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Iv the Aluminium Industry GREENHOUSE GASES FROM MAJOR INDUSTRIAL SOURCES – IV THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY Report Number PH3/23 April 2000 This document has been prepared for the Executive Committee of the Programme. It is not a publication of the Operating Agent, International Energy Agency or its Secretariat. Title: Greenhouse Gases From Major Industrial Sources - IV The Aluminium Industry Reference number: PH3/23 Date issued: April 2000 Other remarks: Background to the Study The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D programme (IEA GHG) is systematically evaluating the cost and potential for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases arising from anthropogenic activities, especially the use of fossil fuels. The first phase of this Programme concentrated on emissions of carbon dioxide from power generation. In the second and third phase, attention has also been given to other greenhouse gases, notably methane, and a broader range of industrial processes. Greenhouse gases are produced from a variety of industrial activities. The main industrial sources, other than power generation, are those energy intensive industries that chemically or physically transform materials from one state to another. During these processes many greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) are released. One notable example is the aluminium industry where considerable amounts of greenhouse gases including CO2 and Perfluorocarbons (PFC's) are produced. This study is the fourth in a series to look at greenhouse gas abatement and mitigation options for the energy intensive industries. The study was undertaken by ICF Consulting of the USA. Industry overview In nature, aluminium is never found in its metallic state but is a common constituent of many minerals where it is normally combined with silicon and oxygen. Bauxite is the main ore from which aluminium can be economically retrieved. Once the ore is mined, a chemical process is then used to extract aluminium oxide, or alumina, and an electrolytic process (the Hall-Héroult process) reduces the alumina to aluminium. This overall production process is referred to as primary aluminium production. All aluminium extraction is by electrolytic means, where the electrolyte used is cryolite (Na3AlF6). The principal gases emitted are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as well as a number of volatile fluorides (PFC's). The electrical energy required for the process is 13,000-18,000 kWh/tonne of metal. A large part of the fluorine consumed from the cryolite in the process is recovered (in the USA, 15kg of fluoride ion is produced per tonne of aluminium). Some 4-5 tonnes of bauxite are required to produce two tonnes of alumina, which yield one tonne of aluminium. Aluminum is one of the most recyclable of all materials. Scrap metal can be recycled from both pre and post consumer sources, which in the later case normally requires some pretreatment1. The scrap 1 Recycling involves a number of stages that remove impurities, including primary pre-treatment (shredding and cleaning), remelting (which degasses the aluminium and removes magnesium as well as other impurities in the skimmed dross) and alloying in which the levels of other agents (zinc, copper, manganese) are adjusted to meet the specific product requirements. Secondary production is a common source of metal for castings and is often mixed with primary aluminium to obtain a desired product quality. i metal can be recycled into the same, or other, products with little deterioration in quality giving the process a high degree of product flexibility. The process is referred to as secondary aluminium production. Recycling aluminum only requires about 5% of the energy required to produce primary metal and in turn leads to much lower emissions of greenhouse gases. In addition to the environmental advantages of aluminum recycling, there are economic benefits. Aluminium’s high scrap value is also a great incentive for collection. Over one-third of the aluminum used in the Western World is produced from recycled metal. More than 50% of recycled metal comes from facilities that remelt scrap from a wide range of other used aluminum products such as cookware, aircraft fuselages and automobile parts. Typically, these "secondary smelters" produce foundry alloys for use in shape castings. Greater usage of re-cycled material is expected to lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from aluminium production. Results and Discussion The following areas are described in the report · A profile of the Aluminium industry worldwide · A discussion of energy use in the Aluminium industry · The sources and emissions of greenhouse gases from the Aluminum Industry. · The opportunities identified to reduce greenhouse gas emissions · The costs of abatement of greenhouse gas emissions · Projections of future greenhouse gas emissions from the Aluminium industry Aluminium Industry Profile The global primary aluminium industry is dominated by a small number of multinational firms that control over 40 percent of the primary aluminium production capacity and about 60 percent of the alumina refining capacity. The remainder of the smelter capacity is controlled by governments, traders, smaller companies with one or two plants and investors. The price of aluminium is determined by activities on the London Metal Exchange, where aluminium is a traded commodity. In 1998, over 22 million tonnes of primary aluminium were produced in 46 producer countries, requiring approximately 44 million tonnes of alumina and 133 million tonnes of bauxite. North America was the largest primary aluminium producer with almost 30 percent of the world total, followed by Eastern Europe & the Former Soviet Union and Western Europe with 17 and 16 percent of the world total, respectively. Secondary aluminium production in 1998 totalled 7.4 million tonnes with production concentrated in countries with developed economies that have a high historic rate of aluminium consumption (e.g., United States, Japan, United Kingdom). In the largest three end-use sectors for aluminium (transportation, packaging, and construction) the potential exists for using recycled aluminium in virtually every application. Recent years have seen major developments, especially in the recycling of aluminium beverage cans in some regions. Energy Use in the Aluminium Industry Primary aluminium production is an energy- intensive process. On a unit basis, producing a tonne of primary aluminium requires approximately 120 Gigajoules (GJ)2. The primary production stage is the 2 This estimate includes the energy (fuels and electricity) required for all process stages including, bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting. ii most energy intensive stage in the process requiring 95 GJ per tonne, whilst alumina refining uses 26 GJ/t. In contrast, secondary aluminium production requires only 6 GJ per tonne. Ele ctricity required for the reduction of alumina to aluminium is the major fuel type consumed in the primary production process, accounting for over 80 percent of total per unit energy use at the primary production stage. Energy accounts for about one-third of the cost of primary aluminium production, the majority of which is spent on electricity. Over the past 50 years, the energy required to produce one tonne of primary aluminium has decreased by 40 percent as a result of improvements in the electrolytic process. The recent trend toward increased recycling has also reduced overall industry energy intensity. Efficiency gains in the last three decades were achie ved by installing improved cell technologies that operate at higher amperages, installing computer control systems, instituting better operating practices in new and existing smelters, and increasing recycling. The Sources and Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Greenhouse Gas emissions from the aluminium production process result from three sources: · Carbon dioxide emissions generated from combustion of fossil fuels during alumina refining and for electricity generation for use at all stages of the production process; · Process-related CO2 emissions from consumption of the carbon anode in the electrolytic cell; · Process-related PFC emissions generated during operational disturbances in the electrolytic cell known as “anode effects”. Total greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium industry were estimated to be 364 million tonnes 3 CO2-E in 1995 (16.5 tonnes CO2-E per tonne of aluminium produced). The aluminium industry, therefore, contributed 1 percent of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 19954. The largest source of CO2 and overall greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium industry is fossil fuel combustion, which accounted for 68 percent of total emissions in 1995. Of the fossil fuel related CO2 emissions, which are equivalent to 11.3 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of aluminium produced, electricity production is the main source. Electricity use in primary aluminium production results in some 9 tonnes of CO2 emitted per tonne of aluminum produced compared to only some 2 tonnes of CO2 emitted during fossil fuel combustion in alumina refining. The process related emissions of PFC's and CO2 from primary aluminium production accounted for only 17 and 15 percent (2.8 t CO2-E/tonne of product and 2.5 t CO2/tonne of product, respectively) of the total 1995 emissions, respectively. North America was the largest emitter in 1995, accounting for 27 percent of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. Eastern Europe & Former Soviet Union and Western Europe were the next largest, accounting for 25 and 14 percent of total
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