Smelter Emission Control

 

 Environmental management and control is now a major priority in the global aluminium industry. Combined with the ever increasing need to make smelting more energy efficient, many smelters in many developed countries are investing in minimising emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. In many developing countries where the aluminium industry is growing rapidly, management and control of emissions will undoubtedly become a major focus in the years to come.

Fluoride Emission Control and Management 

 LMRC has worked with aluminium smelters around the world to improve emissions of fluorides (both gaseous and particulate forms), which can have a detrimental impact to surrounding communities. In 2011, LMRC developed a Fluoride Emission Management Guide (FEMG) – a simple, illustrated and practical guide for managing fluoride emissions – in order to lead smelters along the path to improvement. This was sponsored by the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate (APP).  Learn More

To download a snapshot of the Guide, please click here. For a complete copy of the FEMG, please send your request to .

 

Perfluorocarbon (PFC) Emission Management

 PFCs – most notably CF₄ and C₂F₆ – are generated as by-products of aluminium smelting and exhibit global warming potentials (GWP, relative to carbon dioxide) 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 (50,000 and 10,000 years for CF₄ and C₂F₆, respectively) and are among the worst greenhouse gases. The industry has therefore made significant efforts to reduce PFCs, through minimisation of the occurrence and duration of anode effects).

 

LMRC continues to be a leader in research on the generation of PFCs, particularly on emissions generated outside of conventionally understood anode effects., as with fluoride emissions, LMRC has developed a simple 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 .

 

Management of Potroom Dust Emissions

 The release of dust in aluminium smelting potrooms has the potential to adversely impact both the environment and the occupational health of workers.  As regulatory limits for particulate emissions become increasingly stringent, smelters have an increasing need to understand how dust is generated in their potrooms so that strategies can be designed to mitigate them.

 

LMRC offers expertise in understanding the dominant sources of dust in a specific potroom, the mechanisms by which dust in each potroom is generated, and ways in which the smelter can make targeted reductions in potroom dust.  Our team has conducted smelter-based sampling campaigns for particulate emissions in the potroom, at both the operating cell level as well as in potroom roof vents, relating these emissions to operations, processes and material sources in the potroom

 

 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 Professor Margaret Hyland, LMRC Associate Director.