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Sustainability Aspects of Bauxite and Aluminium

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Sustainability Aspects of Bauxite and Aluminium Sustainability aspects of Bauxite and Aluminium Climate change, Environmental, Socio-Economic and Circular Economy considerations Georgitzikis K., Mancini L., d’Elia E., Vidal-Legaz B. July 2021 EUR 30760 EN This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. For information on the methodology and quality underlying the data used in this publication for which the source is neither Eurostat nor other Commission services, users should contact the referenced source. The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Contact information Name: Konstantinos Georgitzikis Address: T.P. 120, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA) Italy Email: [email protected] Tel.: +390332783628 EU Science Hub https://ec.europa.eu/jrc EC Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) https://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu JRC125390 EUR 30760 EN PDF ISBN 978-92-76-40039-4 ISSN 1831-9424 doi:10.2760/702356 Print ISBN 978-92-76-40040-0 ISSN 1018-5593 doi:10.2760/862494 Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 © European Union 2021 The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not owned by the EU, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. All content © European Union, 2021, except: Cover images ©AdobeStock; Figure 9 ©Centre for Industry Education Cooperation; Figure 25 ©Carbon Trust; Figure 26/Figure 27/Figure 61 ©European Aluminium; Figure 28/Figure 29 ©The World Bank; Figure 34 ©WWF International. How to cite this report: Georgitzikis K., Mancini L., d’Elia E., Vidal-Legaz B., Sustainability aspects of Bauxite and Aluminium ─ Climate change, Environmental, Socio-Economic and Circular Economy considerations, EUR 30760 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-40039-4, doi:10.2760/702356, JRC125390. Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 2 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Definition, main properties, and value chain ................................................................................................................................ 8 2.2 Bauxite resources and mining ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Aluminium production .............................................................................................................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Primary aluminium .................................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.3.2 Secondary aluminium .............................................................................................................................................................. 15 2.4 Semi-finished aluminium and its demand ................................................................................................................................. 17 3 Climate Change ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 Greenhouse gas emissions of production ................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.2 Decarbonisation of primary aluminium production .............................................................................................. 26 3.1.3 Contribution to energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies .................................................................. 28 4 Environmental aspects ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 4.1 Environmental considerations for bauxite mining ................................................................................................................. 34 4.1.1 Emission and consumption levels .................................................................................................................................... 34 4.1.2 Environmental background conditions of mining activities ............................................................................. 34 4.1.3 Biodiversity ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 4.1.4 Country environmental performance ............................................................................................................................. 45 4.2 Environmental considerations for alumina production ....................................................................................................... 48 4.2.1 Emission and consumption levels .................................................................................................................................... 48 4.2.2 Environmental issues in alumina production ............................................................................................................ 48 4.3 Environmental considerations for primary aluminium production .............................................................................. 49 4.3.1 Emission and consumption levels .................................................................................................................................... 49 4.3.2 Environmental issues in primary aluminium production ................................................................................... 50 4.4 Environmental considerations in secondary aluminium production ........................................................................... 51 4.4.1 Emission and consumption levels .................................................................................................................................... 51 4.4.2 Environmental issues in secondary aluminium production .............................................................................. 51 4.5 Best Available Techniques in accordance with the Industrial Emissions Directive ........................................... 51 4.6 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) ............................................................................................................................................................... 52 4.6.1 Primary aluminium .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 4.6.2 Semi-finished aluminium and recycling ....................................................................................................................... 54 4.7 Protection of health and environment from chemical substances ............................................................................. 57 5 Social sustainability aspects and governance ..................................................................................................................................... 58 5.1 Governance and social risks in producing countries and EU suppliers ..................................................................... 58 5.1.1 Bauxite ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 i 5.1.2 Aluminium ......................................................................................................................................................................................
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