pushes better the tooling and knowledge of tooling system providers. Every component needs to satisfy and even exceed the demand, if not, it will be the bottleneck for the whole press.

Superoven The common chest die oven takes more than five hours to heat up the die. Also, the temperatures of each die in the chest oven will be different. Figure 1 shows a cold die (100°C) is adjacent to a warm die (227°C). Furthermore, the temperature of individual die is not uniform. Because dies are not uniformly heated in the chest oven, die corrections and die trials become meaningless. In addition, die are more likely to break and billets are used to preheat the die.

The Castool Superoven utilises radiant heating with four-sided radiant heaters that operate at full power during the early stage of the heating cycle.

The internal surface of die oven acts as a secondary heat source, as the heaters reflect, absorb and reradiate energy. All of the exposed die and die bearing surfaces are receiving energy to increase temperature. The die is encased in high a temperature surface layer. Then the heat is conducted to the core of the die by conduction.

This results in an improvement of at least 30% less than the previous best time to temperature when heating dies. The total amount of energy used is reduced, therefore the cost is reduced. The larger die was found to have more surface area, where as the time that it takes to heat up a larger die is essentially the same in comparison to smaller dies.

Every die in chest oven has different temperature

create a thermal gradient and to provide heat to the liner when and where it is required. It makes the outside of the mantle cooler than the liner, and the container housing to be even cooler.

QRC Container (liner diameter from 5- 7 inches) The QRC container is a compact design with two individually controlled heating zones. The top and bottom heating zones cover 2/3 from the die end.

It gives the ability to control top and bottom temperatures and provides a natural temperature gradient from die side to stem size.

Master Controller

QR Container (liner diameter from 7 – 10 inches)

Die temperatures are heated to within a ±5°C of target temperature. There are minimum amounts of scrap from trials, they run on first time, and no billet is needed to bring the die to an operating temperature.

Each Castool die oven has a controller with several algorithms containing the appropriate program for a particular die. These algorithms have been developed by Castool over a number of years; incorporating kilowatts put into the die, the radiant heat, what the heat loss is, the thermal conductivity of the die steel, and also what the surface area is that we can actually hit directly with radiant energy.

which allows the mantle to act as a heat sink to extract heat away from the liner.

QRC/QR/QRX Container

Stable Thermal Gradient

The container is the most expensive item and yet it is the most misunderstood tooling component.

The liner temperature needs to be maintained at 30°C below billet temperature at all times. The common practice is to fabricate an air-cooling groove onto the liner. The groove is located at the highest stress location that results in stress raisers at most intense stress location. Containers would fail due to cracking.

The Castool Container has a built-in stable thermal gradient which acts as a heat sink to extract away heat. The elements are located close to the liner to

Material Selection The Castool QR container selects AISI 4340 as mantle, which has a 800 MPa fatigue limit compared to W.Nr. 1.2344(H-13) which has 350 MPa. This makes the QR container 100% tougher.

In addition, the AISI 4340 also has an 80% higher thermal conductivity than W. Nr. 1.2344(H13), September/October 2014

The QR container has 4 individually controlled heating zones. The heating zones are positioned in the die end top and bottom, as well as the entrance top and bottom. These zones provide the container with the ability to control and maintain a stable thermal gradient from top to bottom and exit to entrance, to quick heat dissipation.

Master controller

QRX Container (liner diameter from 10 – 16 inches ) The QRX container has six individually controlled heating zones. There are four zones, top, bottom, left and right, at the die end. There are two zones top and bottom at the entrance. QRX gives extruders the un-precedent ability to control the extrusion profile, extrusion run-outs and extrusion surface quality, while still maintaining stable thermal gradient for quick heat dissipation.

Dummy Blocks Dummy Blocks should: • Expand fully just prior to billet upset, to allow gases to escape to reduce blowby and blister.

• Maintain a minimal uniform skin of aluminium on the liner ID reducing profile inclusions.

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Replaceable ring block (RRB)

High pressure ring block (HPR)

Quick expansion block (RRB-Q/HPR-Q)

Replaceable Ring Block (RRB)

Cold clean-out block

temperature for better handling and dimensional control; with the wire-cut at both ends to allow it to flex slightly and retain contact with the liner wall.

Most wear occurs at the outer lip of the ring.

Castool provides an efficient and cost-effective expanding wear-ring that is easily and quickly replaced. The economy of the replaceable ring block is soon apparent.

Lubrication Castool’s GEMA applicator utilises the electrostatic technology to spray Boron Nitride Power. Boron Nitride possesses dielectric property, which can be polarised to spray and adhere onto the billet with consistent dosage and coverage. Experience has shown that Boron Nitride only needs to be applied for every five billets.

High-Pressure Ring Block (HPR) The specific pressure on the dummy block can be as high as 800 MPa(120,000 psi). Regular RRB would plastically deform and lose its ability to retract. Castool provides a high-pressure ring block reinforced for high pressure.

Lubrication

Quick-expansion block (RRB-Q/HPR-Q) Soft alloy extrusion requires the dummy block to quickly expand fully just prior to the billet upset to reduce blow by. Presses with fast upset speed, for example; front loading pressure, also require quick expanding dummy blocks to reduce blow by.

Castool

Cold Clean-Out Block A dummy block that is working properly leaves

Summary approximately .005” (.25mm) of alloy skin on the inside of the liner. The clean-out block should remove this, having zero clearance with the liner in the heated condition.

The Castool Clean-out Block is designed for maximum efficiency. The block is long enough to sit on the billet loader and travel through the liner smoothly. It is designed to be hollow, use at room

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In order for the extruder to profit in today’s highly competitive market, every tooling component, from the die oven for preparing the die, to lubrication for separating aluminium butt from dummy block; needs to be improved and performs at 100% reliably as a whole. Castool Tooling Systems understands the function of each component and its interaction to other components in the press.

P L A N E T

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P R O F I T

Simple Physics

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B E T T E R September/October 2014

ENVIRONMENT 61

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The Aluminium Story The positive contribution of the industry and its products to sustainable development.

Chris Bayliss* explains.

Improvement objective

Baseline year

Target year

Performance year 15% (2013)

Alumina refining energy intensity (MJ/t Al2O3) Smelter electrical (AC) energy intensity (kWh/t Al)

10%

2006

2020

10% (AC)

1990

2010

8% (2010)

5% (DC)

2006

2020

4% (2013)

Fluoride emissions intensity (kg F/t Al) Perfluorocarbon emissions intensity (t CO2e/t Al)

33%

1990

2010

51% (2010)

35%

2006

2020

25% (2012)

80%

1990

2010

86% (2010)

50%

2006

2020

27% (2013)

Table 1 Selected AFFG Objectives & Global Industry Performance

to achieve absolute impact decoupling without technological step changes.

Recycling and value recovery

Aluminium recycling benefits present and future generations by conserving energy and other natural resources. It requires up to 95% less energy to recycle aluminium than to produce primary metal and thereby avoids corresponding emissions, including greenhouse gases.

Today, recycling of post-consumer aluminium products saves over 90 million tonnes of CO2 and over 100,000 GWh of electrical energy, equivalent to the annual power consumption of the Netherlands.

For most aluminium products, the metal is not actually consumed during the product's lifetime, but simply used, with the potential to be recycled without any loss of its inherent properties.

Through the use of less than 10% of the original energy input, this metal can be made available not just once but

repeatedly from these material resources for future generations. The increasing demand for aluminium and the long lifetime of many products, limiting their availability for short term recovery but maximising their in-use benefits, mean that the overall mass of primary metal consumed will continue to be around double that of recycled metal, for the foreseeable future.

However, improving the overall collection rates of used products is an essential element in the pursuit of sustainable development.

Industry continues to recycle, without subsidy, all the aluminium collected from end-of-life products as well as from fabrication and manufacturing process scrap. With a growing number of industry initiatives and the help of appropriate authorities, local communities and society as a whole, the amount of aluminium collected could be increased further.

The collection of aluminium scrap from

120 Required primary 100

Unwound warehouse stocks Demand met by recycling

Semis demand (Mt Al)

Materials in general and aluminium in particular have a unique role to play in the sustainable development of economies and societies, as enablers of eco-efficient services: Transporting people further and faster with lower energy inputs; bringing power to new, growing, productive communities with fewer energy losses; building green cities and preserving precious nutritional and pharmaceutical resources.

The global aluminium industry recognises its responsibility to minimise the environmental impact of its processes, but also understands that there are significant opportunities – economic, social and environmental – offered by the increased use of its recyclable, lightweight and energy efficient products.

Because of the increasing diversity of aluminium applications and the importance of its products to modern life, global demand for the metal continues to increase and is expected almost to double between 2010 and 2020, met by supply from both primary and recycled sources.

The share of supply from recycling is limited by the long lifetimes of many aluminium products (a positive attribute for durable applications) and their growing markets, meaning that most aluminium is still in use, rather than available for recycling. Indeed, around 75% of all aluminium produced since the late 19th century is still in productive use today.

Given this constraint in supply, around two thirds of demand will continue to be satisfied from primary sources for the foreseeable future, up from 50 million tonnes in 2010 to around 75 million tonnes in 2020.

The International Aluminium Institute’s Aluminium for Future Generations initiative comprises a number of 2020 objectives for eco-efficiency in the industry. Annual reporting against these objectives shows considerable improvement in both resource use and environmental impact, in relative terms but also, for some indicators, absolute levels (www.worldaluminium.org/statistics).

Achievement of the industry’s objectives will continue to drive the relative bifurcation of environmental impact from production growth, although it is unlikely

80

60

40

20

0 1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

Aluminium semis demand, 1950-2020. Source: IAI

*Deputy Secretary General, International Aluminium Institute, IAI Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

62 ENVIRONMENT

Bauxite 1 234

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MATERIAL FLOW Alumina 2 91

ALUMINIUM FLOW

2012 global aluminium mass flow. Source: IAI

Primary aluminium stock 12 Total products in use since 1888 775

Primary production 48

Ingots 99

Semis-fabricated products 71

Final products 59

Net addition 36 Remelted Al 51 Recycled Al 26

Other applications 5 1

Dross and fabricator scrap3 28 Bauxite residue and water 143

Recovery and disposal6 4

Benefits of aluminium in use

The fact that it takes a significant amount of energy to break the aluminium-oxygen bonds of alumina (the same physical fact that gives aluminium its unique qualities of durability, conductivity, strength and light weight) and that for the foreseeable future a large proportion of demand will need to be met through supply of primary metal, mean that absolute decoupling of industrial (and economic) growth from environmental impact and resource use is not achievable solely by process efficiency.

The full lifecycle of aluminium products, including the benefits they bring during their use, whether over long time periods as building applications or relatively short lifetimes as packaging solutions, should be the focus of any analysis of their contribution to sustainable development.

For instance, the potential for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the use of aluminium in efficient machinery and consumer durables; in low-loss cabling, turbines, solar panels, and intelligent control systems in energy supply networks; in lightweight vehicles; in green buildings and in protective aluminium packaging, far exceeds the potential savings from improved efficiencies in aluminium production processes alone.

Transport

reduction

Old scrap 14

Metal losses 2

products at the end of their useful life is driven by market mechanisms and the relatively high value of the scrap relative to collection costs, which explains the high rates (>90%) of aluminium from building products and vehicles. Once collected, a 2005 study by Delft University of Technology study has shown, the metal losses from recycling processes are usually less than 2%, i.e. the net metal yield is above 98%.

The

Traded new scrap4 12

transportation vehicles is an important means to improve fuel efficiency, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Other measures include improved engines, lower air friction and better lubricants as well as improved transport systems – roads, urban design, etc.

Transport related greenhouse gas emissions amount to 7 billion tonnes CO2 annually. A 2003 study by IFEU concluded that about 660 million tonnes of greenhouse gas could be saved at that time during the use phase if all transport units (including road vehicles, trains and aircraft) were replaced by lightweight vehicles of current design with the same functional properties. Approximately 870 million tonnes were possible with advance designs. Today, these figures are closer to 800 and 1,000 million tonnes CO2.

The demand for aluminium in transportation has been increasing year by year. In 2012, about 25% of aluminium used globally was used in transportation.

In 2000 each automotive vehicle contained Buildings 6%

September/October 2014

the

weight

Anthropogenic GHG emissions by sector (49 Gt CO2e in 2010).

Source IPCC 2007

Energy 1%

Agriculture, Forestry & Land Use (AFOLU) 24% Industry 10%

Transport 14%

Aluminium production 1%

Electricity & Heat (indirects) [percentage]

Buildings 12%

AFOLU 1%

Industry 20%

of

Under investigation7 3

between 100 and 120kg of aluminium and in 2009 between 110 and 150 kg. A more recent survey of automakers by Ducker Worldwide indicates that since lighter vehicles get better fuel economy with fewer emissions, aluminium is already the leading material in the engine and wheel markets and is fast-gaining market share in hoods, trunks and doors. The survey predicts automakers will increase their use of aluminium in North America from 150kg on average per vehicle in 2010 to 250kg in 2025.

The aluminium industry has consistently sought to develop and optimise components for the transportation sector in terms of weight savings through the replacement of heavier materials –saving fuel and reducing greenhouse gases.

As well as direct weight reduction by material substitution, there are additional possibilities for component lightweighting. Aluminium-specific fabrication techniques, such as complex, multi-hollow extrusions or thin-walled, high-strength, vacuum die castings, enable new design solutions. Furthermore, the reduction of total vehicle weight also offers the potential for indirect weight savings.

When Jaguar Land Rover designed the fourth generation Range Rover in 2012, it saved 300kg from the weight of the previous model through the use of an aluminium body and closures, aluminium suspension and sub-frames. Once these savings were realised they enabled additional measures, such as a reduction in power train size for equivalent performance, bringing a further 120kg of mass reduction. The use of an aluminium body, 40% lighter than a steel equivalent, enabled a reduction in total vehicle weight of almost 20% over the previous model.

While efficiency is important, safety is the critical factor in the design and customer choice of a vehicle. The vehicle must protect the driver and passengers in

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64 ENVIRONMENT

case of an accident, but in addition, it must minimise the consequences of the impact on the crash partner, be it another vehicle, a stationary object or a pedestrian.

In the development of the car body structure, it is most important to find a suitable compromise between stiffness, crash performance and further body requirements (e.g. styling, package restrictions, etc.). Aluminium is well suited to reach these goals with maximum performance and the lowest possible mass.

The specific characteristics of aluminium alloys offer the possibility to design costeffective, lightweight structures with high stiffness and excellent crash energy absorption potential. For optimum protection of the occupants in an accident, vehicles are designed with a stiff and stable passenger cell and surrounding deformation zones where the crash energy can be absorbed. The mass-specific energy absorption capacity of aluminium is twice that of mild steel and compares favourably to the newly developed high strength steel grades. The high rigidity of an aluminium structure compared to a steel design is the result of the higher material thickness (aluminium components are generally about 50% thicker than steel components fulfilling the same function) and in particular the possibility to use closed multi-hole extrusions and high quality die castings of sophisticated design (which allows the elimination of joints).

Depending on the available package space, it is therefore possible to improve the rigidity of the entire structure while still maintaining a weight reduction of up to 40 – 50%. The same principles also apply to pedestrian protection where properly designed aluminium front end structures and hoods help to prevent injuries and reduce the fatality risk. Thus car safety is not only a question of the construction material, but, crucially the applied design and assembly concept. As a consequence, aluminium is the preferred material to ensure the safety of the vehicle and its occupants, fulfilling related requirements such as crash compatibility, pedestrian protection and low repair costs.

Architecture

Buildings account for up to 40% of global energy consumption and thus improving the overall systemic efficiency of buildings and their contents, while maintaining their value as living and working spaces, is a key aspect of sustainability.

The most energy efficient buildings start with aluminium – 25% of global aluminium demand is from the construction sector.

Aluminium components and designs optimise natural lighting and shade, enhance energy management and support designs that make the most of the physical September/October 2014

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environment. Being durable and corrosion resistant, aluminium components in buildings contribute to reduced maintenance over time, while the metal’s unmatched recyclability gives architects a key sustainability design tool. Aluminium’s high strength-to-weight ratio makes it possible to design light structures with exceptional stability allowing for narrow window and curtain wall frames, maximising solar gains for given outer dimensions. Aluminium’s light weight also makes it cheaper and easier to transport and handle safely on site. In Europe, around 95% of architectural aluminium is collected and recycled. Globally, buildings contain more than 200 million tonnes of aluminium, which will be available for recycling by future generations – an energy bank for future generations.

Packaging

According to the World Health Organisation, 30% of food in developing countries perishes due to the lack of packaging. Packaging saves ten times more waste than it creates; if, due to being badly packed, the contents are spoiled, ten times more waste occurs than that generated by the production of appropriate packaging.

A European Aluminium Foil Association study of the coffee supply chain has shown that only 10% of the total energy consumed between the production and use of the coffee is attributable to packaging compared with 50% for the production of the coffee, 35% for its preparation and handling and 5% for the other parts of the chain. Incineration or recycling of the used packaging improves this ratio further.

Thus, adequate protection of the food saves more resources than those needed for the production of the protective packaging. This is not only true of energy resources – land used for agriculture and the delivery of foodstuffs is saved through the employment of aluminium packaging to reduce wastage; thus there is a net land use benefit that sees the agricultural land saving more than offsetting the land used for mining, which is then ultimately rehabilitated – perhaps even for agricultural use.

Aluminium packaging is the “insurance” to protect the energy invested in producing, growing and processing food.

It also ensures the additional energy used to get that food to us – in transport, retailing, shopping, storing and cooking – is not wasted.

Lighter packaging means less fuel consumption, reduced emissions from transport and easier handling at the retail level. A good example is the stand-up foil drink pack. Using aluminium foil based pouches rather than standard 20cl returnable glass bottles means nearly twice

as much product per truck load. The weight of packaging materials is a mere 6% of the total weight of the load.

The hygienic and protective properties of aluminium used in pharmaceutical blisters packs or tubes provide a barrier against external factors such as heat, moisture, bacteria and odours, thus having a further positive impact on human wellbeing and economic productivity.

Aluminium foil is by far the lightest ‘complete barrier’ material in a packaging composite. Because it is very malleable it can be easily deformed without losing its barrier integrity, making it an ideal material for use in combination with other flexible substrates to create very thin laminates for a variety of markets, saving resources.

In North America and in Europe, a beverage can is produced, filled, distributed, consumed, collected and recycled back within 60 days. The aluminium industry has a long tradition of collecting and recycling used aluminium products and the high economic value of used aluminium packaging is an incentive for continuous improvement in recycling.

The aluminium drinks can is the most recycled beverage container in the world and most aluminium foil applications are fully recyclable as well. Modern separation techniques allow aluminium foil in household waste to be extracted and recycled at a fraction of its original energy cost. If aluminium foil is not collected for recycling but processed in incinerators, the thin, laminated foil material is oxidised and releases energy, which can be recovered.

What’s more, the remaining non-oxidised aluminium can be extracted from the bottom as of the incinerator and subsequently recycled.

Conclusion

The second decade of the twenty first century began with an estimated seven billion people on the planet and the United Nations currently expects the global population to reach 10 billion by 2100.

The sustainability challenge shared by all is to provide not only basic needs, but to meet expectations for an improving quality of life. Crucially, this socio-economic progress must be achieved while ensuring the environment remains ecologically and economically viable and able to meet the needs of future generations.

The products of human ingenuity, including aluminium in its many applications, have a vital role to play in successfully addressing this sustainability challenge. By working continuously to minimise its environmental impacts and maximise the benefits that its products offer to the world, the aluminium industry is committed to ensuring that aluminium is part of the solution for a sustainable future.

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The Aluminium Advantage Is it time for a new approach on can recycling measurement?

By Heidi Brock* The aluminium industry has long been at the forefront of sustainability research and environmental impact tracking. Given the metal’s inherent value and infinite recyclability, it has always been a top priority of aluminium producers to ensure that we are doing everything we can to bring used metal back into the system.

Nowhere is this truer than in the aluminium can market. As the makers of the industry’s most popular and ubiquitous consumer product, can sheet producers early on recognised the importance of tracking aluminium can recycling.

It is far more economical to make a can out of recycled material versus creating one from scratch. What’s more, it is far more environmentally friendly – recycling aluminium takes just 8% of the energy required to make aluminium from scratch.

So can sheet makers are truly incentivised to ensure that aluminium cans are recycled at a high rate.

To that end, in 1972, the Aluminum Association developed and began publicly reporting an aluminium can recycling rate.

Bear in mind this was more than 40 years ago when municipal recycling programmes were in their infancy – if they existed at all.

The industry is proud of its history as a pioneer in recycling and recycling data tracking. And we’re proud of our progress over time. When tracking began in 1972, aluminium can recycling was just north of 15%. Last year, the industry reported a rate of 67% - the highest rate since 1992 and the second-highest level ever reported.

The current industry recycling figure tells our story effectively and has served us well over the years. Not only has the aluminium industry continued its decades-long increase in stewardship of the metal, it also continues to expand its lead over competing materials, such as plastic and glass. But a single rate doesn’t tell the full story.

For one, the current Aluminum Association recycling rate methodology includes imported cans re-melted by the U.S. industry. Because of the mostly closed loop nature of aluminium can recycling, and aluminium’s inherent value in the recycling stream, scrap metal in the form of cans easily crosses borders and is

extremely attractive in the global commodity marketers. U.S. recyclers often import cans from Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Poland and other countries.

Indeed, the key driver of the rate’s increase over the past decade or so is an increase in industry imports of aluminium cans. In 2012 alone, the industry imported and recycled close to 13 billion cans, nearly double the amount imported just five years ago. The increased recycling rate is reflective of this dynamic.

The existing aluminium can recycling rate is an important one – it demonstrates the industry’s stewardship and efficiency in managing the metal. However, it does not show a complete picture.

As demand for high quality, comprehensive information on industry sustainability increases, the aluminium industry can once again lead the charge.

It may be time to consider a new approach – to take a holistic view of the aluminium can’s environmental impact.

For that, there are a number of measures worth considering in addition to the traditional industry recycling rate: Consumer recycling rate: A consumer recycling rate would remove imported can

scrap from the calculation to more accurately reflect actual consumer behaviour at the recycling bin. On this score, aluminium is still recycled at a far higher rate than competitive package types like glass and plastic (More than 50% recycled versus rates in the low-tomid-30s for glass and plastic). But this rate also illustrates an important point. Each year, U.S. consumers throw away more than 40 billion cans in the U.S. alone.

That’s $900 million worth of aluminium that ends up in a landfill instead of being recycled – harming the environment and the economy.

Recycled content: High recovery rates for aluminium and the mostly closed loop nature of can recycling mean that the can contains a large amount of recycled material. In contrast to glass and plastic bottles, the majority of the average aluminium can is actually made from recycled aluminium. The high recycled content in the can is a direct indicator of the environmental footprint of the package.

Beverage can weight: Continued industry innovation and technological advances have led to a significant weight reduction in the average aluminium can over the past 40 years. A lighter can is greener to ship and indicates an efficient use of the material.

Value of material: Aluminium is unique in that it is by far the most valuable material in the recycling bin. Indeed, the price per ton of aluminium scrap is more than three times that of the next most valuable packaging type. Many municipal recycling programmes rely on re-selling the material collected in curb side bins to help subsidise their programmes. Without high-value aluminium in the scrap stream, many municipal recycling programmes would not be financially viable.

The aluminium can is uniquely positioned as the most sustainable package on the market today. On virtually every measure, aluminium meets or exceeds competitive packaging types. But work remains to be done to ensure that we as a society are recycling as much of this material as we possibly can. A more holistic approach to tracking the environmental impact of the aluminium can is a step in the right direction.

*President & CEO of the Aluminum Association September/October 2014

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For the past 20 years, Fives (namely Solios Environnement and previously Procedair) has specialised in the supply of turnkey plants for gases desulphurisation. This article looks at the technologies dedicated to SO2 treatment in the context of the aluminium industry.

By Chin Lim*,Thierry Malard**

Desulphurisation techniques At the end of the past century, the company was covering various industrial markets such as diesel motors production, paper fabrication, sulphuric acid production or waste incineration[1].

However, since the early 2000s, Fives has been dedicating its know-how in terms of desulphurisation, to the treatment of electrolysis pot gases and anode-baking furnaces for primary aluminium smelters.

As part of the construction of large-scale smelters, Fives supplies two main kinds of pollution-control plants: Gas Treatment Centres (GTCs), which treat polluting emissions from huge gas flows (up to 9,500,000 Am3/h) from electrolysis pots and Fume Treatment Centres (FTCs), which treat smaller flows coming from anode baking furnaces (up to 180,000 Am3/h).

These emissions mainly include hydrogen fluoride (HF), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), tars and dust.

However, in most configurations, GTCs and FTCs do not include a specific desulphurisation unit and only allow a moderate sulphur dioxide (SO2) reduction.

Due to increasingly stringent national and international standards on air pollution control, Fives also supplies various technologies dedicated to maintain SO2 levels at stack far below the most restrictive regulations.

Seawater scrubbing

The most widespread technology consists of implementing a seawater wet-scrubber downstream gas treatment plant to absorb gaseous SO2. Indeed, gaseous SO2 is not easily soluble in water and only the use of basic solutions allows its capture.

As seawater is slightly basic (pH comprised between 8.1 and 8.2), it can be used wherever it is easily available, such as in coastline regions. Gaseous SO2 will be dissolved with hydrogen carbonate ions to create sulphurous acid (H2SO3), as per the following reactions: HCO3- + H2SO3 (SO2 + H2O) ⇐㱺 HSO3- + H2CO3 (CO2 + H2O) HCO3- + HSO3- ⇐㱺 SO32- + H2CO3 (CO2 + H2O) Wet-scrubbers efficiency is often measured by comparing seawater pH before and after SO2 treatment. At Qatalum, Fives’ wet-scrubbers have been designed for a pH decrease from 8.2 to 3.5.

The seawater scrubbing process includes three major steps: Gas cooling (when necessary), SO2 removal and elimination of remaining droplets.

Depending on smelters’ operational conditions, gases can reach temperatures up to 190°C at the electrolysis pots outlet, and even more at the anode-baking furnace outlet. They are therefore cooled first upstream at the GTC or FTC to reach optimum temperature to capture pollutants. However, at the GTC/FTC outlet, gases may still be excessively hot for the scrubber. Gases are therefore cooled a second time at the bottom of the wetscrubber to reach temperatures around 80-100°C. This prevents sprayed seawater from evaporating into gases.

Then, gases make their way through column sections filled with packing. A packing column is composed of numerous

pieces of complex shapes offering a high contact area. Seawater is sprayed above this column, in counter flow from the gas, and SO2 is therefore removed in the wetscrubber at this step, following the chemical reactions detailed earlier.

However, these reactions generate a remainder of polluting bisulphite (HSO3-) and sulphite (SO32-) ions in seawater residual droplets. To avoid their dispersion in ambient air and their fallout in the vicinity of the stack, these droplets are eliminated at the outlet of the packing column with a demister. It consists of separating droplets from gases with variations of flow direction, which are generated by demister baffles. These baffles result in such separation, which is called “primary collection”. Once droplets have been stopped, they are accumulated in dead areas sheltered from the gases flow, until they form a seawater film heavy enough to oppose re-entrainment by gases. A “secondary collection” is therefore performed to collect the charged seawater.

Later on, sulphite and bisulphate ions are transformed into sulphate ions outside of the scrubber by an oxidation reaction, which is generally facilitated by aeration through air or, in some cases, with a dedicated oxygen injection tank. The resulting amount of sulphate ions added to seawater after oxidation does not influence the quality of residual seawater, as sulphate concentration in fresh seawater is naturally very high (>2.5 g/l).

Before re-injection in its natural environment, residual seawater is also neutralised by mixing it with fresh seawater, in order to preserve ecosystems.

*Innovation Manager Solios Environnement ** Technical Director Solios Environnement September/October 2014

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Fig 1 Qatalum wet-scrubber’s process description

Stack sampling control

pollutant levels. Such configuration is specifically recommended for unsteady acid gas concentrations processes. It has been selected by Fives in Spain for the desulphurisation of two diesel engines of 5 MW each, for a total flow of 66,000 Nm3/h, with an overall efficiency of 91%.

Wet scrubbing

Demister

Water inlet

SO2 removal Gas cooling Water outlet

Fives has supplied 16 seawater scrubbers (Fig 1) (4 per GTC) for the Qatalum smelter (Qatar)[2]. Performance measurement tests have shown that Qatalum’s performance criteria were met, as the SO2 concentration at the outlet of each wet-scrubber was lower than 20 mg/Nm3[3] (guaranteed value: 35 mg/Nm3). For an average inlet concentration of 300 mg/Nm3, it means that the smelter prevents the emission of 400 kg/h/GTC of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere – i.e. more than 40 tons per day with this 4-GTC configuration.

However, relying on its long-standing experience, Fives is able to propose customised solutions in order to provide all kinds and sizes of SO2 scrubbers – as seawater is not necessarily available for all projects. Other compounds such as limestone, lime, lime milk, ammonium bisulphate or activated carbon can be used as reagents.

Dry-scrubbing

Fives is a dry-scrubbing expert as it supplies multiple references of dry-scrubbing filters to capture HF via an injection of alumina.

With a change of reagent (e.g. lime), these filters may be used to capture SO2. Fives proposes four main varieties of filters, which allow a cost-efficient design for all projects, whatever their size. These filters include Sonair, Vibrair, TGT-RI and Ozeos, Fives’ latest filtering technology which has been awarded with the Engineered All these Sustainability label[4]. technologies are renowned in the industry for their robustness, efficiency and easy maintenance.

Enhanced all dry-scrubbing

The Enhanced All Dry-Scrubbing (EAD) process was developed in the 1980s by Procedair, a former Fives entity, and has been widely implemented since then, September/October 2014

especially on the North-American market.

It has been used for different industrial applications, including boilers and kilns.

The EAD technology consists of adding a conditioning drum to the dry-scrubbing process, in order to moisturise the reagent before its injection into the filters’ reactor.

Conditions for SO2 removal are therefore optimised to increase the surface area for chemical adsorption. It ensures a high efficiency (up to 97% of SO2 removed) as well as many other advantages such as compactness and a lower pressure drop compared to other dry-scrubbing technologies.

One of Fives’ main EAD references was the supply in 1999 and 2006 of two limebased desulphurisation plants on the Virginia Tech campus (USA) for a total flow of 30,000 Nm3/h[5]. The desulphurisation ratio for these plants reaches 92%, a performance which is crucial for the health of students in the vicinity of the two coalfired boilers treated by Fives’ plants.

More recently, in 2013, Fives supplied and installed two EAD Scrubbing System for the two bauxite calciner kilns (main picture). The customer’s objective was to reduce SO2 emissions at its ceramic proppant plant and the desulphurisation ratio reaches 90%[6].

The seawater scrubbing process has been described earlier in this article, but the same technology can also be adapted with other reagents in case seawater is not available. Depending on the project parameters, the reagent may either be sprayed through pulverisation nozzles or injected on packing, where the contact surface between liquid and gas is optimised with the created pressure drop.

The choice of technology relies mostly on the dust concentration in the gas flue, as the packing requires a special protection against fouling which may reduce the desulphurisation efficiency and increase energy consumption.

Fives has experienced both configurations in various plants. In France, Fives supplied a wet-scrubber where caustic soda is injected on packing to desulfurise the methionine production for the animal food industry (overall flow: 78,000 Nm3/h). In the United States, pulverisation nozzles are used to spray sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) for the desulfurisation of an electrolysis potline (overall flow: 637,000 Nm3/h).

Conclusion

Depending on the pollutants composition, efficiency target and operational parameters, SO2 reduction can be achieved with many different options. All these processes have been successfully experienced by Fives in various industrial applications. Given the variety of SO2 reduction technologies and the huge number of parameters to integrate when designing a desulphurisation plant (pollutants compounds, inlet concentration, temperatures, dust, geographic location, etc.), expertise, knowhow and customised are among the main keys towards success.

Semi-wet scrubbing

References

Fives’ semi-wet scrubbing process treats acid gases in a spray dryer, where the reagent (e.g. lime milk) is atomised into fine droplets in order to maximise the contact with SO2. Then, gases are draught in a pulse jet fabric filter, which collects particles and dust. The desulphurisation is intimately linked to the injected reagent and the process temperature, which can be controlled by water consumption. These parameters are easy to manage, allowing a rapid response to variations of inlet

[1] A. Courau – 30 years of experience in fume desulphurisation (2013) [2] A. Courau, E.H. Bouhabila, Seawater scrubbing to reduce SO2 (2012) [3] B. Hureiki, Emissions Processing at Qatalum Smelter (AluSolutions 2013) [4] P. Plisson, B. Hureiki, C. Lim, Sustainability improvement in GTCs (2014) [5] T. Allegrucci, Dry Scrubbing by Degree (2013) [6] T. Allegrucci, SO2 Dry Scrubbing Systems (2014) Aluminium International Today

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Environmental technology: The DAN-ECO² system Within the history of aluminium production, pollution control and effective waste reduction has always been fundamental to strategic success within the industry. Ron Fuhrmeister* and Richard Annis** look at a flume and recovery system for rolling mills.

DAN-ECO² Absorption Column

Many of the world’s environmental issues are also of key importance to the aluminium industry and its constituents the public, government and regulatory agencies, and the research and academic communities.

Therefore with the ever increasing demand on the global industry to reduce their carbon footprint, aluminium producers worldwide are being constantly pushed to implement efficient practices at their manufacturing facilities. This is particularly prevalent within aluminium cold mills where kerosene based coolants are commonly used.

High temperatures caused during rolling result in a significant portion of the kerosene coolant evaporating into the air.

The polluted air must first be removed from the rolling mill via extraction fans and then safely controlled into the atmosphere so that it does not exceed the allowable carbon emissions imposed by these regulations.

Keen to build on its history within rolling mills and finishing lines and also responding to the market demand, Danieli Fröhling developed the DAN-ECO² fume and recovery system together with Julius Montz GmbH, a company specialised in chemical systems, which has by itself

2013*

$106.03 $109.45

2012 2011

$107.46 $77.38

2010 $60.86

2009 2008

$94.10

2007

$69.04 $61.00

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

$50.59 $36.05 $28.10 $24.36

supplied such plants to German aluminium customers. The collaboration, based on the successful cohesion of experience in both the metals and the chemical industry, led to the first DAN-ECO² being successfully installed and commissioned in 2013.

Furthermore, several new DAN-ECO² systems are to be installed in 2014.

The DAN-ECO² is ecologically efficient, complying with the highest European standards for air pollution. The European Council Directive 1999/13/EC requires a limit for carbon emissions of less than 50 mg/m³. Moreover, the DAN ECO² system

Fig 1. Average prices for OPEC crude oil per barrel from 2002 to 2013, *average until April 2013.

guarantees a kerosene concentration of less than 30 mg/m³, ensuring it is futureproof to potential changes in legal regulations. The quality of the collected Kerosene returned is excellent achieving a purity of more than 99.7 % and a water content of less than 30ppm. Depending on the additives used for rolling the DAN ECO² can also recover up to 99.0 % of these constituents.

Furthermore, not only is the DAN-ECO² ecologically efficient, it is also economically efficient as it also allows the recovery of the rolling oil without chemically altering

*Sales and Project Engineer, Danieli Fröhling **Sales Engineer, Danieli Fröhling September/October 2014

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DAN-ECO² system at Aleris Aluminum Duffel BVBA in Duffel, Belgium.

the state. Hence, as prices of crude oil continue to rise, combined with the need of companies to control costs, the DANECO² fume and recovery system offers aluminium producers a solution to increase profitable revenues. Depending on the

production requirements, the fully automated system can return up to 50 litres of rolling oil per hour.

Within the last 10 years the price for crude oil has increased dramatically, directly affecting the cost of rolling oil to

DAN-ECO² Process Flow Diagram.

Condenser Absorption column

Cooler

Heat exchanger

Distillation column

Heater Filter

DAN-ECO² pumps inside the building.

September/October 2014

Vacuum station

the aluminium producers (see Fig. 1). Due to this rise, the recovery of kerosene fumes from the exhaust air of the mill is now much more in focus for plant managers.

The DAN ECO² system is typically offered with every new Danieli Fröhling Diamond mill and can also be added subsequently to existing rolling mills to decrease their roll coolant losses and optimise the carbon footprint of the whole plant. A connection of several mills to one DAN-ECO² system is technically feasible under certain conditions.

The loaded fume from the rolling mill is sucked by a fan through ducts inside the mill building from the main mill hood. In the absorber, the loaded fume is purified by means of counter-current gas-liquid contact. The absorber is therefore equipped with structured packings that are specially designed for high absorption efficiencies and a low pressure drop for energy saving reasons. Rolling oil in the fume is physically absorbed in the washing oil.

The purified fume leaves the absorber at the absorber chimney. Loaded absorption oil is collected in the sump of the absorption column. The stored loaded absorption oil is pumped through a filter and heat exchangers to regain heat to the distillation column. The loaded absorption oil coming from the absorber column is heated in a plate heat exchanger before entering the distillation column.

The heat exchangers are acting as economisers to regain the maximum possible energy from distillation. The distillation column separates the low boiling rolling oil from the high boiling absorption oil.

High efficiency structured packings of a special design are utilised in the distillation column, optimised for the regeneration process of the rolling oil. The heated and loaded absorption oil enters the distillation column and separates into purified high boiling absorption oil which is collected in the sump.

The low boiling rolling oil evaporates and condenses at the condenser on top of the column. There it is split into a reflux flow back to the distillation column necessary for the thermal separation and a product flow to the storage tank. From the storage tank purified rolling oil is sent back to the main tank.

The purified absorption oil in the sump of the distillation column is split into a circulation loop passing a heater so that it heats the distillation column and a flow through the heat exchanger back to the absorption column.

The DAN ECO² system is designed to help customers meet stringent ecological regulations as well as moral environmental considerations with the financial benefit of recovering the coolant.

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76 ENVIRONMENT

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Sorting of aluminium This article looks at new sorting possibilities for the aluminium recycling industry.

By DI Martin Weiss*

There are no limits to the recycling of metals; they can be reused without limitation and to 100%. Of course, metals have to be separated from non-metal impurities and different metals have to be sorted in pure fractions to be able to use them as secondary raw material.

Due to the use and substitution of primary raw materials by secondary raw materials, not only primary raw materials can be saved, but in many cases the use of energy and therefore the process costs can be minimised considerably too. However, the resources of mother Earth are only exhaustible, making it more and more important to use secondary raw materials.

If we take aluminium as an example: By using secondary raw materials, the energyintensive electrolysis process for primary production can be saved, thereby reducing the energy costs in total to approximately 10% compared to primary production. It should also be noted that the mining of many ores for primary production occurs in politically unstable regions and sometimes under inhumane working conditions. Also, not to be disregarded is the environmental impact, both due to the ore mining and during the process from ore to metal (e.g. toxic red mud).

Away from the “old” standard

The global demand for ferrous and nonferrous metals is increasing from year to year. The modern industrial production in all areas of daily life devours an enormous quantity of aluminium and nonferrous metals such as copper, brass, nickel, stainless steels, tin, zinc, lead etc.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) in the United States defined the term ZORBA as “shredded, mixed nonferrous metals consisting primarily of aluminium generated by eddy current separator or other segregation techniques.”

The current used sorting method for sorting of ZORBA or metals of similar composition are sink-float separation processes or sensor-based sorting systems

REDWAVE XRF – Function principal

based upon camera technology. The proportion of manual sorting is also still considerable. Manual sorting results in very high purities, the process however is very cost-intensive in industrial countries and should therefore only serve as a final check and quality control.

The sink-float process is used in many treatment plants to separate materials of different density. This process requires huge quantities of water and very expensive additives such as ferro-silicon.

The separation efficiency is also very limited, and thus only aluminium can be separated from heavy metals and other impurities of low density (e.g. plastics, wood, etc.). The mix of heavy metals must be treated in another way or even manually sorted. Most heavy metals are exported to Asia for further manual sorting, which increases the dependence on these countries, particularly China, and should therefore only be considered an emergency solution. The aluminium gained cannot be further separated either.

The use of sensor-based sorting systems represents an economic and reasonable alternative to manual or density sorting.

Sorting by colour using a colour camera is one possibility of the sensor-based sorting technology. However, the separation efficiency is quite limited, therefore only fractions, which are clearly distinguishable by colour such as copper and brass can be separated. All grey heavy metals such as zinc, lead, nickel, etc. and stainless steels are not sortable. The sorting by colour camera is further very inefficient in case of surface contamination and colour impurities.

Sorting tests and experience with different input material have shown that only part of the copper and brass fraction is also optically recognisable. Only about one-third of the whole copper and brass fraction corresponds to the colour definitions of these two nonferrous metals.

The remaining quantity that is two-thirds of the total fraction remains unidentified due to surface contaminations and

therefore unsorted within the heavy metal fraction. The X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology is also limited in its sorting efficiency and can therefore only be regarded as an alternative to the sink-float separation process. The transmission technology “shines through” the material and is based upon the detection of density differences (an X-ray image is a very good comparison). Dense material (bones) weakens the X-rays much more than less dense material (tissue). The X-ray transmission is a kind of dense sorting such as the sink-float process.

Technology

Another possibility of the sensor-based sorting technology is the sorting with X-ray fluorescence (XRF). A few years ago REDWAVE developed a sensor-based sorting system based upon XRF in cooperation with Olympus. Olympus is the global market leader of portable XRFsystems for rapid on-site measurements and has extensive experience in the field of X-ray fluorescence. REDWAVE offers optical sorting machines in the environmental and mineral industry but REDWAVE also offers complete plants – from the planning to the commissioning all from one source. The sorting system REDWAVE XRF was initially used in the field of glass sorting, more precisely for the separation of heatresistant and leaded glass from the waste glass cullet. Soon it became apparent that the fields of application go far beyond the glass sector. The use of this technology together with the development of a new machine design set new standards in metal sorting, in particular the sorting of nonferrous metals. Using this technology it is possible to separate also material which, up to now, was considered as not sortable.

Principle of X-ray fluorescence

An X-ray tube emits X-rays (so-called primary X-ray fluorescence radiation) exciting thereby the metal piece.

Depending on the composition of the metal piece, this excitation leads to the

*REDWAVE, a division of BT-Wolfgang Binder GmbH September/October 2014

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Copper: clean

Copper: dirty

Brass: clean

Brass: dirty

Detector

X-ray tube

Detector

X-ray tube

Fluorescent X-Ray

X-ray photon

Principle of XRF

The X-ray tube emits photons towards the target material The electron is ejected out of the atomic shell, which creates a free spot

emission of a characteristic radiation (secondary XRF radiation). This radiation emitted from the metal piece is representative for the composition of the metal. Each element of the periodic table has a unique and distinctive energy and thus can be detected specifically. If, for example, a pure copper piece is excited, only the radiation with the typical energy of copper is emitted. On the other hand, when exciting the element brass the typical radiation of copper and zinc is perceived.

This radiation is captured by special sensors and then evaluated. The technology makes an element-specific sorting of mixed metal waste possible. Besides this elementspecific detection, the most important benefit of the XRF technology is the metal sorting regardless of colour and surface contamination. Compared to camera technology, also dirty and not characteristic colour pieces of copper and brass, for example, can be accurately detected and sorted. Likewise, it is of September/October 2014

An electron from an outer shell fills the free spot Excess energy is emitted in the form of secondary X-ray radiation

course possible to detect metals of the same or similar colour separately and to sort them. This unique detection mechanism enables it to separate also grey heavy metals into single elements. All elements after vanadium (V no. 23) in the periodic table can be exactly identified and sorted. There are also no limits set to the sorting logic. One element, several elements or the combination of two or more elements can be used as sorting criterion. The threshold values and sensitivities of each single element are variably adjustable.

Application examples

The application possibilities of the XRF technology within metal sorting are particularly versatile. For example, nickelbased stainless steels can be separated from nickel-free stainless steels (the same applies to molybdenum-based stainless steels), gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals can be sorted out of a

mixture of scrap metals, and aluminium can also be separated from heavy metals as well as single heavy metals into pure fractions. The sorting of Zorba is mentioned here in more detail: Zorba is usually composed as follows, >70 % aluminium, brass, zinc, copper, iron, stainless steels in different percentages as well as accompanying metals such as lead, silver alloys, etc. Using the REDWAVE XRF sorting machine it is possible to gain all components of Zorba according to type and to sort aluminium on the basis of the alloying elements copper, zinc and iron. In the first sorting step all metals, besides aluminium, are positively separated and thereby two fractions are generated, a heavy metal fraction and an aluminium fraction.

Then all heavy metals are successively recovered in an off-line set up operation and the high-grade and very precious metals such as copper, brass, zinc, stainless steel, etc. are directly fed to the recycling process as secondary raw materials. It is also possible to further separate the aluminium fraction from the first sorting step. Based on the detection of the alloying components copper, zinc and iron in the aluminium alloys it is possible to separate aluminium alloys, which are rich in iron, copper and zinc. The generated pure aluminium fraction corresponds to the primary aluminium quality 6061 and can also be directly recycled. Through this sorting process, precious heavy metals must neither be sorted manually, nor exported to low-wage countries and a high-purity aluminium fraction can be produced as well.

Summary

Besides the high throughput and purity, the flexible and versatile application possibility of the XRF sorting technology is a great advantage compared to sorting techniques such as camera or X-ray transmission. The applicability of the XRF technology is very multifaceted and not limited to one material class or application.

Compared to other technologies, moisture, colouring and surface contamination have no significant negative impact on the detection. High-purity metal fractions are produced due to the sorting processes, which can be sold directly and profitably.

Assuming the current revenues for the recovered metals for the sorting of ZORBA, the payback of the machine including labour and operating costs shall be reached in less than a year. The flexibility of the XRF technique and the sophisticated sorting logic make it possible to respond to changes of the sorting processes as quick as possible. Furthermore, a great variety of sorting steps can be carried out with the same machine and different preset sorting programmes.

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Recycling of aluminium alloys

By Md AI Mehedi* Despite the well-known advantages of aluminium, one of the drawbacks of pure aluminium is that it is relatively weak in strength for some mechanical applications.

However, by incorporating a small amount of other metals, in other words making aluminium alloys, this weakness of pure aluminium can be overcome, while keeping most of the other properties unchanged. By making aluminium alloys, the physical and mechanical properties, including hardness, tolerance, thermal behaviours, formability, weld-ability, corrosion resistance, etc., of aluminium are significantly improved. The main elements used for making aluminium alloys are copper, zinc, magnesium, silicon, manganese and lithium. The wrought and cast aluminium alloys are categorised with codes in standard format of (1-8)XXX based on the doped elements. Detailed information of properties of these alloys can be found in these references [1, 2].

Recycling aluminium and its alloys

One of the main motivations of recycling aluminium and its alloys is rapidly increasing demand for aluminium worldwide. It was reported that the global aluminium consumption increased from 31.6 million tons in 2005 to 40.4 million tons in 2010, and expected consumption in 2015 and 2020 is 53.0 and 66.7 million tons, respectively[3]. Based on the assumption of 5.1% annual increase of use of aluminium alloys, if we only depend on primary aluminium productions, it will require a huge amount of source materials

and manufacturing costs. Recycling aluminium and its alloys brings huge economic benefits for the aluminium industry; it can save about 95% of energy in order to produce the same amount of aluminium[4]. Fig 1 shows the global share of primary and recycled metal and aluminium production until 2010.

Another motivation of aluminium and alloy recycling is its environmental benefits.

By recycling aluminium, greenhouse gas emissions, mainly CO2, can be reduced by 95% compared to the manufacturing of primary aluminium. This saving amount is equivalent to the total emissions from 900,000 cars in one year. Nowadays almost 170 million tons of greenhouse gas emission is prevented from entering the environment every year due to the benefits of the global aluminium recycling industry.

Besides, recycling aluminium significantly reduces the use of other natural sources and chemicals, such as aluminium fluoride, soda, caustic, and lime, which are used for bauxite aluminium ore mining and refining[6].

For most aluminium and alloy products, aluminium is not completely consumed, but rather used. Therefore, aluminium is 100% recyclable and can be used over and over again without losing any property. A life cycle of an aluminium product (Fig 2) is not cradle-to-grave but rather “cradleto-cradle�. This means that the life cycle of an aluminium product usually ends when the recycled aluminium is rendered in a form usable for a new aluminium product[4].

Recycling aluminium alloys is not as simple as melting and casting pure aluminium.

The concentration and types of alloying elements must be taken into account. The whole process of recycling aluminium alloy is described in the chart shown in Fig 3.

Brief descriptions of each step are as follows [1, 8, 9]: Collection

Aluminium alloy scraps are collected from end-of-life products and byproducts, including building waste, discarded automobile and other transportation parts.

Separation

All collected scraps have to be cleaned properly before being melted. In this step, all adherent materials will be removed and the scrap sorted according to alloy type and content. Separation of the different alloy types is important to produce new wrought alloy from recycled scrap.

Alloy specific compiling

Before processing in the melting system, alloy scraps will be separated based on the specification of alloy concentration in order to ensure a precise alloy composition in the final product. Computer assisted optimisation and separation techniques are available for selecting and mixing of scrap types according to the alloy element concentration requirements.

Melting

Selection of the most appropriate furnace

60

100

End product production

90 50

80 70 60 50

40

Primary production (%) Recycling production (%)

30

Total metal production (tonnes)

40 20

30 20

Ingot casting

Bauxite mining

1950

Alumina refining

10 Novelis activities

10 0

Consumer purchase

Sheet production Total metal production (million tonnes per year)

Share of primary and recycled aluminium production (%)

Recycling aluminium alloys

Primary smelting Can collection

Remelting

0 1960

1970

1980

1990

Fig 1. Global share of primary and recycled metal production [3]

2000

Shredding and decoating

2010

Fig 2. The life cycle of aluminium production and recycling process [7]

*Consultant September/October 2014

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type is important and determined by the foreign material contents, surface and alloy composition of scraps.

Typical furnace types used in the aluminium recycling industry are dry hearth, closed-well, electric induction, rotary or tilting rotary furnaces. During the melting process, the aluminium samples are analysed for alloy composition.

Refining

The melting process is followed by a refining step. The molten metal is transferred into a holding furnace where the alloy concentration is adjusted and metal purified by adding refining additives.

If the concentration of the alloying element is higher than the limit for a specific wrought alloy, it can be solved by diluting more pure aluminium. By using chlorine unwanted elements, like calcium and magnesium, can be removed.

Quality control

In this step, the alloy composition and specifications is checked and finalised with the latest computer controlled technology.

Documentation systems ensure future traceability of every step of the process, from the initial scrap load to the final alloy.

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Casting

In this final step, the molten aluminium alloys are cast into ingots, usually 4 - 25kg in weight, or transferred to the foundry process directly. During the casting step it is also possible to filter out the trapped oxides.

Molten aluminium wrought alloys are cast into extrusion billets and rolling slabs, which may need to undergo heat treatment for different purposes.

The recycled aluminium alloy products can be used for the same purpose as the original one. More than 70% of casting products from recycled alloys are used in the automotive industry. Other end users of recycled alloys are electrical engineering and construction sectors. Wrought alloy products such as aluminium sheets, foil and extrusion profiles can be used in roofs and curtain walls of buildings, food and pharmaceutical packaging, beverage cans, windows, doors, truck trailers, trains and, increasingly, car bodies etc.

References [1] Aalco Metals Limited, “Aluminium Alloy General Information - Specifications,” 2014.

Available: http://www.aalco.co.uk/ datasheets/Aluminium-Alloy_Specifications_42.ashx.

[Accessed 13 5 2014].

[2] T. Udomphol, “Aluminium and its alloys,” 2007.

[Online]. Available: http://eng.sut.ac.th/metal/ images/stories/pdf/02_Aluminium%20and%20alumi nium%20alloy.pdf. [Accessed 13 5 2014].

[3] A.T. Kearney, “Metals & Mining: How GCC Smelters Can Continue Growing Profitably,” 2013.

Available: http://www.atkearney.be/metalsmining/featured-article/-/asset_publisher/ 5ElYIoLWkwya/content/how-gcc-smelters-cancontinue-growing-profitably/10192. [Accessed 13 5 2014].

[4] J. A. S. Green, Aluminum Recycling and Processing for Energy Conservation and Sustainability, ASM International, 2007.

[5] International Aluminum Institute, “Global Aluminium Recycling: A Cornerstone of Sustainable Development,” 2009.

[6] Novelis Recycling UK, “Why Recycle Aluminum,” 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.novelisrecycling.co.uk/novelis-recycling/ why-recycle-aluminium/. [Accessed 13 5 2014].

[7] Novelis, “The Recycling Process,” 2014. [Online].

Available: http://www.novelis.com/en-us/Pages/TheRecycling-Process.aspx. [Accessed 13 5 2014].

[8] European Aluminum Association, “Aluminium Recycling in Europe: The Road to High Quality Products,” 2007.

[9] G. Gaustada, E. Olivetti and R. Kirchain , “Improving aluminum recycling: A survey of sorting and impurity removal technologies,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, pp. 79-87, Vol 58 2010.

September/October 2014

82 PROFILE: ZALCO ALUMINIUM

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Open for business Nadine Firth, Editor, Aluminium International Today, visited Zeeland Aluminium Company BV, an aluminium foundry specialising in casting aluminium extrusion billets and rolling slabs, to see how the company is getting on after bankruptcy caused the smelter to close in 2011.

The plant was finally restarted in September 2012, when Zeeland Aluminium Company BV (Zalco), a division of the UTB group, took over and another section was sold to Century Aluminium.

“The beginning was tough and it was a challenge to restart,” says Jan van Wijck, Human Resources Manager, Zalco. “For the moment business is improving and production has been rising each month, so we are optimistic for the future.”

Products

Zalco BV carries a range of extrusion billets and rolling slab products. Extrusion billets are available in 27 different diameters, and rolling slabs in 60 different formats. This applies to all types of alloys, with lengths from 500mm to 8000mm available for sale.

The plant has two melting furnaces and a number of pre-treatment furnaces, as well as three batch homogenisation furnaces and a continuous homogenisation furnace.

Casting capacity is currently approximately 100,000 tonnes on an annual basis in a mix of extrusion billets and rolling slabs.

“Due to our flexible operation by having all our furnaces and degassing installations tiltable. We are able to cast, besides all the standard products, 3xxx, 5xxx and 7xxx alloys for supplying the niche market”.

September/October 2014

“Another advantage is that we can produce different alloys and length from 500mm to 8000mm saleable. This is also a strong point of Zalco BV,” says Jan. Location

Zalco is well located in the port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. It is connected to the main roads and directly via open water to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The German Ruhr area can be reached within 2½ hours driving.

Due to this strategic location Zalco BV services its customers in the aluminium processing industry throughout Europe.

The environment

Zalco is ISO-14001 certified, which means that Zalco and its employees are committed to working in compliance with statutory and other regulations; maintaining and expanding an environmentally aware, healthy and safe company, and preventing serious accidents and incidents.

Zalco recently invested in compressors for compressed air supply and energy efficient water pumps for the cooling water circuit in the casthouse.

Contact www.zalco.nl

Aluminium International Today

Zalco Aluminium is an aluminium foundry specialising in casting aluminium extrusion billets and rolling slabs in various dimensions to our customers’ specifications. Either scrap aluminium or primary aluminium serve as raw material for our products, or, if so desired, the customer itself can provide the raw material in order for Zalco to die-cast it in the desired composition.

Zalco Aluminium carries a broad range of extrusion billets and rolling slab products. Extrusion billets are available in 27 different diameters, and rolling slabs in 60 different formats. This applies to all types of alloys, with lengths from 500mm to 8000mm available for sale. Zalco has 2 melting furnaces and a number of pre-treatment furnaces, as well 3 batch homogenization furnaces and a continuous homogenization furnace. Casting capacity is currently approximately 100,000T on an annual basis. All casting units are equipped with degassing installations and CFF filters. Casting options are either the conventional method or Wagstaff /Airslip.

Zalco’s geographic location is very convenient. The company has its own harbor facility; railway transport is also an option. Road transport via A58, the access road to the area, is a good option for easy access to the hinterland, Benelux and Germany. Quality is considered of paramount importance. Zalco BV obtained ISO certification (9001) as soon as it was available. Quality also applies to the environment, for which Zalco is also ISO 14001 certified.

Zalco Aluminium Company BV Frankrijkweg 2, Vlissingen-Oost The Netherlands T + 31 (0) 113 615000 www.zalco.nl

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Zalco is part of the UTB Group, specialised in complete acquisitions and take-overs of assets and real estate within Aluminium and various other industrial sectors in times of consolidation, reorganisation, closure due to business failure and or bankruptcy. UTB Industry is mainly active within the heavy industry (steel/metal working, plastics and rubber, chemical etc.). Contact us for more details now via www.utb.eu.

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ISAL rodding plant upgrade

By Ingolfur Kristjansson* The first aluminium smelter in Iceland was constructed in the late 1960s by the Swiss company Alusuisse. Known from the start as ISAL, the smelter was the first major foreign investment in this newly independent country. In terms of physical footprint it was also the country's largest industrial production facility at the time.

Importantly, aluminium added a significant new dimension to the country's exports, dominated by fisheries. Last but not least, the smelter called for the country’s first major hydroelectric power plant to be built.

Iceland’s sizeable natural resources of renewable hydro and geothermal power, coupled with a very small population of only 300,000, mean that the country has a surplus of power generating capacity beyond ‘normal’ requirements. To create value from this resource in the form of foreign exchange revenues as well as jobs, Iceland has attracted power intensive industries. Since the construction of ISAL, two further smelters have been built in Iceland, bringing annual aluminium production to over 800,000 tons.

ISAL production upgrade project Today, ISAL is part of Rio Tinto Alcan, the Canadian-based aluminium division of AngloAustralian mining and metals group Rio Tinto. In 2010 it was decided to invest almost USD 500 million into major upgrades of ISAL. Essentially these could be viewed as three projects:

Operator Bath removal

Forks picked up by forklift

Bath in metal trays

Spent butts hauled to the workaround area

Operator Carbon removal

Old anode assemblies recycled

Thimble removal

Carbon in metal trays

Thimbles in metal trays

Pre heating in casthouse

Coarse cleaning

New anode assemblies

Operator

Operator

Hauler

Spent butts

Operator

Discharge in bath treatment plant

Operator

Manual colalr filling

Carbon returned to anode supplier

Carbon sold to third party

Operator

Re-used in anode casting

Placed in racks, 6 in each Operator Hanging up in rodding plant by forklift

Fig 1 ISAL manual work around process during shut down of the anode butt plant

Firstly, to transform the casthouse from producing slabs to higher value billets for extrusion plants. This called for modified casting pits and the installation of homogenising furnaces and other equipment.

Secondly, to increase operational reliability by ensuring that a single point of failure in the main power supply system would not cause power

outage in any of the three pot rooms.

Thirdly, to increase metal production by 20% by transforming the bus bars in two out of three pot rooms, enabling them to operate at a higher current. A number of related upgrades were also required, including electrical equipment, metal treatment, gas treatment plants and the anode rodding plant.

*Manager of Engineering, Rodding & GTC at ISAL September/October 2014

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Delivery of rodded anodes to pot rooms 97,5%

96%

100%

99,8%

Labour per unit produced

110%

100% 98%

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Sodium content in anode butts (ppm)

2500 103%

100%

2000

97,5%

89%

90%

1500

1523 1412

94% 79%

80%

91,7%

92%

1112

1000

946

90%

70% Before

World around

Ramp-up

After

500 Before

World around

Ramp-up

After

Before

World around

Ramp-up

After

Fig 2 Some indicators of the ISAL rodding plant performance before, during and after the upgrade project

The majority of these projects have been successfully completed. Due to various challenges the bus bar transformation was not implemented as planned and currently the production increase is therefore limited to 8%. However, alternative means to reach the original goal are under exploration.

In this paper, an executive summary of the ISAL rodding upgrade is provided with the main emphasis on the order of execution, risk management and results.

Scope of rodding shop conversion The rodding plant is located in two separate buildings. The larger building houses induction furnaces, equipment for casting, stub repair and quality control as well as holding lines for anode assemblies and rodded anodes.

In addition there are machines for inserting protective collars around the stubs, but this arrangement ensures ISAL world class figures for net carbon consumption. The second building is located next to the pot lines and houses equipment for bath removal, carbon cleaning and stripping.

The two buildings are interconnected by a transfer conveyor. An overhead power and free system transfers the spent butts through the cleaning, stripping and repair operations and picks up rodded anodes from an intermediate stock and delivers to the pot lines. Elsewhere, overhead gravity rollers and elevators are used to transport anode assemblies and roller conveyors for carbon blocks.

An increase in anode size was necessary to facilitate the pot line current creep and new anode assemblies had to be designed. These are 185mm wider; stub diameter is increased by 35mm and stub distance by 75mm.

The increase in weight of the anode assemblies and anode blocks is 82 and 122kg respectively. This called for a major modification of the whole rodding plant.

All in all, the rodding operation consists of 35 different machines, a power and free system and a complex network of overhead gravity rollers and elevators. Only six machines would support the new dimensions unchanged, nine machines had to be completely replaced by new ones and 20 were refurbished in situ.

In addition, ISAL took the opportunity to alter the layout where applicable to give room for extensive machine guarding and interlocked gates to reduce safety risk in the workplace.

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Phases of conversion A major modification of a rodding shop is a risky operation. Intermediate stocks are measured in hours of work and the pot room stability is totally dependent on reliable delivery of rodded anodes.

Therefore, the error margin and tolerance for delays is extremely small. To minimise risk, all tasks were analysed in detail and categorised for on-line or off-line execution. The aim was to perform as much work as possible on-line.

The on-line work was executed during normal weekly maintenance shifts and in some cases during the night, but production is planned 16 hours per day seven days a week. Production was only marginally affected in this period, which took place from September 2011 until March 2013. By the end of this phase, more or less all equipment on the hot side had been upgraded and was ready for the larger anode assemblies. The only exceptions were machines for collar forming and filling. Small lots of new anode assemblies were run through the system on a regular basis for fault detection and debugging.

The off-line period was the most critical phase of the whole project and had to be planned extremely carefully. Once the machines were dismantled, there was no turning back. An alternative process was designed for bath removal, butt cleaning and stripping as well as thimble removal. Simple machines were developed for the task. Hang up facility was constructed to introduce new anode assemblies as the old ones were taken out. All processes were tested and commissioned thoroughly before the shut-down date. The supply of anode blocks, assemblies and other supplies had to be carefully adjusted to serve the project schedule. Contractors were hired to provide necessary manpower, forklifts and other essentials were brought in.

Training was conducted, supervision intensified and mitigation plans drawn up and verified. Great care had to be taken to ensure even flow of crust bath material from the workaround process to avoid variation in granulometry and composition of the pot room cover material. The work around process is outlined in Fig 1.

The ramp-up period lasted six months and the manual process was gradually phased out during the first five weeks. Minor modifications, software programming, debugging and testing are typical activities during this phase. Therefore, very close cooperation between operation and contractors is necessary until design performance is

demonstrated. The concern for safety needs to be top priority.

Performance data The most important performance metric is the delivery of rodded anodes to the pot lines. ISAL has been tracking this on a daily basis for years.

Interestingly, there was an increase during the work around period indicating that the anode butt part is the most sensitive part of the automated operation. As expected a dip in performance occurred during the ramp-up period but previous performance levels were soon restored.

An inevitable consequence of a project of this scale is a temporary drop in productivity. This is expressed in terms of labour cost per unit produced in the graph below and demonstrates clearly the cost of additional manpower and overtime during work around and ramp-up.

The new process delivers cleaner anode butts that before. This is evident from the analysis of sodium content and shows 30% reduction on average and less variability. The manual cleaning during the work around period was largely inferior, rendering a large portion unsuitable for re-cycling in the anode plant.

Conclusion The project was executed without any serious injury or environmental incidents. Only two minor first aid cases were encountered. Great emphasis was on HSE excellence throughout.

The relatively long execution period and regular testing with small lots of new anode assemblies was critical for maintaining high delivery rate. The manual work around process was successful and the pot room operation was largely undisturbed.

Approximately 50% of the manually cleaned butts were sold on the market due to high sodium levels.

The modified process has reduced sodium by 30% as well as variance.

The ramp up to normal operating level in terms of manpower and throughput took six months, which is somewhat longer than expected. Indirect project costs were relatively high but this is to be expected for a brown field project of this character.

The rodding plant at ISAL is performing stronger than before the upgrade and is now well equipped for continuous improvements, cost reduction and to meet future challenges.

Contact www.riotintoalcan.is

September/October 2014

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Anode spike removal machine

Anode Spikes: A controllable cost

By Barry Woodrow* Carbon anodes – whether produced on-site or purchased froma specialist manufacturer – are the highest consumable cost in any aluminium smelter.

Maximising anode use by carefully controlling butt thickness is a key process parameter.

Damage or disruption to the anode whilst in the pot means reduced production efficiency and the additional cost of removing a partially used anode and replacing it with a new one. By far the most common disruption is the formation on the underside of the anode of spikes, sometimes referred to as mushrooms.

The practice of removing and discarding anodes under which spikes have formed is still followed by many smelters, inevitably increasing carbon consumption and operating cost.

Numerous investigations into anode spikes have been documented over the years. Their formation has been attributed to many factors, of which the most significant are undoubtedly cell carbon dust and anode to cathode distance (ACD).

When a spike forms on the underside of an anode it has a considerable effect on cell performance – typically current efficiency drops by around 2%, energy consumption increases by 1,52,0%, and net carbon consumption increases by up to 10%. Clearly, these are undesirable conditions, and much effort has been applied to understanding how the frequency of spike formation may be minimised.

Improved process control has significantly reduced the occurence of anode spikes but they

still do occur, when swift action is necessary to minimise the effect on pot stability.

The traditional remedy has been to pull the affected anode from the pot and discard it.

Alternatively, it has been the practice in some smelters to lay the rod on the potroom floor, and remove the spike by breaking it off with a crowbar or sledge hammer. Such methods are inefficient, and have health and safety implications.

Original VHE Anode Milling Machine

More than 10 years ago, VHE developed an anode spike milling machine which was installed at ISAL in Iceland, now a Rio Tinto Alcan smelter. The machine was a fixed installation, able to accept hot or cold rodded anodes, which were loaded into the machine onto a frame under which was a rotary milling head fitted with a number of cutters. Any spikes and other uneveness were removed from the underside of the anode, the milling head tracking the full length of the anode. Waste carbon fell down a chute under the machine to a receptical in the potroom basement.

Whilst the machine performed well, logistically it had the drawback of a great deal of traffic movement to deliver and return anodes before and after milling. After some years VHE proposed a trailer mounted version, but this was never manufactured.

Recently, VHE has developed a mobile anode spike removal machine which quickly, safely and economically removes anode spikes. The machine is installed in a smelter in mainland Europe.

The machine abrades away spikes and other irregularities, improving the geometry and extending the usable life. Spiked anodes are pulled from the pots and abraded whilst still hot, then returned again to the original stall. Optionally, anodes may first be cooled and then treated.

The VHE anode spike removal machine is easily transported by a forklift which provides power through the external hydraulic connection.

Electrical power is also supplied by the forklift.

*Commercial Manager, VHE, Iceland September/October 2014

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Anode showing spike

The skid-mounted machine comprises a steel frame, stem clamp, scraper driven by two hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic valve box, electrical control box and a waste material container.

Anodes are lowered into the machine using a potroom crane. The anode sits directly on the abrading frame and is located in place by a stem clamp and by movable guides around the machine frame; the complete anode assembly is free to move up and down.

Once the anode is in place the machine is started and the abrading frame moves backwards and forwards along the length of the anode, removing uneven material from the anode underside. Abraded carbon falls into a bin which

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ELECTRODES SUPPLEMENT

Scraper detail

Spike removed

may be removed and emptied by a forklift.

The anode is then replaced in the pot, thus eliminating the costly usage of a new anode.

Velaverkstaedi Hjalta Einarssonar - VHE is a major mechanical fabricator, offering a comprehensive range of design, manufacturing and site services. VHE now provides all Stimir solutions to the primary aluminium industry, with particular focus on the Rodding Plant. All aspects of design and fabrication are undertaken at VHE’s own facilities, ensuring total quality control and on-time delivery.

Hot anode spike removal

Contact www.vhe.is

• Smooth & Accurate Cut • Selectable Cut Lengths • Proven Reliability • Quick & Easy Blade Change • Very Low Maintenance • Very Low Noise • Fully Automatic or Manual • Long Life Band Saw Blade

INVENTION • INNOVATION • INGENUITY

Vélaverkstæði Hjalta Einarssonar ehf.

Melabraut 27 • IS-220 Hafnarfjörður • Iceland • tel +354 575 9700 • fax +354 575 9701 • www.vhe.is • sala@vhe.is Aluminium International Today

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The reduction of emissions from anode baking furnaces and paste plants While environmental standards and legislations with respect to emissions are continuing to become more stringent, trends in the operation of anode baking furnaces and paste plants such as full pitch burning practice in bake furnaces have affected these emissions. This tightening operating envelope puts pressure on the operator to improve performance of the environmental systems as well as the CO2 footprint of a plant. By Jan de Weerdt*, Peter Klut**, Erik Dupon*** and Edo Engel**** This article details and compares technologies such as the Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO) and bag filter-based dry scrubbing systems, but also the newly developed SERT emission reactor technology.

The performance of these technologies is compared based on their performance in the removal of Volatile and Solid Organic Compounds such as Benzene, Toluene and Benzo[a]pyrene.

In addition, experiences with operations and maintenance of these units from around the world are discussed.

These PAHs are referred to as the EPA16. Often, Benzo[a]pyrene (Bap), which is considered to be the most carcinogenic of this list, is used to monitor PAHs instead of measuring all PAH16 compounds.

Fumes from the Anode Bake Furnace (ABF) contain a number of pollutants. These pollutants originate from the (green) anodes and the fuel used for the heating of the ABF. Depending on the source of raw material, the following pollutants may be found:

Environmental protection In green anode production plants, coal tar pitch is used as a binder material for the fabrication of green anodes. During heating in the green anode production process, coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPVs) are released. The majority of these fumes consists of Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s), which are classified as carcinogenic.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified the 16 most common PAH molecules, based on their carcinogenicity and occurrence.

Dust – mostly packing coke from the pits that is sucked into the exhaust system.

Light hydrocarbons such as Benzene, Phenol, Naphtalene – originate from the pitch.

Heavy hydrocarbons such as Benzo[a]pyrene, Anthracene – originate from pitch and are considered carcinogenic.

Carbon monoxide (CO) – is a result of poor firing conditions in the ABF. Carbon monoxide is a toxic/lethal gas.

Sulfurdioxide (SO2) – originates mostly from pet

cokes.

Sulfurtrioxide (SO3) – originates mostly from pet cokes. Vanadium within the pet cokes promotes the formation of SO3. At temperatures below ~110°C sulfuric acid is formed, which can attack the installation.

Hydrogen fluorides (HF) – originates from anode butts. Acid gas that is harmful to the environment.

If only pet coke is used for the production of anodes HF will not be present.

The level of pollutants found in the fumes depends on the operation of the ABF and the quality of the raw material. In case the ABF operates well (with sufficient curing time, enough draft and correct temperatures), pitch burning within the ABF will occur, which results in additional heat in the furnace and low hydrocarbon content of the fumes at the outlet of the ABF. In well operated Bake Furnaces, the CO levels at the outlet will be in the range of 25 to 100 ppm.

*Process Engineer, Danieli Corus, The Netherlands **Senior Process Engineer, Danieli Corus, The Netherlands ***Senior Sales Manager, Danieli Corus, The Netherlands ****Marketing Manager, Danieli Corus, The Netherlands September/October 2014

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Fume treatment technologies There are two predominant technologies available to treat hydrocarbon-rich fumes: Dry Scrubbing using Alumina (FTC) and (Regenerative) Thermal Oxidation (RTO). When the gas volumes are small and there is no hydrogen fluoride present, also the use of the Green Mill Fume Treatment System (GMFTS) technology can be considered. This dry scrubbing technology uses coke fines to capture the pollutants.

Another interesting option might be to clean the fumes using Shell Emission Reduction Technology (SERT). This relatively new technology has been developed by Shell and adapted by Danieli Corus for use in the metals industry. This technology uses a fixed absorbent bed to capture pollutants and remove dust from the gas.

In the next sections, these four technologies will be discussed and evaluated.

the pressure drop over the filter module. The reacted alumina collects in the hopper bottom of the filter module. Part of the reacted alumina is recycled to the VRI in order to achieve high removal efficiency.

Excess reacted alumina is discharged from the hopper and is transported to the reacted alumina storage silo for further use in the aluminium smelter.

The clean fumes are directed to the main exhaust fans and will be released into the atmosphere via the stack. Because the scrubbing alumina can be used in the aluminium production process, no waste stream is generated.

difference that in the GMFTS no conditioning tower is used because the temperature of the fumes is relatively low (25 – 50°C). However, despite the fact that the scrubbing agent is not the same as for an FTC, the injection and filtration technology used in a GMFTS are the same.

Just as in an FTC, the VRI injection system is used to inject the scrubbing agent into the gas stream.

This ensures an optimal contact between coke fines fumes and high removal efficiency. In addition, coke fines are injected by point injection in the collector ducts close to the emission location to prevent pitch built-up in the ducting (scouring).

After scrubbing and filtration, the reacted coke is collected in the bag house hopper and transported to the coke fines silo from where fresh and reacted coke is used in the green anode production process. Like an FTC, the GMFTS is a closed loop system in which the scrubbing agent is recycled into the production process.

Dry scrubbing systems Fume Treatment Center (FTC) In an FTC, heavy hydrocarbons, HF and dust are removed from the ABF fumes in three subsequent process steps: In the first step, the hot fumes leaving the ABF will be cooled down to a temperature of about 110°C in a co-current conditioning tower. At the top of the conditioning tower, cooling water is sprayed into the gas stream using compressed air to atomise the water and generate very small droplets. Due to the decrease in temperature, heavy hydrocarbons condense and will be removed from the gas stream by a fixed inertial separator at the bottom of the conditioning tower. The design of the conditioning tower ensures that all water evaporates and the conditioning tower can be operated with a dry bottom.

The conditioning tower outlet temperature is maintained at a level of about 110°C in order to avoid acid condensation and to achieve an optimal dry scrubbing performance. Moreover, the maximum allowable fume temperature is limited due to material constraints of the filter bags.

The second process step is dry scrubbing of the fumes using fresh alumina (Al2O3) as scrubbing agent. During the sc0rubbing process, the chemisorption of HF, as well as the adhesion of the tar particles, takes place on the surface of the alumina.

For efficient scrubbing, alumina particles must come in close contact with the dirty fumes and tar particles. Therefore, a homogeneous alumina distribution over the entire cross-section of the reaction chamber is of great importance. Danieli Corus uses the patented Vertical Radial Injector (VRI) that has been specifically developed for injection of particles into the gas stream.

In the third and final process step, the alumina is separated from the fumes using bag filters. The flow of fumes and alumina enters the filter module and the alumina is collected on the surface of the filter bags. The alumina forms a filtercake on the outer surface of the filterbag, acting as dust filter and providing additional time for the alumina to absorb HF from the fumes. The clean fumes will pass through the filterbags and leave the module.

The filterbags are periodically cleaned by a high pressure pulse cleaning system in order to reduce Aluminium International Today

Green Mill Fume Treatment System (GMFTS) The GMFTS treats pitch fumes that are generated in the green anode production process. In a dry scrubbing process, light and heavy hydrocarbons are removed from the fumes using coke fines as a scrubbing agent. The dry scrubbing process is not a chemical reaction, but rather a physical adsorption of the hydrocarbons on the coke fines.

The GMFTS process is similar to the FTC process described in the previous section, with the Naphthalene

C10H8

Acenaphthylene

C12H8

Acenaphthene

C12H10

Fluorene

C13H10

Phenanthrene

C14H10

Anthracene

C14H10

Fluoranthene

C16H10

Pyrene

C16H10

Benzo[a]anthracene

C18H12

Chrysene

C18H12

Benzo[b]fluoranthene

C20H12

Benzo[k]fluoranthene

C20H12

Benzo[a]pyrene

C20H12

Benzo[g,h,i]perylene

C22H12

Indeno[1,2,3,c,d]pyrene

C22H12

Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene

C22H14

Table 1 List of PAH16 Molecules

Industrial GMFTS Unit

Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO) The Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO) converts light and heavy hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water vapour through thermal oxidation.

RTOs use regenerative heat transfer to achieve high thermal efficiencies, which results in low fuel costs. Typical thermal efficiencies are in the range of 90 – 95%.

Fumes containing light and heavy hydrocarbons are extracted by the main exhaust fan, which discharges the fumes into the inlet of the RTO. From the RTO inlet manifold, the fumes are directed towards an energy recovery chamber. In this chamber, a bed of ceramic heat exchange media will release heat to the fumes. While passing through the thermal energy recovery chamber, the fumes gradually increase in temperature until the fume temperature approaches the hydrocarbon combustion temperature (800 – 900°C).

During this increase in temperature, the light and heavy hydrocarbons are heated above their ignition temperature and thermal oxidation of these compounds will start. When the fumes exit the thermal energy recovery chamber, they will pass through a combustion chamber in which complete combustion of all hydrocarbon contaminants will take place. If required, a burner will add heat in order to maintain the combustion temperature.

The clean fumes exit the combustion chamber and enter a second thermal energy recovery chamber. In this chamber, a bed of ceramic heat exchange media will absorb heat from the fumes.

The hot fumes will gradually reduce in temperature until the fume temperature is close to the RTO inlet temperature. The clean fumes are collected in the exhaust manifold and directed to the stack.

To remove particulates and condensate a pre-filter system is required. This pre-filter is located upstream the RTO unit. The pre-filter can be a cyclone or a filter bed filled with ceramic media packing which provides high turbulence and a large specific surface area[1].

The fumes will flow in an alternating pattern from one chamber to another. The sequence is reversed at regular intervals in order to provide equal heating and cooling within each thermal energy recovery chamber.

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Temperature Adsorbent

RTO

FTC

GMFTS

SERT

900

80 – 250

25 – 50

<500

-

Alumina

Coke

Coke

REMOVAL EFFICIENCY Dust

0%

99%

99%

99%

Light HC

99%

0%

> 50%*

> 50%*

Heavy HC

99%

99%

99%

99%

CO

99%

0%

> 10%

> 10%

SO2

0%

25 – 40%

> 50%*

> 50%*

SO3

0%

80%

80%

80%

HF

0%

99%

> 10%*

> 10%*

Table 1: Pollutant removal efficiency

* Depending on coke fine quality/particulate size/process T

Periodical burn-out of the energy recovery chamber is required in order to remove organic deposits.

This burn-out is necessary to avoid clogging, maintain the heat recovery efficiency and to reduce the fire risk. During the burn-out, hot gas from the combustion chamber is used to clean the energy recovery chamber [1].

A typical RTO unit consists of three energy recovery chambers, which enables the continuous operation of the system even when one of the chambers is in burnout mode.

Shell Emission Reduction Technology (SERT) The reactor used for the SERT technology is a patented reactor concept in which adsorbents like sand, activated coke, and/or catalyst are used in fixed beds.

These beds are installed at the material angle of repose and supported by a wire mesh. Dirty fumes pass through the adsorbent bed from top to bottom. While passing through the bed, the pollutants are absorbed and dust is being trapped.

Due to bed dust capture, the differential pressure over the reactor gradually increases.

At a given maximum differential pressure, the feed flow to the bed is stopped and a reverse flow of ambient air is blown through the bed from the bottom. Because the beds are installed at the material angle of repose, the top layer of adsorbent/dust is removed from the bed and falls down into a material discharge collector.

This collector is equipped with a screw conveyor and transports the adsorbent/dust from the reactor module container. Automatically, a new layer of fresh adsorbent material from the top of the bed will replace the removed adsorbent by gravity and the bed is taken into service again.

One SERT reactor consists of multiple adsorbent beds that can be fitted in a 20” sea container. Each of these containers can typically process a gas flow of 40,000 – 60,000 Am3/hr.

SERT reactors have several distinct advantages compared to other fume treatment technologies: - No pre- and post-treatment steps are required - The footprint is lower - Engineering, installation and commissioning efforts are low due to modular approach - No replacement of filter bags - Low energy consumption These advantages make the use of a SERT reactor very attractive, even more if other technologies prove to be negatively affected by changing operating conditions.

September/October 2014

Equipment

Power

Main Exhaust Fans

0.68 MW

Pumps

4 kW

Compressor

0.20 MW

Total (MWe)

0.89

Total (MWth)

2.11

Table 2 FTC Power Consumption

Equipment

Power

Main Exhaust Fans

0.68 MW

Compressor

0.12 MW

Total (MWe)

0.74

Total (MWth)

1.76

Table 3 GMFTS Power Consumption

Fume Treatment Performance The following table illustrates the typical pollutant removal capabilities for each technology.

For light/heavy hydrocarbon removal, the RTO is the most efficient solution as it simply combusts all hydrocarbon compounds converting them into CO2 and water. However, for removing non carbon compounds an RTO is not very suitable.

Compounds like SO2, SO3 and HF cannot be removed. Particulates can only be removed if a prefilter is installed upstream the RTO. For the removal of HF, particulate matter and heavy hydrocarbons an FTC is clearly the most efficient solution. Up to a certain extent, the FTC can also remove SO2 and SO3 from the fumes.

However, light hydrocarbons will not condense and remain in the gas phase. Also carbon monoxide cannot be removed from the fumes. On the other hand, FTCs are very effective in dust removal.

Using coke instead of alumina as an absorbent like in a GMFTS, a larger part of the SO2 and SO3 as well as some of the light hydrocarbons and even CO can be removed from the fumes. However, coke fines cannot absorb HF and therefore the GMFTS is not suitable for HF removal. In addition, due to the use of filter bags the application of this technology is limited to fume temperatures of 135°C. A SERT reactor using coke as absorbent will have a similar pollutant removal efficiency as a GMFTS. However, a SERT reactor can operate at much higher fume temperature than a GMFTS. Utility consumption The availability and cost of resources will affect the outcome of the technology as well. Generally

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speaking, an RTO requires fuel, dry scrubbing requires a scrubbing agent and SERT requires an absorbent.

If an ABF is located at the aluminum smelter site, alumina is readily available and an FTC is the preferred option. The reacted alumina is used in the smelter, which makes the process very effective in terms of material consumption.

The coke used for scrubbing at the GMFTS is used in the anode production process and the SERT absorbent is recycled, therefore the utility consumption for these is technologies low.

An RTO always consumes a certain amount of natural gas depending on the heat recovery efficiency.

CO2 Footprint Due to environmental legislations, today’s focus is more and more on the CO2 footprint. By continuous effort of the ABF operations, energy consumption is minimized and pitch burning becomes more and more efficient. This results in a reduced CO2 footprint of the ABF and lower hydrocarbon content in the ABF outlet fumes[2].

Recently started Bake Furnaces using full control pitch burning firing systems[3], by which natural gas consumption of the ABF can be reduced even more.

However, more efficient ABF operation does not only have a positive impact on the CO2 footprint, but it could also negatively affect the downstream fume treatment process.

The following example case illustrates the effect of the decreasing hydrocarbon content in the ABF fumes on the CO2 footprint of the downstream fume treatment process.

The following typical data have been used: Gas Flow : 200,000 Nm3/hr Gas Temperature : 200 °C Hydrocarbon Content : 400 mg/Nm3 CO Content: 500 ppm HC Heat of Combustion : 44 MJ/kg CO Heat of Combustion: 10 MJ/kg Combustion Temperature : 900 °C Fan Efficiency: 85% Compressor Efficiency: 75% For the calculation of the CO2 footprint of the installations, the required electrical power has been converted into thermal power using an efficiency factor of 42%. It has been assumed that this thermal power is generated by the complete combustion of natural gas, according to the following equation: CH4 + 2 O2 CO2 + 2 H2O The natural gas heat of combustion used is 50 MJ/kg.

RTO The CO2 footprint of an RTO consists of a combustion part and an electricity consumption part. The combustion part depends on the quantity of natural gas that has to be supplied to maintain the combustion temperature. The electricity consumption depends on the equipment; in this Aluminium International Today

DRY SCRUBBING TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRIMARY ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY

Danieli Corus is a leader in innovative dry scrubbing technology for the primary aluminium industry. Its proprietary scrubbing technology provides the industry with a highly efficient, cost–effective and versatile emission control system. Developed to remove fluoride compounds from potline emission, the technology has been successfully adapted to remove both fluorides and hydrocarbons from the fumes emitted by carbon anode baking furnaces and green carbon plants.

The heart of the technology is the patented Vertical Radial Injector (VRI). The alumina scrubbing medium is injected into the reactor through the VRI to achieve maximum

Danieli Corus P.O. Box 10000 1970 CA IJmuiden The Netherlands T +31 (0)251 500 500 F +31 (0)251 500 501

E info@danieli–corus.com W www.danieli–corus.com

diffusion of the particles in the gas stream with minimum turbulence. The system offers low pressure drop, reduced recycling and reduced abrasion. The systems operate at energy consumption levels more than 10% lower when compared to competing injection systems and more than 50% lower when compared to fluidized bed scrubbers.

Danieli Corus engineers for optimum performance in each installation. Local or worldwide sourcing of components and services gives Danieli Corus the opportunity to offer clients competitive costs and superior quality every time.

Our leadership in gas cleaning technology for the primary aluminium industry is undisputed. You can rely on us.

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case the main exhaust fan and the pre-filter.

Assuming a typical heat recovery efficiency of 90%, the heat balance for the RTO can be depicted as follows: Due to the low hydrocarbon content of the fumes, only little heat is generated from hydrocarbon combustion. Therefore, additional heat needs to be supplied in order to maintain the required combustion temperature. This heat is generated by the combustion of natural gas.

The main electrical consumption comes from the main exhaust fan(s), which extract the fumes from the ABF and draw them through the RTO and prefilter. A total pressure drop of 6 kPa has been assumed for the RTO including the pre-filter.

From this example it becomes clear that the lower the hydrocarbon content in the fumes, the more natural gas combustion is required at the RTO, thus increasing the CO2 footprint. Typically, an RTO is in auto-thermal mode (meaning no additional heat input is required) when the hydrocarbon content in the fumes is 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1.5 g/Nm3[4].

Due to the trend in more efficient pitch burning in the ABF, the hydrocarbon content of the fumes will decrease even more and RTOs will become less effective in ABF fume cleaning because of the increasing natural gas requirement.

a very low hydrocarbon emission. For removal of other pollutants, additional units like a pre-filter and a dry scrubber have to be incorporated within the RTO system.

From Table 5 can be seen that the electrical power consumption is similar for all four technologies. The largest contribution to the CO2 footprint comes from the natural gas consumption in the RTO, which leads to a three times greater CO2 footprint for an RTO compared to the other technologies. From this comparison, can be seen that natural gas consumption has more effect on the CO2 footprint than electrical power consumption.

With decreasing hydrocarbon content in the ABF fumes, the natural gas consumption, and consequently the CO2 footprint, of the RTO will increase even more.

The problem of decreasing hydrocarbon content in the fumes is less evident in the FTC and GMFTS, but also here the lower hydrocarbon content can potentially lead to decreasing filter efficiency. The reason for this is that a certain amount of tars is required to build a proper filter cake on the surface of the filter bags.

If this is not the case, the filtration will become less effective and dust emissions may increase [5,6]. The SERT reactor does not seem to be affected by lower hydrocarbon content.

In terms of investment costs, an FTC, GMTFS, SERT are less expensive than an RTO unit. When installed at an aluminium smelter, an FTC is preferred because alumina is available. For a stand-alone ABF this is a little different and an RTO could be used, however still in combination with dust filtration and dry scrubbing in order to remove particulate and SO2.

and drawbacks. The choice for the Best Available Technology (BAT) for fume treatment is case dependent and will be affected by multiple factors.

The main factors in determining the BAT are the fume temperature and composition as well as availability of resources and space. In addition, investment costs and maturity of the technology will certainly play a significant role.

For cleaning of fumes from an ABF, an FTC or GMFTS has a number of advantages over an RTO unit: - Alumina availability vs. natural gas consumption - Lower CAPEX - Lower CO2 footprint - More efficient in HF removal - More efficient in SO2/SO3 removal - No waste stream generated

FTC For an FTC, the main contribution to the CO2 footprint comes from the main exhaust fan(s).

About 80% of the energy consumption is by the main exhaust fans.

In addition, there is the consumption of water and compressed air for the conditioning tower as well as compressed air consumption for the VRI units and filter bag cleaning. For the water consumption, the required pump capacity has been calculated. The compressed air consumption is converted into a compressor power requirement.

The total energy consumption for the FTC is summarised in Table 2.

GMFTS As for the FTC, the largest contribution to the power requirement comes from the main exhaust fans. Also compressed air is required for the VRIs and cleaning of the filter bags. The total energy consumption for the GMFTS is summarized in Table 3.

SERT For the SERT, the largest contribution to the power requirement comes from the main exhaust fans.

Some power and compressed air is also required for material transport. The total energy consumption for the SERT is summarised in Table 4.

Comparison Based on removal efficiency, an RTO unit is the preferred solution for hydrocarbon removal. For the removal of HF, SO2, SO3 and dust, dry scrubbing technologies have clear advantages.

Considering that the majority of the hydrocarbon content consists of heavy hydrocarbons (which have similar removal efficiencies in all four technologies), using a RTO is only beneficial if environmental regulations dictate September/October 2014

SERT reactors could provide an interesting alternative to conventional fume treatment technologies as well. Of all fume treatment technologies described in this paper, SERT has the lowest CO2 footprint. In addition, CAPEX and OPEX will be lower than for current BAT technologies.

At an aluminum smelter, the sole reason to select an RTO unit over an FTC would be due to stringent environmental regulations on PAH emissions.

Also in other applications, the main factor driving the installation of an RTO unit will be environmental regulations.

As ABF operation becomes more and more efficient and complete pitch burning takes place in the ABF already, natural gas requirements for the RTO will increase which will only make this technology less attractive.

Conclusion All available technologies for the treatment of hydrocarbon rich fumes have their own advantages Equipment

Power

Main Exhaust Fans

0.68 MW

Compressor

0.12 MW

Total (MWe)

0.74

Total (MWth)

1.76

References [1] M. Hagen, W. Hilgert, R. Skiba, Results of Operating a RTO Based Fume Treatment System at Baking Furnace, TMS Light Metals 2007, p. 977 [2] F. Keller, P.O. Sulger, Anode Baking: Baking of Anodes for the Aluminum Industry, R&D Carbon Ltd. 2nd Edition, 2008. Sierre, Switzerland.

[3] M. Detlef, D. di Lisa, H.P. Mnikoleiski, Full Control of Pitch Burn During Baking: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Impact on Anode Quality, Operational Safety, Maintenance and operational costs, TMS Light Metals 2011, p. 875 [4] J. Papak, Optimized Pitch Fume Treatment for Anode Paste Plants, Krasnoyarsk Conference 2013 [5] E. Dupon, P. Klut, E. Engel, Experiences in FTC Design, Operation and Development, TMS Light Metals 2012, p. 1181 [6] E. Dupon, P. Klut, E. Engel, J. de Weerdt, Successful Commissioning of Fume Treatment Centers,Vth International Congress and Exhibition "Non-Ferrous Metals", Krasnoyarsk, September 6, 2013

Table 3 GMFTS Power Consumption

Equipment

Power

Equipment

Power

Main Exhaust Fans

0.68 MW

Compressor

7 kW

Total (MWe)

0.69

Total (MWth)

1.63

Table 4 SERT Power Consumption

RTO

FTC

GMFTS

SERT Table 5 CO2 footprint

MWth

6.0

-

-

-

MWe

0.78

0.89

0.74

0.69

CO2 (kg/hr) Relative

1186

419

349

324

1

0.33

0.27

0.25

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98 ADVERTORIAL – PRESEZZI

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A 360-degree approach to hard aluminium alloys

Lateral type single puller (completely electric)

The market for hard aluminium alloys for automotive and aerospace parts and for forgings is becoming ever-more demanding and involves complex production that requires top-class equipment. Moreover, creating the best possible facility to process hard aluminium alloys requires an experienced technology partner, like Presezzi Extrusion (PE), with a profound knowledge of every single parameter of the production process.

While many of its competitors only supply individual items of machinery, PE has adopted a broader approach based on a team of skilled technicians with many years’ experience gained in one of the leading facilities for hard aluminium alloys. This comprehensive knowledge of the metallurgy of hard aluminium alloys covers melting and casting, extrusion and the special heat treatments required, and is backed by decades of practical experience.

Each of the group companies is a leader in its own field and is thus able to provide top quality equipment for the respective step of the production process. Close co-operation between the individual companies then ensures success.

COIM srl is the PE Group company that specialises in gas-fired billet heaters and special heat treatment furnaces. Its billet heaters are well established for use with aluminium extrusions and are characterised by high energy efficiency and reliability. COIM’s technology provides the highly accurate heating and good billet homogeneity needed to extrude hard aluminium alloys. COIM supplies both batch and continuous furnaces for homogenising, aging, tempering and annealing hard alloy logs and extruded profiles. The company regards its ‘tailor-made’ approach to be a source of real added-value for customers striving to achieve total quality.

The group’s Indirect Presses division aims to produce high-quality hard aluminium alloy products at low cost.

In order to obtain a good surface finish and a high quality product, PE presses are equipped with a scalper that machines the billet surface before extrusion to eliminate segregation and inclusions.

The presses are also equipped with a special cleaner for the container to eliminate micro-defects (inclusions, blisters, etc.) on the profile surface. All PE presses allow in-line quenching, and it is September/October 2014

possible to install universal quenching systems for all types of hard alloy. For hard alloy tubes, which are extruded using a mandrel, Presezzi has created a system that adjusts the die to eliminate eccentricity.

The main advantages of indirect extrusion are: • Indirectly extruded products do not have any outer recrystallised layer or butt end defect and the indirect process ensures structural homogeneity and uniform mechanical properties over the whole cross-section and along the whole length of the product. This means the products are more suitable for industrial applications.

• Compared to the direct mode, there is an exponential increase in productivity (with a doubling, trebling or even more depending on the alloy).

equipment used for indirect extrusion does not differ from that used for direct extrusion.

Two other subsidiaries complement the range of products PE offers the aluminium industry.

Profile Automation is a leader in the production of complete plants for aluminium packing and handling. Its product range includes extrusion lines, powder coating lines, anodising lines, logistics (bridge cranes, conveyors, shuttles, stackers, etc.) and automated high rack storage systems.

Reiter & Crippa designs and manufactures tailormade equipment for the melting and heat treatment of aluminium alloys and the processing of aluminium alloy scrap: Ingot pre-heaters, melting and holding furnaces, charging and skimming machines for melting furnaces, and UBC

3D view of a 36-MN indirect press with piercer

Right: Patented spray nozzle

• The absence of friction between the billet and the container means the press power available is 30% greater than with a direct press. This allows longer billet lengths (container lengths) to be used, which increases productivity.

• There is over 50% less scrap than with direct extrusion.

• The scalper eliminates segregation and ensures extruded surfaces are significantly smoother than with direct extrusion.

• With the exception of the scalper, the

and aluminium scrap decoaters. The use of advanced technologies for heating, insulation and control results in optimal energy savings with minimal metal loss.

Presezzi Extrusion will be exhibiting at ALUMINIUM 2014, Stand 12G10 Aluminium International Today

ALUMINIUM 2014

STAND DETAILS

The following companies are exhibiting Hall 10 D24

Hall 10 A60 Josef Frohling Gmbh & Co.KG, Scherl 12, D - 58540 Meinerzhagen, Germany

www.danieli-froehling.de

www.fivesgroup.com

Hall 9 H16 Drache GmbH, Werner-Von-Siemens-Str.24-26, D-65582 Diez, Germany

www.drache-gmbh.de

Hall 9 G15

Fives North American Combustion, Inc 4455 East 71st Street, Cleveland, OH 44105 USA

aluminium@quartzltd.co.uk www.aluminiumtoday.com

Hall 10 D16

Hall 9 G05 Polytec GmbH, Polytec Platz 1-7, Waldbronn, D-76337, Germany

www.polytec.de

www.secowarwick.com

SECO/WARWICK Europe, UL. Swierczewskiego 76, 66-200 Swiebodzin, Poland

To reserve your space in any future issues Please contact: Anne Considine anneconsidine@quartzltd.com Paul Rosssage paulrossage@quartzltd.com

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101

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Safety first A conversation about safety with Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Sapa Group. By Alex Lowery* This issue brings a new series to Aluminium International Today. I’ll be interviewing aluminium company leaders on safety related issues. The aluminium industry’s strong safety record is well known and during my travels as Wise Chem general manager, visiting many of our safest plants, I began thinking how a company’s leadership at the highest level impacts an environment where safety is at the forefront; producing positive results time and time again.

1. How do you view safety?

For me safety is very close to heart. Safety is our first priority in Sapa. It is the foundation of everything we do because I have yet to see an unsafe operation that is a good financial operation. We want Sapa to be a safe place to work and we want to continuously improve year by year the standards of our operations.

2. Was there a particular incident that formed your views on safety?

Well I have spent my entire career in the metal industry. Before Sapa I came from Elkem where I spent a lot of time on the shop floor. Seeing for myself the exposure and potential exposure and knowing people that were injured makes an impact.

When we look at the number of accidents that we have, it’s important that these don’t become statistics. These numbers are people, people with a family, friends, colleagues, and so on. Each of these could have been avoided.

3. Can you explain the corporate structure at Sapa, or why safety directly reports to you?

One of the first things I did when I became the CEO of Sapa in 2011 was that Brian Jones (Sapa’s Senior Vice President EHS) would report to me directly. Not because I am a safety expert myself but I think it does send a signal about the importance I put on safety and all the reports both written and oral are reported directly to me. That sends a message to the organisation that safety concerns me a great deal.

4. Do the environmental, health, and safety regulations in some countries place Sapa at a disadvantage when

Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Sapa Group

competing with companies from outside that country?

I think the regulations themselves don’t differ that much between the markets but how they are followed by all the players in this industry probably differ somewhat. But we’ll stick with what we have and if it puts us at a competitive disadvantage so be it.

There is no contradiction between a safe operation and a cost effective and lean operation. If it means that following our rules on EHS, if it costs us some short-term losses, I don’t care. We are in the business for the (very) long term and making shortcuts is not something we do.

5. How does Sapa handle protecting outside contractors from hazards in your plants and let alone themselves?

We do have procedures when we bring contractors in our plants. They get a briefing of the safety procedures within our facility and PPE and so on. For me, if someone is injured inside our facilities, it does not really matter if it’s our own employees or contractors. It’s equally bad.

6. Can you explain how Sapa promotes safety to your workers?

Safety is an integral part of everything we do. I do not think I make a single presentation internally or externally without having safety as a part of my presentation. It’s important that we demonstrate this behaviour from the top as well. I would never travel anywhere or go without going out into the operation and spending sufficient time on the shop floor. We also have a fixed procedure anytime I am at a plant that I am taken to the last place where we had an incident.

We go through that incident at the spot, what happened, what we have done to prevent this from happening again. In

addition we are now recording how many injury free events are reported by location.

We really set quite high targets for how many reports should there be on potentials to improve safety before it happens as a preventive measure.

We say that there should be two per employee per year. We push and push them and we get a lot of good input. It took a little time but we are making good progress.

7. The use of Wise Chem is synonymous to good safety practices in our industry for preventing molten metal explosions. How does Sapa learn of new best safety practices?

A lot of the best-practice sharing comes through our EHS network, and we also encourage our EHS-managers to be a part of networks outside our industry. As well as for management, myself included, I do get the opportunity to visit both suppliers and customers. When it comes to safety we often do “walk, observe, communicate” (WOC) and try to pick up the best practices of other companies.

8. As more workers are approaching retirement age, how should the industry deal with that loss and train the next generation of aluminium workers?

A couple of years ago Sapa did a study going through the incidents on who gets injured in our facilities and we saw there was over representation of newest people brought into our operations. We firmed up our procedures for training and onboarding insuring that there is mentorship in place. As a result of that the injuries for new employees has dropped in the US and in Europe over the last few years.

*Wise Chem LLC, USA Aluminium International Today

September/October 2014

102 HEALTH & SAFETY 9. How has Sapa dealt with minimising the interaction of moveable equipment and pedestrians?

Part of the studies we do and the audits is also to look into what is necessary when it comes to moveable equipment.

This was a big discussion at the facility I was at recently as well (Remscheid in Germany). Another part of the study is to ensure that we have segregation, clear pathways and marked and that is well implemented everywhere.

10. How can our industry’s workers evolve from being consumers of safety education to producers in terms of promoting safety to their coworkers?

In most of our locations we have come quite far on looking after each other. Of all of the initiatives that we drive throughout our organisation the most important is behaviour and caring. When we see the type of accidents that we have, most of them could have been avoided, and most of them are behaviour driven as well.

11. If an incident would occur at one of your facilities, does Sapa have a plan to handle media inquiries, and

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respond to social media postings?

Yes, we have plans in place how to handle media enquiries at locations and on group level. Most of our employees, customers and stakeholders are also active in social media so this is an area we’re trying to be more active in as well.

12. In what specific areas of the company is Sapa investing now to improve safety?

We are investing everywhere in terms of safety.

13. In terms of safety what are you most proud of within Sapa?

If you look at our track record in terms of accidents I’m proud of the fact that we have been consistent with our focus. This focus has resulted in a significant decrease in our accident rates. I believe if you go back to 2007 we were at a total recordable rate of 12 and we ended last year at around four. For safety you cannot rest, or be confident, or too happy, you have to continuously drive it down. Even though we have seen a slight increase in incidents so far this year (which we take very seriously), we are running a much safer operation today compared with 5-10 years ago.

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September/October 2014

14. What are the challenges when having multiple language, cultural worksites?

Ensuring that we get the message in all languages. Within some of our facilities we have a number of languages among the workers and it is important that we ensure that the safety instructions are given in a way so that the people actually understand them.

15. How does Sapa prevent the accumulation of aluminium fines in your facilities?

Sapa concentrates on the areas of aluminium fine generation. It is not a major problem from what I have seen but it’s an important one; if you let that drift along the place it is unsafe and can damage equipment so we focus on it.

16. Will safety always be a priority in the future?

Absolutely again if it is not a safe industry it is not a sustainable industry. Safety focus will never go away, we have an ambition to reach zero accidents in our company. In short term, midterm, long term safety this will always be the focus in Sapa.

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ALUMINIUM 2014 7 – 9 Oct 2014 | Messe Düsseldorf 10th World Trade Fair & Conference www.aluminium-messe.com

Organised by

Partners

104 PERSPECTIVES

Providing melting solutions Clive Hall, International Sales Executive at UK based company Melting Solutions Ltd, highlights the challenges facing the aluminium industry at present and how the company is tackling these.

1. How are things going at Melting Solutions?

Melting Solutions entered 2014 with a very strong order book, following two equally successful years. We have our first major US tilt rotary furnace in Kentucky, USA and a major order in Mexico for sidewell melter, tilt rotary and two holding furnaces. From a combination of 10 years of development, particularly on the tilt rotary, we now have a world class team of colleagues which not only support the technology and engineering of the furnaces but crucially the installation, commissioning and ongoing customer support. This has been recognised and appreciated by our customers and has been key to us winning new business.

2. In your opinion, what are the big

issues affecting the secondary aluminium industry today?

The secondary aluminium industry is having to maximise its effectiveness in dealing with more complex scrap mixes.

This is in many ways the biggest challenge.

The good quality scrap demand is very strong and the semi finished producers are taking the best grades. The key to profitability in the secondary industries is the ability to turn the lowest, most contaminated scrap and turn it into the highest value end product. This is an area in which particularly the rotary melting furnace as well as other products is proving to be successful.

Depending on where you are in the world of course energy prices are an issue but overall the biggest factor has been and always will be to achieve the highest metal

recovery from the lowest grade scrap.

3. Where are you busiest at present?

Since our merger into the Interpower group of companies two years ago we have had the opportunity to start working in North America and Mexico, where we have found a strong demand for our product and services. The Gulf area of course also remains a top market for us.

4. What products are proving the most lucrative?

Our flagship product is without doubt our tilt rotary furnace, of which we are very proud. A spin off from this has been the application of its innovative features in terms of upgrades of existing furnaces.

106

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106 PERSPECTIVES

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104 5. How quickly has Melting Solutions responded to ‘green politics’?

If you look at two parts of the term ‘green politics’ you can say the first part is energy usage. All our furnaces utilise efficient combustion systems and controls to reduce the energy usage per ton of finished product. This figure is really the key factor and includes consideration not only of the energy usage but productivity and efficient plant operation. The second part of this is “environmental impact”. This extends to emissions and other media. Our plant designs are inclusive; we select the most appropriate pollution control systems to match the type of scrap to be processed whilst ensuring compliance with environmental norms.

6. What are the big trends in valueadded production?

In terms of the secondary industry, valueadded production means higher metal recovery from scrap. You can also add into this a number of low grade scrap such as packaging scrap and scrap material from refuse segregation plants and incinerator waste. We are upgrading the process control of all our furnaces and in particular with the rotary melting furnace. Control of temperatures, cycle times and furnace atmosphere and generally the speed of the operation are all areas where we have developed key control systems to recover

the highest value of aluminium. For example for a plant processing 25,000t of aluminium annually a 2% increase in metal recovery amounts to $1mio straight on the bottom line.

7. Where do you see the most innovation in terms of production technologies?

Firstly I would say the lines dividing the primary, secondary and semi finished producers in the aluminium industry is blurring. We have already seen and will continue to see more and more vertical integration. And so it follows that innovation is absolutely essential for all areas of the aluminium industry.

8. Do you see Melting Solutions as an innovator within the industry?

At Melting Solutions we recognise it’s a case of “innovate or die”. As a capital equipment manufacturer in a competitive market place, we have to have innovation or unique selling points which must deliver benefits to our customers. This is how we have always sold and we will continue to be awarded contracts. Effective innovation stems from a deep understanding of the process and above all the customers’ needs. In truth our innovations which we have successfully launched have been collaborations with existing customers, so we can solve problems and live up to our

name of Melting Solutions.

9. How do you view Melting Solutions’ development over the short-to-mid term?

Going forward for 2014 and beyond is to become an integrated provider for complete secondary aluminium plants right from scrap processing, both mechanical and thermal, all types of melting technologies, metal treatment, metal casting, with the supporting air pollution control techniques and equipment. Within this business model we are trying to extract innovated solutions and products we have developed to adapt to existing equipment to customers on a global basis. The key to achieving this is ever closer cooperation and relationship with the industry and its equipment, as well as education and training of our team of specialists and engineers at Melting Solutions. The challenge here is to encourage younger graduates and engineers to join us and build the business.

11. What does Melting Solutions have in store for 2014?

One of our high profile projects in 2014 is the integration of a new sidewell melting furnace with an integrated thermal oxidiser, which we are confident will increase the flexibility, efficiency and metal recovery for this type of melting process.

There are several projects in the pipeline.

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