Environmental considerations of selected energy-conserving manufacturing-process options. Volume VIII. Alumina/aluminum industry report

Technical Report · Wed Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6537260· OSTI ID:6537260

The aluminum industry is comprised of two basic operations: (1) the production of alumina (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/) from bauxite by the Bayer process, and (2) the reduction of alumina to aluminum metal by the Hall-Heroult electrolytic reduction process. These two operations are conducted at entirely separate locations. Alternatives to the Bayer process examined in this study are hydrochloric acid leaching, nitric acid leaching, and high-temperature chlorination (Toth process) of clays. The Alcoa chloride process and the use of titanium diboride cathodes were examined as potential future alternatives to the conventional Hall-Heroult process for aluminum production. In addition, the combination of clay chlorination and the Alcoa process was compared with the conventional Bayer-Hall technology. The Alcoa chloride process offers a potential route to making aluminum that has energy savings of about 10% while keeping operating costs the same or slightly lower than a plant based on Hall cell technology. The combination of a clay chlorination process with the Alcoa process shows significant potential cost savings. The estimated cost of complete environmental control of aluminum plants is a significant factor in both the capital and operating costs of aluminum smelters, amounting to about 9% of the investment and 4% of aluminum production costs in new Hall plants.

• Research Organization: Little (Arthur D.), Inc., Cambridge, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6537260
• Report Number(s): EPA-600/7-76-034h
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
291000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Conservation
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320301* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Energy Sources
ALUMINIUM
ALUMINIUM ORES
BAUXITE
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ECONOMICS
ELECTROLYSIS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
IMPLEMENTATION
INDUSTRY
LYSIS
METAL INDUSTRY
METALS
MINERALS
ORES
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
PROCESSING
PRODUCTION
REDUCTION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS