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Savings worth $2M a year and a reduction in potroom waste to landfill of 5500t a year have resulted from a new technology employed by UC Rusal when cleaning pot room cells.
UC Rusal, in 2007 the world's largest aluminium and alumina producer, has announced that it has developed a unique process for potroom waste recycling. This new technology is applied at the company's smelter in Bratsk (BrAZ), the largest aluminium facility in the world, and allows saving of over $2M a year. The new technology will reduce quantities of solid waste stored in the disposal area by 5500t a year.
The innovation is based on continuous processing and a return of fluorine-rich saline slag into the production process. This spent pot lining waste is formed when cells are disconnected for maintenance. Statistics reveal that every year the world's aluminium industry generates a total of 5Mt of so-called 'black' or saline waste slag. The introduction of new technology will ease the environmental impact of the aluminium operations. In addition, the technology prevents ammonia emissions typical of previous operations,...