Smelter Emission Control

With the energy requirement of smelting ever increasing, many developed countries have joined forces to tackle concerns about energy security, and environmental challenges such as air pollution and greenhouse gases.  In developing countries, the aluminium industry is growing rapidly, so emissions control and operations management continues to be an important focus.   Our environmental research focuses on:

Fluoride Emission Control and  Management   - LMRC has worked with a major Chinese aluminium smelter to improve its fluoride emission level, as well as to eliminate the occurrence and reduce the duration of anode effects.  A Fluoride Emission Management Guide (FEMG) has been developed by LMRC to lead the smelter along the path to improvement.  The use of HF laser equipment to monitor progress has also been recommended.  The project has successfuly completed. To download a snapshot of the Guide, please click here. For a complete FEMG, please send your request to . 

Perfluorocarbon (PFC) Emission Management  - PFCs, most notably CF4 and C2F6, are generated as by-products of aluminium smelting. CF4 and C2F6 exhibit global warming potential (GWP) values of 6,500 and 9,200 respectively.  For example, one kilogram of CF4 in the atmosphere would be expected to have the same effect as 6.5 metric tons of CO2 over a 100-year time horizon.  PFCs constitute some of the most long-lived atmospheric pollutants, and are among the worst greenhouse gases. Thus, they need to be carefully controlled. As with fluoride emissions, LMRC has developed a PFC Emission Management Guide (PFC-MG) to help smelters manage and control PFC emissions. For a copy of the PFC-MG, please send your request to . 

Dust Analysis - The release of dust in aluminium smelting potrooms is recognised as having adverse environmental and occupational health consequences. The sources of dust and the material properties of those sources that affect their propensity to dust are likely to be common to many potrooms. However, there is a complex relationship between sources of potroom dust, mechanisms of dust generation and the factors that influence these: technology and work practices, variation in materials, transport, and handling. The need to understand dust release mechanisms and design strategies for reduction lines has become more apparent as the motivation grows for smelters to reduce their environmental burden.It is a necessity to minimise the greenhouse gases and fluoride emissions generated with every ton of aluminium produced in order to achieve higher energy efficiency.  In recent years, environmental concerns have gained in prominence and are now a major priority of the global aluminium industry.  For detailed discussion with regards to environmental impacts and improvements, please contact Associate Professor , LMRC Associate Director.