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NEWS e CASTHOUSE e HEAT TREATMENT e HEALTH & SAFETY

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

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CONTENTS 1www.aluminiumtoday.com

Aluminium International Today May/June 2015

2 LEADER Volume 27 No. 3 – May/June 2015

COVER

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EditorialEditor: Nadine FirthTel: +44 (0) 1737 855115nadinefi [email protected]

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2 NEWS

52 TMS REVIEW

UPDATES9 USA - Scrapheap challenge

13 EUROPE - Recycling matters for Europe

14 RUSSIA - Up for sale

16 INDIA - Industry recovery

@AluminiumToday

PACKAGING21 The growth of aluminium packaging in the

United States

FURNACES23 Refractory considerations

HISTORY51 Spitfi re: The aluminium icon

CASTHOUSE32 First Gulf Aluminium Casthouse conference

33 Securing safe metal fl ow

RECYCLING35 Robbing Peter to pay Paul

37 Closed Loop: Joining forces to save resources

COATING46 From chrome to chrome-free

HEALTH & SAFETY39 Workshop highlights UK Safety

40 Safety in materials handling

42 Safety fi rst

37

33

51

21

40

COATING46 From chrome to chrome-free

42 Safety fi rst

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May/June 2015Volume 27 No 3

NEWS e CASTHOUSE e HEAT TREATMENT e HEALTH & SAFETY


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Contents Template.indd 1 5/13/15 10:28 AM

Novelis launchesevercycle

COMMENT2

The whole packageI’m so used to reading about and discussing the manufactur-ing process of aluminium that it is sometimes easy to forget the end products which play a part in our day-to-day lives.

The launch of the evercy-cle range by Novelis recently prompted me to pay more at-tention to how I use aluminium and its recyclability. I won’t bore you with the details of the bev-erage cans I keep in my fridge or how I think roasted vegeta-bles taste better when cooked in an aluminium tray, but it is good to see the benefi ts of al-uminium packaging being pro-moted in this way.

While on the subject, this issue includes an article from the Can Manufacturer’s Insti-tute, which takes a look at the humble aluminium can and its growth in the USA. Read more on page 21

Things heat up a bit on page 23 with a technical ‘Furnaces’ paper on wear reasons and material choices for aluminium melting and holding furnaces.

A ‘Casthouse’ feature on page 33 continues to look at dealing with molten metal and how to secure safe metal fl ow, while a ‘Health and Safety’ fea-ture starting on page 39 con-centrates on worker safety and Tim Murray, CEO of Alba high-lights the company’s continued efforts in this area.

Finally, in what could be de-scribed as a ‘closed loop’, we end with a more detailed look at recycling and why increasing the percentage of recycled alu-minium content does not nec-essarily improve sustainability.

Enjoy! nadinefi [email protected]


For up-to-date news & views www.aluminiumtoday.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

Record can recycling rate

Novelis has announced the fi rst product in a new portfolio of cer-tifi ed high-recycled content alu-minium for speciality applications called ‘evercycle’.

This new material will enable customers to produce infi nitely-re-cyclable products with a lower car-bon footprint.

The fi rst product in the evercycle portfolio is designed for alumini-um food containers. This product is certifi ed by SCS Global Services to contain 100% recycled alumin-

ium, made up of 90% post-consumer content and 10% customer manu-facturing scrap – the only mate-rial of its kind in the market.

Commercially available now in North America, evercycle is ex-pected to become available glob-ally as demand grows.

“The launch of evercycle marks an important next step in our long-term commitment to sus-tainable aluminium product inno-vation,” said Phil Martens, Novelis

The overall recycling rate for alu-minium beverage cans in the EU 27 + EFTA countries increased by 1.5% points to a new record level of 69.5% (70%) in 2012.

When considering the collection of cans in the remaining Europe-an countries and Turkey, the result is that the metal of more than 27.5 billion cans remains in the European circular economy and is available again for the production of new aluminium products. The collected cans represent a total amount of 390,000 tons of recy-cled aluminium, preventing more than 3.12 million tonnes of green-house gas emissions.

Moreover, these collected

cans represent a total amount of 390,000 tons of recycled alumin-ium, avoiding more than 3.12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), i.e. the average yearly emission of about 340,000 EU citizens, equivalent to the en-tire population of cities like Flor-ence, Cardiff or Alicante.

Each tonne of recycled alumini-um saves up to 95% of the energy used or the GHG emitted to pro-duce the same amount of primary aluminium.

The European Aluminium Asso-ciation (EAA) considers this 70% result an important milestone in its path towards its voluntary re-cycling targets for used beverage

cans set for the reporting years 2015 (75%) and in 2020 (80%). However, Maarten Labberton, director of the EAA Packaging Group cautions:

“These ambitious targets can only be met if signifi cant improve-ments are made to the existing metal packaging and can specifi c collection and sorting schemes.

“The European regulatory framework should also become more transparent and harmo-nised. Therefore, we urge the EU authorities to present a revised EU Circular Economy Package with ambitious but more realistic and ‘real’ recycling targets.”

Coke celebrates 100 yearsOne of the most important an-niversaries in the food and bev-erage sector this year must be the 100-year anniversary of the iconic Coca-Cola contour bottle.

To celebrate this remarkable milestone the company turned to Ardagh Group to manufacture

President and Chief Executive Of-fi cer. “Our evercycle aluminium appeals to customers who want to demonstrate their dedication to sustainability and attract the growing numbers of environmen-tally conscious consumers.”

a very special limited edition 25cl aluminium bottle.

Ardagh’s specialist plant in Beaurepaire, France, has applied its expertise for high defi nition, high resolution printing, with a series of striking designs on alu-minium bottles that will delight

the brand’s millions of fans as well as serious collectors.

Germany in particular is play-ing a starring role, with 10 indi-vidual designs, each representing a decade of Coca-Cola advertis-ing campaigns.

Novelis launchesevercycle

Nadine may june News.indd 1 5/13/15 8:43 AM

Battery charges smartphones in 60 secsAn aluminium battery that can fully charge a smartphone in one minute could soon be powering popular gadgets.

The potentially-revolutionary aluminium battery is also more environmentally friendly than current lithium-ion and alkaline batteries and keeps working for “thousands” of cycles.

The ‘ultrafast rechargeable aluminium-ion battery’, developed by chemists at Stanford University, is a “major breakthrough” for portable technology, according to the team that discovered it.

Holsether to leave Sapa

Sapa’s President & CEO Svein Tore Holsether has informed the Board of Directors that he will leave Sapa to take over as President & CEO for the Norwegian fertilisers group Yara International ASA. He will begin in the new role no later than October 1, 2015.

Holsether joined Sapa in 2007 and has held various positions, including CFO. He took over as CEO in September 2011.

“It was a very diffi cult decision to make, but I feel that this would be the right time to hand over to a new person now that the integration is fi nalised,” says Holsether.

GulfCast a successThe fi rst Gulf Aluminium Casthouse Conference, ‘GulfCast’, has come to a successful end.

The conference was held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Bin Abdullah Al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry and organised by Qatalum. Find out more on page 32.

INDUSTRY NEWS 3www.aluminiumtoday.com

European aluminium: New objectives


IN BRIEF

For up-to-date news & views

www.aluminiumtoday.com

The Sustainability Roadmap to 2025 launched by the European aluminium industry paves the way for the sector to maximise its con-tribution to a more sustainable fu-ture in Europe.

Promoting a new and ambitious set of voluntary commitments, the Roadmap will drive the indus-try’s agenda to further enhance its commitment to environmental stewardship, promote innovative products for sustainable lifestyles and play an active role in econom-ic growth and job creation.

Chairman of European Alumini-um and CEO of Constellium, Pierre Vareille said: “This Roadmap rep-resents another major milestone

for the aluminium industry, setting out fresh and ambitious commit-ments which will guide the indus-try over the next decade. Not only does it provide concrete means to fully unlock the potential of al-uminium as a key driver of a low carbon and resource-effi cient Eu-rope, it also gives a holistic indus-try perspective on how to achieve EU sustainability and competitive-ness objectives. In terms of what comes next, it will be our indus-try’s ambition to lead Europe’s sustainable future coupled with continued and close collabora-tion with our customers, EU pol-icy-makers and partners that will make our Roadmap a reality.”

Mr. Sorin Moisa, Member of the European Parliament, com-mented: “The European alumini-um industry has taken a landmark step towards a more sustainable future. Not only is it committing to new and ambitious targets in a number of key areas, such as environmental stewardship, sus-tainable lifestyles, and community engagement, it is also undertak-ing the actions needed to make it happen. We must not forget that with a strong industrial basis the aluminium sector provides many skilled jobs for our citizens and makes a signifi cant contribution to economic growth.”

Aluminium energy boostThe Aluminum Association has an-nounced a new partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the number of alumin-ium industry jobs in the United States and explore new, sustaina-ble technologies to advance U.S. manufacturing.

The DOE’s Alumi-num Industry Jobs Partnership will identify op-portunities to expand plant capacity and improve work-force develop-ment systems to help bring qual-ifi ed candidates to the industry. Today, the

$65 billion aluminium industry directly employs around 155,000 workers in the United States.

The Aluminum Industry Jobs Partnership will be composed of participants from the Alumi-num Association and its member

companies as well as the DOE Jobs Strategy

Council (JSC) and Offi ce of the Sec-retary. The JSC is a cross-cut-ting initiative that integrates the research, t e c h n o l o g y,

and econom-ic resources of

the Department to respond to the work-

force and economic development needs of the energy industry and state and local governments. The Partnership will collaborate to ex-plore technologies to advance the competitiveness of U.S. manufac-turing.

The announcement was made by David Foster, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, during the fi nal day of the Aluminum Associ-ation’s Spring Meeting – “Ride the Aluminum Wave” - in Dana Point, CA during a presentation to Alu-minum Association membership. Foster detailed that the Partner-ship will initially meet on a quar-terly basis to review the condition of the industry, identify projects of joint interest and implement activ-ities of mutual benefi t.

Alufoil Trophy 2015 winnersWith the diversity of the 57 entries, covering a wide range of products across all the entry categories, the judges had a demanding task but fi nally selected 12 worthy winners.

The judges were led this year by Jean-Paul Duquet, global pack-aging eco design manager of Bel Group, who brought a wealth of experience in aluminium foil to the table, having had a long and distinguished background in the

alufoil industry.He commented, “It is very re-

freshing to see so much creativity from the aluminium foil sector at a time when market conditions continue to be challenging. There are some fi ne examples of highly original concepts to open up new market opportunities or expand existing ones.”

For a full list of winners visit: www.alufoil.org


4 www.aluminiumtoday.com

Aluminium International TodayMay/June 2015

Alcoa to curtail smelting capacity in Brazil

INDUSTRY NEWS

Novelis: New Interim PresidentThe Board of Directors has appointed Steve Fisher to serve as the company’s Interim President, effective immediately.

The announcement follows the departure of Philip Martens, the company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, also effective immediately. The search for a permanent chief executive is under way.

ASI: Executive DirectorThe Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has announced the appointment of Dr Fiona Solomon as their new Executive Director.

“ASI represents a logical next step for a metal that has been at the forefront of materials stewardship initiatives for many years,” said Solomon. “I am honoured to be leading ASI into its next stage of development and sincerely thank the wide range of stakeholders who have contributed to its achievements to date.”

Century Aluminum:Chief Accounting OfficerCentury Aluminum Company has announced that it has hired Stephen K. Heyroth as Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of the company.

Rick Dillon, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, “I am very pleased to have Steve join the Century team. We believe Steve’s extensive public accounting and industry experience will make him a great fit at Century.”

Alcoa names President of Latin AmericaJosé Aurélio Drummond will join the company as President of Latin America effective March 2015.

Mr Drummond, will lead Alcoa’s Latin America region, supporting the company’s transformation strategy through which Alcoa is growing its value-added businesses and creating a globally competitive commodity business.

Appointments



Alcoa will curtail the remaining 74,000 metric tons of smelting capacity at its São Luís (Alumar) facility in Brazil.

The decision is aligned with the company’s recent announcement to evaluate upstream capacity for possible curtailment, closure or sale as Alcoa further optimises its commodity portfolio. The curtail-ment is expected to be complete by April 2015.

“We continue to take decisive steps to create a globally compet-itive commodity business and are executing against our upstream capacity review,” said Bob Wilt, President of Alcoa’s Global Prima-ry Products. “These are difficult

but necessary actions in support of Alcoa’s strategy to lower the cost base of our upstream businesses.”

This curtailment adds to the 85,000 metric tons of capacity idled at São Luís in May 2014 and the 12,000 metric tons curtailed in October 2014. Challenging global market conditions in primary alu-minium production and increased costs have made the smelter un-competitive. The refinery at São Luís is unaffected and will contin-ue normal operations.

The curtailment is in line with Alcoa’s announcement on March 6, 2015 to evaluate 500,000 met-ric tons of smelting capacity and 2.8 million metric tons of refining

capacity for possible curtailment, closure or sale. Once the São Luís facility is curtailed, Alcoa will have approximately 740,000 metric tons, or 21%, of its smelting ca-pacity offline.

As a result of the announce-ment, Alcoa will record a restruc-turing-related charge in the first quarter expected to be between $10 million and $15 million af-ter-tax, or $0.01 per share.

By curtailing high-cost smelting and refining capacity, Alcoa sup-ports its goal of lowering its posi-tion on the global aluminium cost curve to the 38th percentile and the global alumina cost curve to the 21st percentile, by 2016.

Rusal opens deepest mineUC Rusal has announced the launch of the first start-up complex at the Cheremouk-hovskaya-Gloubokaya mine in the North Urals Bauxite Mine (SUBR).

Cheremoukhovskaya - Gloubokaya becomes Russia’s deepest mine, with a depth of 1,550 metres, and ranks among the top five deepest mines in the world. The total investment in the mine to date is more than 5.8 bil-lion rubles.

The launch of Cheremouk-hovskaya - Gloubokaya will create access to new bauxite deposits and thanks to the optimisation of technological processes of ore transportation and extraction will decrease bauxite cash costs at

SUBR by up to 15%. Active con-struction of the mine commenced in 2010. Uncovered deposits of bauxite at Cheremoukhovskaya - Gloubokaya are estimated at 42 million tonnes.

“For the first time in 10 years a new mine has opened in the North Urals. We plan to pro-duce up to 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite annually at Cheremouk-hovskaya-Gloubokaya. The mine’s high production potential will ensure the stable development of Severouralsk and nearby Krasnotu-ryinsk, where the Bogoslovsky alu-minium smelter is located and to where 95% of the bauxite mined is shipped,” commented Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of Rusal.

Sesa Sterlite name changeSesa Sterlite Limited has changed the name of the company from its present name, ‘Sesa Sterlite Limit-ed’ to ‘Vedanta Limited’.

The Shareholders of the com-pany approved the name change of the Company through Postal Ballot, results of which were an-nounced on March 30, 2015.

The name change to Vedanta Limited is now effective post is-sue of ‘Fresh Certificate of Incor-

poration’ issued by the Registrar of Companies, Goa, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Govt. of India.

“The name change from Sesa Sterlite to Vedanta Limited prom-ises a united and aligned identity, Vedanta, which positions us to create greater value for our do-mestic and global stakeholders, as a diversified natural resources group of companies.

“Vedanta embodies commit-ment to deliver world class excel-lence with low cost operations and superior shareholder returns,” said Mr Tom Albanese, Group CEO, Vedanta, adding that this is a significant milestone which re-flects Vedanta’s commitment to strengthen the linkage between our business, communities and stakeholders.

Photo courtesy of UC Rusal


Since 1955

6 www.aluminiumtoday.com

Aluminium International TodayMay/June 2015

JLR investment

INDUSTRY NEWS

Energy industry “Oscar” for Otto Junker’s furnace plant at Alunorf is followed by a second award.

The reason for these awards lies in the successful use of energy-efficient annealing furnaces in the company’s cold-rolling mill.

“We have developed an all-new concept,” explains Olaf Trepels, project manager at Alunorf in charge of the new furnace installation. “With this technology we are able for the first time to anneal hot strip coils of different temperatures directly as they come off the rolling mill. This makes it possible to utilise the residual heat from the rolling process.”

Thanks to these new furnaces, Alunorf is cutting its energy demand by more than 30 million kWh per year.

Presezzi Extrusion in JapanThe company Kato Light Metal Industry has entrusted to Presezzi Extrusion the replacement of two existing presses with two 23MN front Loading presses equipped with double tooling for 6” and 8”.

Both presses are designed and engineered to serve the automotive industry and to meet its technical requirements and quality. These presses are equipped with the most advanced automation systems and innovative system for energy saving, which is based on a patent developed by the R&D centre of Presezzi Extrusion called PE.ESS PATENT.

Aluminium in the frameThe use of aluminium in high-end frame design is making a comeback according to one of the best-selling bike brands - Specialized, who use an aluminium alloy instead of carbon-fibre for the frames in their Specialized Allez range.

In the past decade, with the huge advances to the way that aluminium can be shaped, formed and welded, aluminium frames now offer the same exceptional design and ride quality as carbon-fibre, whilst being cheaper to manufacture.

NEWS IN BRIEF



Award-winning furnace

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has reaf-firmed its long-term commitment to the West Midlands, with con-firmation of a £600m investment in the region to support product creation and advanced vehicle manufacturing.

The largest single investment has been made at the company’s Castle Bromwich plant, where more than £400m has been spent in new and upgraded facilities to support the introduction of the all-new Jaguar XF.

Amongst the most notable in-vestments at the Castle Bromwich site, in support of the all-new XF, is a £320m aluminium body shop,

which completes the site’s trans-formation into a global centre of excellence for lightweight vehicle manufacturing. This is the largest single investment in the history of the Castle Bromwich site and high-lights a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the company’s West Midlands manufacturing operations, which were ear-marked for consolidation during the height of the global economic downturn.

The introduction of the all-new XF completes an all-aluminium line-up at the Midlands plant, which has committed significant investment to every stage of the

manufacturing process. Around £16m has been spent on a new blanker line, which will allow the plant to turn coils of alumini-um into ‘blank sheets’ that will be pressed into body panels and parts on a new Aida £50m press line which is currently under con-struction.

This line will feed in to the new £320m body shop, the most flexible and versatile of its kind throughout JLR, capable of switching between Jaguar’s entire range of models mid-production. Finally £30m has been invested in significantly upgrading the trim and final assembly hall.

China: Export duties of downstream aluminiumThe Aluminum Extruders Coun-cil (AEC) released the following statement on China’s decision to remove export duties on several downstream aluminium products.

Jeff Henderson, AEC Director of Operations, and director of the Council’s Fair Trade Committee remarked: “The decision by the Chinese Government to remove export duties on downstream al-uminium products is troubling for the global aluminium market and is outside the scope of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) findings on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum. This action rep-resents a targeted attempt to use foreign markets to relieve pressure on China’s aluminium producers.

“Over the last decade, produc-ers outside of China have made painful adjustments to market conditions by rationalising oper-ations – closing facilities, worker layoffs, etc.

“The global market, other than China, has returned to a delicate balance as a result. In China, how-ever, producers have ramped up production and capacity for the last 15 years regardless of what global markets could sustain. The relentless expansion of China’s aluminium industry is almost en-tirely responsible for global supply gluts.

“Now, instead of addressing its oversupply and overcapacity problems as it should – by elimi-

nating state support and allowing unprofitable producers to exit the market – it looks like China intends to export its problems by opening the floodgates and forcing the rest of the world to make the tough choices and suffer the impact of its misguided domestic policies.

“Tellingly, this announcement did not remove export restraints on all aluminium products, but only on certain processed prod-ucts. For example, the 30% export tax on primary unalloyed alumin-ium ingot remains in place. This is further evidence of strategic government intervention in trade flows to support domestic indus-tries at the expense of foreign pro-ducers.”

Aleris: Boeing supplyAleris’ rolling mill in Zhenjiang, China has attained qualification to supply aluminium aerospace plate to Boeing.

Aleris’ facility in Koblenz, Ger-many, has supplied aluminium aerospace plate to Boeing for decades. Aleris Zhenjiang, which opened in early 2013, was mod-elled after the Koblenz facility to

meet the needs of both global and regional aircraft manufactur-

ers by establishing a local supply of aluminium aircraft plate in Asia Pacific.

“The achievement of the Boeing qualification represents the final major milestone in our strategy to serve the global aerospace indus-try from our new facility in Zhen-jiang, China,” Steve Demetriou, Aleris chairman and CEO said.


INDUSTRY NEWS 7www.aluminiumtoday.com


June2 - 4HARBOR’s 8th Aluminum Outlook Summit*The largest and most strategic aluminium market gathering in the Americas.www.harboraluminumsummit.com

16 - 20GIFA*Four trade fairs make up The ‘Bright World of Metals’; a platform for business activities, this event is the indicator for the innovations which will orientate the future.www.gifa.com

July6 - 8AluMag Asia SymposiumThe “Automotive Lightweight Procurement Symposium” is the only international symposium

focused on automotive light weighting, supply chain and procurement management.www.alumag.cc/europe-2014-symposium/

8 - 10Aluminium China*Held at the Shanghai New Int’l Expo Centre.www.aluminiumchina.com

September7 - 9Aluminium India*This international exhibition and conference will be held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, in Mumbai (India).www.aluminium-india.com

*Pick up a free Aluminium International Today at this event

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Scrapheap challengeScrapheap challengeSo far 2015 is shaping up to be a somewhat challenging year for the U.S. aluminium scrap market; with U.S. exports to China dropping precipitously at the same time as domestic demand appears to be easing, at least in the short term. It is also uncertain what impact the increases in semi-fi nished imports and greater closed loop recycling will have upon the marketplace. Myra Pinkham* explains.

*US Correspondent

Joseph Pickard, chief economist and director of commodities at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), says U.S. domestic demand for aluminium scrap held up better than a lot of other nonferrous scrap metals last year thanks to the strength of the U.S. economy, especially the transportation sector.

In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that U.S. consumption of purchased new and old aluminium scrap was 4.4 million metric tonnes in 2014, up 3.5% from 4.25 million tonnes in 2013. This, according to Lloyd O’Carroll, senior research analyst for Cleveland-based Northcoast Research, came as U.S. primary aluminium shipments increased 5.2% to 23.8 billion pounds last year from 22.6 billion pounds in 2013. Globally, according to the International Aluminium Institute, primary aluminium production increased 4.9% to 53.1 million tonnes last year.

However, towards the end of 2014 and continuing this year, demand started easing off for most grades and prices have fallen as well. This comes as most consumers feel as if they have enough scrap on hand and therefore haven’t been feeling a need to purchase much more, David Klein, vice president of nonferrous marketing and trading for Alter Trading Corp., St. Louis, observes.

As a result of this and certain other factors, including falling LME prices and Midwest premiums, by mid-April Midwest aluminium scrap prices had fallen approximately 10% vs. a year earlier.

The degree that demand has slowed, however, is varied, according to Stephen Moss, vice president of Stanton A. Moss Inc., with some higher-grade material

much tighter than lower quality grades. In particular, there has been a shortage of zorba, the feedstock for high quality nonferrous automotive shredded scrap, which, in turn, has also been putting pressure upon twitch, which is a key input in alloy production. There is some speculation that this is because with steel prices down as much as they have been in recent months, fewer cars are being shredded.

It is also the grades of scrap that are closer to primary aluminium, such as wire and cable and lithographic sheet, that is still seeing relatively higher demand, as it is able to be used in more types of products, Derek Prichett, vice president of global recycling for Novelis Inc., noted. Meanwhile there has been less demand for both the general building and construction grades, which are often exported to China and elsewhere in the world, as well as for automotive grades.

In fact, fi ngers are generally pointing to China for the current weakness in the market. This isn’t surprising given that, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Commercial Department and International Trade Commission, U.S. aluminium scrap exports to China fell 29.7% to 116,964 tonnes per year to date through February compared with 166,459 tonnes for the fi rst two months of 2014. This followed a 16.3% decline to 1.1 million tonnes for the full year of 2014 and an 8.2% decline to 1.3 million tonnes the previous year.

Pickard says this is signifi cant given that China is by far the United States’ biggest customer of aluminium scrap, accounting for 62% of all of its aluminium

scrap exports last year. He says that while the majority of China’s aluminium scrap exports still come from the United States, despite the stronger U.S. dollar, it also buys scrap from Europe and Japan as well.

With the Chinese economy not growing at nearly the same rate that it had previously, Prichett says that China has bought less scrap (not just less aluminium scrap but other scrap metals as well) overall – not just from the United States but from Europe and elsewhere.

Surprisingly this is coming as Chinese aluminium production is actually increasing. According to the International Aluminium Institute, Chinese primary aluminium production, including estimated unreported output, was up approximately 10.4% last year to 27.5 million tonnes. Pickard, however, says he doubts that it will continue at this clip this year. “It is likely that it could moderate as the Chinese economy does so.”

Industry observers assume that part of this discrepancy could be explained by increased Chinese domestic generation of scrap, particularly obsolete scrap, now that Chinese manufacturing volumes have been increasing for more than 20 years and this could mean that it could pull from its stockpiles and therefore doesn’t need to import as much scrap.

Pickard says that several other major buyers have cut back their purchases due to a combination of the strong U.S. dollar and weaker foreign markets resulting in an overall 20.1% decline in U.S. aluminium scrap exports year to date through February as well as an 8% fall in both 2014 and 2013. For example, purchases by South Korea, which is the second largest

USA UPDATE may june.indd 1 5/7/15 2:58 PM

USA UPDATE10 www.aluminiumtoday.com


buyer of U.S. aluminium scrap, were down 21.9% to 19,192 tonnes year to date through February despite increasing 12.8% to 168,735 tonnes in 2014. That, however, followed a 20.2% decline to 149,625 tonnes in 2013. Similarly, U.S. aluminium scrap exports to Taiwan were down 56% year to date to 6,316 tonnes year to date through February following a 7.2% increase to 78,661 tonnes in 2014 and a very slight 0.1% increase to 73,412 in 2013.

He notes that some other countries, however, bucked that trend. For example Mexico, partly due to its attractive manufacturing base, low labour costs and convenient location to the United States increased its aluminium scrap purchases by 16.9% to 27,542 tonnes year to date through February following a 2.8% increase to 153,017 tonnes last year.

It is similar in India, where Pickard says its aluminium import growth had been exceeding its economic growth. Year to date through February, U.S. exports to India increased 17.1% to 8,976 tonnes. This follows a 25% increase to 65,487 tonnes in 2014.

There are also increased concerns about what impact increasing imports, especially of primary aluminium, could have upon the domestic aluminium scrap market given excess global production capacity, especially in China. Prichett says that even as Chinese economic growth slows it continues to build smelters “like crazy,” which could present a problem to the rest of the world as the aluminium being produced seeks a home. “First we have to absorb this Chinese capacity and then there is the question of imports,” he points out.

At the same time other aluminium scrap imports are also increasing. In fact, a Midwest scrap trader says that he is seeing more import offers than ever before for used beverage cans and other forms of aluminium scrap from Europe and the Middle East.

But most of the concern has been aimed at semi-fabricated primary aluminium being exported to the United States and Europe by China, which, according to Harbor Aluminum Intelligence Unit LLC have increased by three million tonnes year on year. Prichett says that while Chinese companies are “disguising” the exports of P1020 primary aluminium as such finished products as sheet or extrusions, “In reality they are intended to be remelted and used as primary aluminium feedstock,” he maintains, adding that while this has been happening for a number of years, the volumes have recently been picking up.

During Alcoa Inc.’s recent first quarter earnings conference call, Klaus Kleinfeld, the company’s chairman and chief

executive officer, said that he believes these “fake semis” are putting additional downward pressure upon the Midwest aluminium premiums.

Moss observes that already during the first two months of 2015 Midwest premiums had fallen about 25%, bringing aluminium scrap prices down with them. He says these “depressed prices,” which while good for consumers, is not great for scrap dealers, adding that they will not likely turn around until the dollar gets weaker or until world economies improve.

Kleinfeld says that China’s “fake semis” add even more confusion in an already confusing market by getting mixed up with the real semi-fabricated products that China has been exporting for a long time for the foil and other lower value added markets.

He says he calls them fake semis,“Because these fake semis are not competing against semis. They are competing against primary product because people immediately re-melt them as primary.”

Northcoast’s O’Carroll predicts that U.S. domestic aluminium shipments should see 6 to 7% growth this year, bolstered primarily by the automotive and other transportation markets, but also due to expectations of nice gains in the still lagging construction sector. Not only is he predicting that North American light vehicle production will increase about 2.5% to more than 17 million cars and light trucks this year, but the pound of aluminium per vehicle is expected to increase 4.8% to 393 pounds per vehicle. As a result aluminium shipments to the auto sector are expected to rise 19% to 6.5 billion pounds.

This is largely due to the new aluminium intensive 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck, which he calls a game changer. In coming years he says he expects that aluminium will be making further inroads as more vehicles add, to a varying degree, more aluminium parts.

Pickard says that such expectations for

increased aluminium use in automotive is good for both the aluminium scrap generation and scrap usage, “But the question remains about the recyclability of these new vehicles.”

Prichett says it is to at least address the recycling of industrial scrap generated in the production of these new vehicles. Novelis, as well as certain other aluminium producers, have already or are in the process of negotiating agreements with major domestic and foreign auto OEMs to collect the scrap that they generate and to remelt it into new coils of the same alloy in what has become known as closed loop recycling. “These are sophisticated alloys,” Prichett explains. “By turning it around to the same alloys we can keep the same, high value vs. having to down cycle it into a lower grade.”

While there is a benefit to this for aluminium producers and their OEM customers, Pickard says closed loop recycling could raise some concerns for the very competitive aluminium scrap market, but given that it is just in the early stages at this time, the extent of the impact is not yet certain.

Moss says he believes the impact upon scrap flows could be substantial as there might not be a need to engage anyone else than the mill and the OEM into the recycling process. “It doesn’t mean that there will be less business for aluminium scrap processors and traders,” he says. “It is just that despite the growth in the use of aluminium in the automotive sector, there would not be a lot of new opportunities for processors – at least not until these new vehicles reach the end of their life.”

While still several years down the road, that could possibly give shredders an incentive to develop new sorting technologies, Moss says.

New such technologies are already in advanced development stages and could be commercialised within the next few years, Prichett says. He added that while it will be another 10 to 15 years before the new, more aluminium intensive vehicles would reach the end of their lives; Novelis is already investigating what infrastructure needs to be in place to recover aluminium from those vehicles.

Moss says he believes that 2015 will be a belt-tightening year, not just for aluminium scrap, but for all scrap metals. He is, however hopeful that a bottom has been reached and that conditions will improve by the end of this year or early in 2016.

“We are seeing demand for aluminium continuing to grow, but at the same time Chinese supply of primary aluminium is increasing. There won’t be a shortage of material and that will likely continue to constrain prices,” he predicts. t

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5EUROPE UPDATE 13


Recycling mattersfor Europe

Europe is a global leader in the recycling of aluminium and the recent International Aluminium Recycling Congress highlighted ways in which this potential can be unlocked. Nadine Firth* was in attendance.

*Editor, Aluminium International Today

Although now in its 13th year, this was the first time the European Aluminium Association (EAA) organised the Recycling Congress, which was held in Vienna in February. The programme was designed to create opportunities for delegates to consider some of the major challenges confronting the sector.

Speakers shared expertise and perspectives on political, technological and strategic issues, with papers presented by companies including Norsk Hydro, Constellium, Aleris, CRU Group U.K., and Redwave.

In his opening speech, Dr Gerd Götz, (pictured above) Director General of the EAA, highlighted that aluminium is one of the world’s most versatile materials and that the industry has a track record of innovation.

“We are working to promote the value that we have in aluminium, but I think we still have a way to go to create awareness with all the influencers and policy makers to see this value,” said Dr Götz.

Sorting the scrapHigh on the congress agenda was the topic of aluminium scrap and how to deal with it, as well as how to keep it in Europe.

Securing greater scrap availability was detailed as a key objective of the European aluminium industry, needed to further unlock its recycling potential and foster a robust circular economy.

The EAA believes that European waste legislation should promote a resource-efficient Europe by ensuring that the material remains in a closed recycling loop and thus available to the economy and societies.

“It’s not too long ago that the word

‘scrap’ had a very negative connotation in people’s minds and I think it is very important to change this idea and stop waste from always ending in landfill. Instead, it can become a new raw material,” said Dr Götz.

“We don’t have many raw materials in Europe, so aluminium can become one if it is not wasted. It is about making the waste work for the industry,” he continued.

Legislative landscapeAnother topic that featured highly was the aluminium industry’s contribution to Europe’s global leadership for a circular economy.

As it currently stands, back in July 2014, the European Commission adopted the Communication ‘Towards a circular economy: A zero waste programme for Europe’ to establish a common and coherent framework to promote the circular economy.

The proposal was challenged by many stakeholders and notably the Council of Member States due to its complexity and lack of substance in certain key areas. In particular, the Council raised the challenges posed by a legislative package, which introduces both more ambitious targets and an in-depth revision of methodologies and calculation methods.

In light of stakeholder opposition and internal consensus that a Circular Economy Package required further thought and preparation, the new European Commission appointed in November 2014 withdrew the proposal from its 2015 Work Programme on 16th December 2014.

The Commission has confirmed that it will present a revised and simplified proposal later this year.

ChallengesThe challenges of creating a circular economy were detailed in a keynote presentation by Roberta Niboli, CEO of Raffmetal S.p.A and Chair of the EAA Recycling Division.

Points discussed included Europe securing the availability of scrap, supporting existing aluminium recycling, and maximising the production of all aluminium in Europe.

“Aluminium is a major example of a circular economy,” explained Mrs Niboli. “The demand for materials will continue and Europe should concentrate on closed loop recycling managed efficiently for the future.”

Closing remarksThe congress came to a close on the second day with a final note from Dr Götz.

“The debate around the circular economy clearly shows that in general, the aluminium industry is interested to have a further developed circular economy package,” he said.

“As an industry, I think we have properties that are adding to a circular economy thinking and not only in terms of the policies, but in all the products that help towards a more sustainable future.”

Other papersThe congress also included papers looking at the aluminium industry’s recycling vision and how increasing the percentage of recycled content in products can provide an inadequate picture of aluminium recycling. These papers have been abridged exclusively for Aluminium International Today and can be found in this issue’s Recycling feature.

Europe UPDATE may june.indd 1 5/12/15 10:27 AM

RUSSIA UPDATE14 www.aluminiumtoday.com


Up for saleAmid the devaluation of the national currency in Russia, caused by Western sanctions, Alcoa is revising its strategy of further development in the Russian market and selling its assets.By Eugene Gerden*

*Russian Correspondent

As part of these plans, the company completed a deal for the sale of its Belaya Kalitva plant, which is one of Alcoa’s two Russian factories specialising in the production of rolled aluminium.

Stupino Metallurgical Plant, one of Russia’s leading metal producers, which is reportedly affiliated with Rostec, (a Russian state corporation established to promote development, production and export of hi-tech industrial products for civil and defence sectors), has become the new owner of the plant.

In 2013, revenue of the plant amounted to 4.3 billion rubles (US$100 million), while losses - 386 million rubles. The results for 2014 are not disclosed. Belaya Kalitva is not the only plant that is operated by Alcoa in Russia. Another Russian plant of the company is located in Samara, and is known as Alcoa SMZ. In 2013 its revenue amounted to 20.5 billion rubles (US$500 million).

ProductionBoth plants specialise in the production of aluminium semi-finished products for the aerospace, automotive and construction industries. According to Alcoa, the combined share of both plants in the Russian market is estimated at 50%. In the case of Belaya Kalitva, the plant, so far, has probably had the strongest positions in the Russian market of aluminium ware with non-stick coating being one of its largest suppliers to the domestic market.

The company acquired the plants in 2005 for US$257 million from Rusal. So far, Alcoa has already invested about US$824 million in the acquisition and modernisation of the plants. The majority of investments were made in 2012.

According to some Russian media reports, the Belaya Kalitva plant should have launched the production of aluminium structures for light rail cars, which allow for an increase in cargo turnover of 15-20%. This should have been one of the first projects for the production of innovative rail cars in Russia, however, implementation of the project

was suspended for certain reasons. The sale of the Belaya Kalitva plant means that Alcoa will probably focus on the development of its Samarian plant, as well as the expansion of the production of rail cars, in cooperation with Rusal.

The sale of the plant also means that Alcoa has finally refused the establishment of a joint production of aluminium components with the Russian JSC United Aircraft Corporation; a Russian corporation, which consolidates Russian private and state-owned aircraft construction companies and assets engaged in the manufacture of aircrafts.

SellingAccording to analysts of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, sanctions, imposed on Russia, became the major reason for Alcoa’s intention to sell one of its Russian plants.

The imposed sanctions resulted in the cancellation of a visit of Klaus Kleinfeld, head of the company to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a leading international economic and business forum held annually in Russia.

At the same time, according to some sources close to Alcoa Russia, another reason for the sale is big losses by the plant, which have been observed for the last five years, as well as optimisation of the company’s production processes.

The accession of Russia in the WTO has allowed the problem to be partly solved, however, according to some sources close to Alcoa Russia, certain difficulties still remain.

In the third quarter of 2014 Alcoa announced its plans to conduct

optimisation of its production and to reduce costs in all segments of the market.

As part of these plans, in October 2014 the company announced the sale of 50.3% stake in the Mt. Holly plant in the US, as well as a stake in the Jamaican bauxite and alumina complex Jamalco.

In August last year, Alcoa refused to participate in a joint project with Rusnano, Russia’s monopoly in the field of nanotechnologies, for the production of aluminium drill pipe, due to a “difficult political situation.” Analysts of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade believe that the amount of the potential deal is varied in the range of US$50-70 million.

FutureIn the case of the Stupino Plant, the acquisition may allow the Russian company to diversify its production and reach new customers.

In the case of Alcoa’s project with Rusal, according to Roman Andryushin, Rusal’s director of department of sales in Russia and CIS states, the new venture will launch production in the second quarter of the current year, while series production is expected to start in 2016.

It is planned that the production will be established at the capacities of the JSC Saransk Car Repair Plant. The new rail cars will be sold to leading rail carriers, and in particular Russian railway monopoly RZD.

In the meantime, the reduction of Alcoa’s Russian operations will probably result in their acceleration in other European markets. As part of these plans, Alcoa has recently announced the opening of its expanded wheels manufacturing plant in Hungary’s city of Székesfehérvár. The larger facility doubles Alcoa’s capacity to produce its Dura-Bright EVO surface-treated wheels compared to 2014 production levels. The expansion will enable Alcoa to meet growing European demand for its lightweight, durable, low-maintenance aluminium truck wheels. The volume of investments in the project amounted to US$13 million (HUF 2.8 Billion).

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INDIA UPDATE16 www.aluminiumtoday.com


With one of the lowest per capita consumption of primary aluminium at 1.4 kg, the Indian industry is one of the largest and interesting aluminium markets globally. With a population of 1.25 billion and rapidly growing aluminium consuming sub-segments, the industry and its market are poised to grow exponentially in the coming years. Even if India reaches the halfway mark of current global per capita consumption of 8 kg in the next four-five years, it would imply aluminium consumption of 5.5 million tons (Table 1).

Endowed with rich bauxite reserves of 2.3 billion tones (approx. 6.76% of the world total with a global 5th ranking), one of the most abundant coal reserves and cheap labour, India has the potential to become one of the largest global producers and exporters of aluminium (Table 2).

Due to a slowdown in the power sector (which consumes more than 40% of aluminium) and the auto sector, Indian aluminium consumption declined in the financial year 2013-14 for the first time in more than a decade. However, aluminium demand prospects in the country have changed dramatically after the strong political mandate and the improvement in investor sentiment.

Demand is expected to witness a significant boost with expectations of reforms, especially in the power sector. Aluminium consumption growth in

Industry recoveryThe past nine months have seen a sea change across the Indian aluminium manufacturing industries. Demand, which has plummeted over the past two years, has started to pick up along with the new and pending investments. After a slowdown, the Indian recovery is on the mend and the economy is expected to grow at more than 5% in 2014 on stronger consumption and investment, as per various estimates. Seema Gahlaut* explains.

*Correspondent

Year Aluminium Production

(in 000 Tons)

2005 1000

2006 1150

2007 1235

2008 1348

2009 1525

2010 1620

2011 1668

2012 1720

2013 1730

Table 1. Primary aluminium production in India

Table 2. Primary aluminium export and import in India (in 000 Tons). Source - Indian Ministry of Commerce

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Import 184 241 228 243 308 323

Export 234 285 266 270 300 314

2014 (2014 numbers are not yet out) is expected to be more than 5% (Table 3 and Table 4).

According to KSS Murthy, General Secretary of the Aluminium Association of India (AAI), “The Indian aluminium industry is forging ahead with rapid expansion in both primary metal and downstream sectors. With the continuing trend of economic growth, the demand and consumption of aluminium is expected to increase rapidly.” He further says: “Higher consumption levels in building and infrastructure, automotive packaging, power, consumer durables

and other industrial sectors will contribute towards an increase in consumption. Aluminium demand in India is anticipated to grow more than five times by 2030.”

Demand driversThe electrical sector is the largest consumer of aluminium in India. The bulk of the aluminium usage is in overhead conductors and power cables used in generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Aluminium is used in switchboards, coil windings, capacitors, and many other applications as well. Aluminium usage in the power sector will continue to be predominant in the coming two to three years, at least (Table 5).

PackagingCurrently, the Indian packaging industry is not a large user of aluminium. Can manufacturing started in the country only a couple of years back. However, this sub-segment is expected to be a major demand driver for the industry in the coming years. Applications like usage in rigid food containers, cans for chemicals and insecticides, etc. are also expected to increase the consumption in the packaging sector.

INDIA UPDATE may june.indd 1 5/13/15 10:22 AM

INDIA UPDATE18 www.aluminiumtoday.com


End user segment India Global average Remarks

Electrical 41 % 11 % Main stay of Indian Market

Machinery 8 % 11 %

Automotive 17 % 28 % Rapidly growing automotive sector will push demand

in this sub-segment enormously in coming years

Packaging 5 % 18 % Low base. Great potential of growth

Consumer Durables 7 % 7 % Indian consumption story has a bright future

Construction 14 % 25 % Low urbanisation is the reason of current low levels

Table 5. Comparison of end user segments of aluminium - global and India

ConstructionConstruction, which accounts for 25% of aluminium consumption globally, would play a major role in the growth of industry in India in the medium term. By 2020, the construction sector in the country is projected to emerge as the largest end use sector for the metal. The overall consumption by the sector is estimated to be around 1700 kt by 2020.

Automotive Currently accounting for 17% of aluminium consumption, the Indian automotive industry holds great potential for aluminium consumption in the short and medium term. Primary producers are taking several steps to increase aluminium usage in the industry. For example, Sesa Sterlite is working on an aluminium intensive bus in collaboration with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings; a body representing all of India’s state transport agencies, light weighting of automotives by replacing steel with aluminium in collaboration with the National Automotive Board of the department of heavy industries.

Major producersThe Indian primary aluminium industry consists of three major producers: State controlled National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindalco Industries Limited and Vedanta Group’s Sesa Sterlite, which comprises Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), Madras Aluminium Company Limited (MALCO) and Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL).

Barring state run NALCO (which has kept its installed capacity for aluminium stable at 460,000 tones in the last two years), both the other producers have invested heavily in building capacity. Sesa Sterlite’s aluminium capacity now stands at 2.6 mt, from 745,000 tonnes two years ago, while Hindalco’s capacity is set to be 1.3 mt, compared to 513,500 tonnes two years ago.

Sesa SterliteSesa Sterlite Ltd is an associate company of the London Stock Exchange listed, Vedanta Resources Plc. Originally incorporated in 2001, Sesa Sterlite is a leading producer of metallurgical grade alumina and other aluminium products, which cater to a wide spectrum of industries. It operates a 1 mtpa greenfield alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in the state of Orissa.

The company has also invested in another 0.5 mtpa aluminium smelter and 1215 MW captive power plant supported by an infrastructure at Jharsuguda in the state of Orissa. In addition to this,

construction of a 1.1 mtpa aluminium smelter expansion project at this site is in process. The company intends to expand the fully integrated aluminium smelting capacity to around 2.6 mtpa.

Vedanta has spent $8 billion (about INR 484 billion) in Lanjigarh and Jharsuguda aluminium complexes. The company is in discussion with State Industries Development Corp. Ltd of state of Chattisgarh (a state adjacent to Orissa) for a proposed aluminium park in Korba and also with state nodal agencies for an aluminium cluster development to increase exports, besides investing in R&D for developing new alloys for electrical, aerospace and automotive sectors.

HindalcoAn industry leader in aluminium and copper, Hindalco Industries Limited, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group is one of the world’s largest aluminium rolling companies and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia. In 2007, Hindalco had

acquired the Canadian company Novelis for US$6 billion, making the combined entity the world’s largest rolled-aluminium producer.

Hindalco’s three strategic greenfield projects: Utkal Alumina refinery, Aditya Aluminium smelter (both in the state of Orissa) and Mahan Aluminium smelter (in the state of Madhya Pradesh) went on stream in 2014 and are currently ramping up to their slated capacities. With the commissioning of these projects, Hindalco’s alumina and aluminium capacity will be doubled – Alumina from 1.5 million tons to 3 million tons and aluminium from 0.6 million tons to 1.3 million tons. Hindalco has spent about $5 billion (about INR.302.6 billion) over the last five years towards these capacity expansions.

Overcapacity?India’s aluminium capacity will rise to about 4.36mt by mid 2015 from 1.71 mt in 2012 but current local demand, which is far less than the installed capacity will lead

Country 2008 % of Global output 2014 % of global output

China 13,695 34 % 21,481 43 %

Russia 4,191 10 % 3,712 7 %

Canada 3,124 8 % 756 2 %

USA 2,658 7 % 1,754 3 %

Australia 1,978 5 % 1,727 3 %

Brazil 1,661 4 % 1,684 3 %

Norway 1,383 3 % 1,195 2 %

India 1,348 3 % 3,958 8 %

Rest of World 10,093 26 % 13,068 29 %

Total 40,131 100 % 50,335 100 %

Table 3. Top aluminium producing countries

Aluminium Production (in 000 Tons)

Country 2008 % of Global consumption 2014 % of global consumption

China 12,604 34 % 22,088 44 %

USA 5,147 14 % 5,505 11 %

Japan 2,319 6 % 2,259 4 %

Germany 1,929 5 % 2,054 4 %

Middle East 1,459 4 % 2,030 4 %

India 1,089 3 % 3,800 8 %

Italy 951 3 % 869 2 %

South Korea 957 3 % 1297 3 %

Brazil 933 3 % 1198 3 %

Rest of World 10,051 24 % 9,551 19 %

Total 37,419 100 % 50,651 100 %

Table 4. Top aluminium producing countries

Aluminium Consumption (in 000 Tons)


May/June 2015

INDIA UPDATE 19

to a huge overcapacity in the country. Capacity expansions, along with the muted demand over the past couple of years, due to low economic growth which has pushed down purchases of automobiles, consumer goods and new homes, has further aggravated the problems for Indian producers.

These market situations have forced all three major producers to step up marketing and R&D efforts to secure new markets. Hindalco and Sesa Sterlite are working with government agencies to find new uses for aluminium in the transport, rural, defense and aerospace sub segments.

According to Debnarayan Bhattacharya, Managing Director of Hindalco, “More than 30 products and projects are currently at various stages of innovation and application development.”

His company is working with public sector oil companies, automotive producers and transport organisations for increasing use of aluminium. It has also initiated a rural programme to tap the rising demand for aluminium sheets from the countryside with its network of distributors.

Inverted duty structureIndian aluminium players are eagerly awaiting the annual budget, which comes out at the end of February 2015. Domestic manufacturers are expecting the Indian government to correct the anomalies in the existing tax structure to even out the playing field between Indian and foreign producers. Aluminium imports have been steadily increasing over the last couple of years, leading to cries of foul play from Indian producers.

In 2013, the government had imposed a safeguard tax to protect the local industry. The Indian government’s “Make In India” programme has sharpened the focus on such “abnormalities” in the taxation system, and the need to give domestic players a more level playing field. The Indian finance ministry is looking at ways to do away with inverted duty structures in a range of sectors including aluminium.

Focus on exportsIndian aluminium producers sell a part of their products overseas where an oversupply of aluminium has just started to shrink and prices have shown some recovery. In fact, part of the reason for aggressive expansion was to capture the foreign markets where companies have a relatively high cost of production.

PricesAluminium prices in India have been largely affected by sluggish macro-economic conditions, negative economic expectations and poor market fundamentals for the past one and half years. Although the prices have almost bottomed out, but with domestic supplies outpacing demand and rising inventories, aluminium prices are likely to be depressed for some more time.

The road aheadThe Indian per capita aluminium consumption is less than 1.5 kg, which is far less than many of the developing countries and provides an opportunity for Indian aluminium producers. The fact that more than 40% of domestic aluminium is consumed by the electrical sector and there are about 300 applications for the metal leaves a lot of room for the domestic sector to grow.

The Indian industry is expected to move on the global trend, where aluminium usage is tilted towards transportation and packaging sectors.

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Reiter & Crippa S.r.l. (www.reiter-crippa.com), part of the PE Group, has signed a contract with PROFILGLASS S.p.A of Fano (PU) for the supply of engineering, construction, delivery and commissioning of a complete production line composed by: a Pyrolytic decoater, with productivity 7 t/h, a static Melting furnace, with capacity 90 t, an exhaust fume treatment system. The first part of the engineering has been performed in collaboration with Prof. Eng. Paolo Centola (Polytechnic University of Milan - Chemical Engineering dept).

In the decoater it will be possible to process various types of scraps like UBC (urban waste collection or selected type), extrusion painted profiles, beverage caps and others aluminium scraps with max 5% wt of organic content (According to: Reg. CE 333/2011).The scrap is heated in a rotary drum where the organic content is removed via convective thermal exchange.In the drum the gas temperature and the oxygen content are continuosly controlled with redundant instrumentation in order to minimize the metal oxidation and consequently the dross formation in the melting furnace.

The exhaust gas is processed in two thermal oxidizers (the second thermal oxidizer is strictly necessary to reduce CO and TOC) and in one cyclone followed by a quenching unit to allow the perfect control of the emissions.

All the machines that make up the decoater are designed with the most advanced thermodynamics simulation tools.The furnace features a couple of Ultra Low NOX regenerative burners and the melt circulation will be performed by a mechanical pump (J-50 SD PUMP Pyrotek).

ABOUT USReiter & Crippa S.r.l. started up in business in the 60’s dealing in machines and plants for production of aggregates. Reiter & Crippa S.r.l. started its activity in the aluminium field 6 years ago when it became part of Presezzi Extrusion Group.

The group recently commissioned equipment in the aluminium field with full success, like the holding furnace and billets casting machine at SAPA Tibshelf (England), or the annealing furnace at Framiva Metalli (Italy). Last January 2014 R&C has signed a contract with INDINVEST LT of Cisterna di Latina for the supply of a Double chamber Static Melting Furnace, with capacity 70 t.

The exaust fume treatment system is an up to date machinery that allows, together with the decoater and furnace process control, to meet the limits specified by the Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the NON-FERROUS Metal Industries (February 2013).

The line will be dedicated to the production of aluminium alloy sows, having the best melting performance in terms of dross formation and fuel consumption.

After entering into production, the line will allow the Customer to improve its flexibility in the management of the scraps to be molten, while keeping the safest standards in terms of health of the workplace and emissions to the environment.

REITER & CRIPPA is part of Presezzi Extrusion Group

[email protected]

Our system ensures the following emissions (According to the Best Available Techniques, Reference Document for the Non-Ferrous Meatal Industries, February 2013):

Dusts ≤ 5mg/Nm3TOC ≤ 10mg/Nm3HCL ≤ 10mg/Nm3HF ≤ 2 mg/Nm3

PCDD + PCDF ≤ 0,1 ng/Nm3

Technology and Innovation for aluminium recyclers

Furnaces Technologyi n f o @ r e i t e r - c r i p p a . i t - w w w . r e i t e r - c r i p p a . i t

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PACKAGING 21www.aluminiumtoday.com


*President and CEO, Can Manufacturer’s Institute

Today’s dynamic beverage industry is known for innovation and differentiation as new products continue to attract a variety of tastes and cater to emerging consumer needs. Brands need packaging that refl ects their unique positioning within the marketplace, and the aluminium beverage can offers a unique canvas that supports efforts to appeal to consumers. From the supply chain perspective, beverage brands should know that aluminium cans provide superior economic value for handling, transportation, fi lling speed and product integrity.

The beverage industry has also become more nimble in order to service new or niche brand offerings. A great example of this is the craft beer industry. Small brewers are moving to cans in order to protect the quality and distinct fl avour of their beer over a long period of time by eliminating beer’s two greatest enemies: Air and light.

According to CraftCans.com, approximately 1,864 craft beers from 492 breweries are being sold in cans, which is up considerably from even just a few years ago. This is refl ected in the can’s share of the domestic beer packaging market, which has jumped more than four share points to 67% in just fi ve years.

Drinking experienceAccording to new research commissioned by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), beverage consumers perceive cans as a strong and protective package - characteristics they linked to delivering fl avour and carbonation.

The same study found that consumers perceive that the can’s physical properties actually contribute to the unique sensory characteristics of the drinking experience. For example, opening a can of craft beer releases the aroma of hops and hearing the pop-top of a soft drink releases a bubbly, carbonated fi zz. The canned package sets up expectations of refreshment. Additionally, the effi cient transmission of cold to the fi ngers and lips of a canned beverage drinker are important adjuncts to their experience.

Because of these package-related beverage consumption drivers, it’s no surprise that 75% of the consumers interviewed for this research indicate that beverage containers play an important role in choosing a drink.

Grant Prentice, director of strategic insights with FoodMinds, the company that conducted the recent CMI study, reports that, “Canned beverage

consumers are in tune with a number of characteristics common to cans. As an example there are many consumers that used a ‘fuel tank’ analogy to describe their favourite canned energy drink. The can, or tank, reinforces the transformational experience that energy drink brands are looking to communicate and deliver to their core consumer.

“These ‘plus up’ experiential properties conveyed by cans are also very apparent in craft beers and ready-to-drink teas. Regardless of category, the signature sound of opening a canned beverage signals the beginning of a positive emotional and physical transformation.”

The reliable canExciting innovations are also driving retailer, brand owner and consumer

Robert Budway* takes a look at what the humble aluminium can offers.

The growth of aluminium packagingin the United States

Image courtesy of Hydro

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PACKAGING22 www.aluminiumtoday.com


interest in cans. Today’s cans feature photograph-quality art, different textures and chromatic inks that respond to temperature changes. The 360-degrees of brandable space on can bodies means that brand owners can customise the beverage experience and impact consumer decisions at the point-of-purchase. This has a direct impact on sales for retailers.

Retailers also rely on aluminium cans for logistic and supply chain benefits related to transportation and container integrity. For beverages, nothing offers the performance advantages - from portability to unbreakability - of aluminium cans.

Cans are also the best option for consumers at parks, beaches, concerts and sporting events, particularly since many cities have banned glass bottles from most parks and recreational facilities. Consumers rely on cans as a shatterproof container. What’s more, cans are lightweight and pack easily, letting consumers bring them everywhere they go with ease and convenience.

The environmentConsumers continue to recognise the importance of choosing products that are packaged in environmentally friendly

materials. According to the CMI study, 7 in 10 adults said they would purchase a product because its packaging is better for the environment. Additionally, more than 80% of consumer respondents said the infinite recyclability of cans matters to them.

Aluminium cans have a 70% recycling rate, which is the highest among all beverage containers in the United States. Aluminium beverage cans can be recycled again and again without loss of strength or quality, which keeps aluminium in permanent use and out of landfills. Recycled cans are also back on store shelves in as little as 60 days.

“The aluminium beverage can offers

considerable advantages related to environmental impact, promoting a circular economy and supply chain efficiencies related to recyclability,” says Megan Daum, CMI’s vice president of sustainability. “It isn’t just a consideration of consumers being more green, it’s about practical, sustainable business decisions.”

U.S. can makers and their suppliers have been focusing on and prioritising sustainability long before sustainability was a buzzword or a business strategy. In fact, sustainability and recycling have been part of the can manufacturing industry ever since the 1930s when recycling cans was fundamental for supplying metal to the war effort. The can manufacturing industry has built on its legacy of sustainability by committing to lightweighting, the minimisation of water, energy and virgin material inputs, as well as the investment of millions of dollars into consumer recycling education programmes. The can manufacturing industry is proud that 105,800 cans are recycled every minute in the United States.

The results of the research studies noted in this article are part of CMI’s “Open Up to Cans” campaign and more details are available at smartcansolutions.com. t

Image courtesy of Alcoa

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FURNACES 23www.aluminiumtoday.com


Refractory considerationsWear reasons and material choices of refractories for aluminium melting and holding furnaces.By Ruth Engel*

*Refractory Consulting Services, www.refractoryexpert.com

The aluminium industry is a major consumer of refractories even though its processes take place at a comparatively low temperature (Fig 1). This leads to the expectation that refractory selection for use in secondary aluminium furnaces entails few challenges, but that is misleading.

The hot face refractories in melting/holding furnaces are subjected to increasingly demanding environments with the concurrent expectations of less time required for maintenance and higher efficiencies. The changes in throughput expectations can be observed in the type of fluxes used, in the furnace cleaning practices, the replacement of gas burners with oxy-fuel ones and in the use of ever greater amounts of recycled Al metal[2]. These factors result in higher furnace temperatures and the increased production of Mg bearing alloys both detrimental to the refractories.

This work will present the reasons for hot face refractory wear/damage, discuss the refractory choices and provide suggestions for deciding what to use.

Refractory considerationsThe lining usually consists of layers. The innermost one, the working lining, has to contain and be in contact with molten metal, withstand the interaction and attack of flux/salts and dross and, be inert to an alkali bearing atmosphere. Behind these refractories, a back-up layer, an insulating layer or both, may be installed. The appropriate refractory design, together with good operating practices, minimises the system’s heat losses and provides maximum energy availability to the load (Fig 2).

Refractory wearAluminium melting/holding furnaces consist of several distinct zones: The upper zone has the burners and the hot furnace atmosphere and, the lower zone contains the molten aluminium. Between them is the belly band which has to withstand a combination of molten aluminium/dross -flux/atmosphere and represents the most difficult environment.

Most furnaces are lined with alumino-

silicate based materials due to their ease of availability and cost advantages. Often, different qualities are used for the upper and lower furnace zones so as to best address their distinct requirements. Generally, the refractory in contact with the metal wears as a result of chemical reaction(s) of the aluminium with the lining components, mechanical damage resulting from cleaning to remove the dross from the walls/bottom of the furnace and thermal shock plus mechanical damage due to the charging practice while the upper zone is exposed to high temperatures, alkalies and thermal shock resulting from opening the furnace door. The belly band is part of the lower zone refractories although it has to withstand all of the above challenges and, additionally, intermittent and localised extreme temperatures due to thermiting.

Reaction(s) of refractory in contact with metalMuch research has been carried out to understand the reactions and wear mechanisms between refractories and molten aluminium. Reactions between the alumino-silicate and metal leads to the formation of corundum. Although

corundum is the mineral name for pure Al2O3, in this context, it is a mixture of Al2O3 with unreacted refractory pieces, plus Si and Al. This alteration product often starts below the belly band and grows upwards disrupting the integrity of the lining. It is very difficult to remove because it strongly attaches itself to the refractory by filling its porosity. Cleaning of the walls of the furnace is imperative to maintain its capacity and because corundum adversely affects the thermal properties of the refractories.

Fig 3 is a schematic of the corundum formation and Fig 4 shows actual examples of build-up.

In order to determine the likelihood of the metal reacting with the various mineral components of a refractory one can use thermodynamics. Fig 5 is the Ellingham diagram for aluminium in contact with several refractory raw materials showing that all silica can be reduced by molten aluminium regardless if it is present as pure silica or in a mineral like mullite.

The formation of corundum is driven by the reduction of SiO2 according to the following reaction

3SiO2(s) + 4Al(l) 2Al2O3(s) + 3Si(l) (1)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600

Refractory metalGraphite & SIC

Baking of carbonPhosphates decompose

Portland cementSintering of carbides

Fusion processSintering of ceramicsSmelting of oxides

Sulfates decomposeCarbonate calcining

Al and MgHeat treating and annealing

Salt glazing of ceramicsSulfide ore roasting

Metal carbide and nitrideGlass melting and forming

Carbon combustionSteam boilers

Hydroxide calciningPetrochemical operations

Industrial drying

Temperature in Celsius

Fig 1. Temperature for various industrial applications[1]

Appr

oxim

ate

tem

pera

ture

rang

e of

indu

stria

l pro

cess

es

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To complicate matters, if the aluminum is a magnesium bearing alloy, then the Mg can reduce the SiO2 leading to the formation of either magnesia SiO2(s) + 2Mg(l) 2MgO(s) + Si(l) (2)

or react with the Al2O3 to form a spinel:

4Al2O3(s) + 3Mg(g) 3MgAl2O4(s) + 2Al(l)(3)

Depending on the amount of Mg in the Al-alloy either MgO, MgAl2O4 or both, can form.

In addition, the oxidation of the aluminium will occur any time there is oxygen available:

4Al(l) + 3O2(g) 2Al2O3(s) (4)

Fig 6 is a schematic of the reaction mechanism for the formation and growth of alumina, magnesia and spinel in a refractory in contact with an aluminium alloy and Fig 7 shows a refractory microstructure supporting these reactions. A more complete discussion can be found in several papers[7,8,9]

Although these reactions have garnered most attention other oxides frequently found in refractories, like Fe oxide, TiO2, etc., are also reduced by molten aluminium.

Control of aluminium penetrationSeveral approaches are available to

counter the ability of the aluminium to wet and subsequently penetrate and interact with the refractory. Their purpose is to retard or inhibit the reduction of the refractory components thereby avoiding the initiation of reactions 1 through 3. Much development work has been carried out to deal with this and below is a listing of available technologies.

The use of anti-wetting additions to refractories in contact with molten aluminium is a common approach, specially for calcium aluminate containing castables. Many different materials have been used for this purpose and their addition is considered proprietary in nature. Consequently, the mechanism(s) by which they work are not always known. Additives commonly mentioned in the literature are barium sulphate, different types of fluorides (AlF3, CaF2, etc.)[10,11,12] and others. Studies carried out to determine the mechanism for protection of the refractory by adding barium sulphate showed that it most likely is the result of the formation of a celsian[10] at 1000oC which acts as a barrier to Al corrosion, while the flourides are thought to fill in pores with reaction products. Anti-wetting additions decompose at differing temperatures and once this is exceeded the refractory loses their protection.

Another approach is to add a phosphate as it imparts highly non-wetting properties to the refractory and does not decompose until temperatures >1500oC are reached[13]. In brick it was incorporated into the mix prior to firing, in castables it can be the bonding agent or supplement it and, in mouldables (plastics) it is the binder. In addition, the use of a phosphate as a component of the monolithic aids in bonding new and used refractories, which is particularly important when carrying out a repair.

The use of sol-gel binders, in particular colloidal silica, results in sufficiently small pores so as to hinder aluminium penetration, thereby not requiring or minimising the need for a non-wetting component[9].

The latest development is the use of special raw materials or binders which have low wettability with respect to aluminium, and contain only lime and alumina, like calcium hexaluminate or bonite[6,14,15]. Microscopy of bonite based refractory test samples showed no metal penetration after exposure to molten aluminium (Fig 8). Some of these castables also have built-in insulating properties due to the nature of their aggregate[17].

Testing of refractoriesAn accepted mode for evaluating the merits of a new refractory for use in

Gross Heat INPUT USEFUL

OUTPUTHeat to Load

Available

FURNACE

(batch only)

Heat storage

Net

Flue Gas Losses

Sens

ible

Wall Lo

ssOpe

ning L

oss

Conv

eyor

LossLa

tent

Fig 2. Sankey Diagram depicting the magnitude and points of energy loss in an aluminium melting furnace[3]

Internal corundum growth

Corundum mushroom

Aluminium alloy

Unaltered refractory lining

Air/atmosphere

Metal penetrationRefractory reduction zone

Fig3. Schematic of corundum formation[4]

Fig 4.Corundum: (A) build up on refractory sidewall, (B) piece removed from a surface[5]

(A) (B)

(B)

Fig 5. Free energy of minerals used to man-ufacture refractories in contact with aluminium and its alloys[6]. Stable (upper) and unstable (lower) oxides are separated by the dashed line.

Temp [K]1073

125

75

25

-25

-75

-125

1273Ellingham diagram for aluminium

1473Ca0

MgO

ZirconiaBaO

SiCHibonite

TiO2Mullite

SilicaKyanite

Free

Ene

rgy

[kJ/k

mol

]

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contact with aluminium is for it to undergo testing to simulate actual use conditions. Several major aluminium companies have developed their own “standard” tests that expose a refractory to molten metal for a selected length of time, at a pre-established temperature. The tests differ in the shape of the cavity which is to be filled with metal (Fig 9), the pre-fire temperature in the case of a monolithic and, the temperature and the length of exposure time at which the test is carried out, all of which can vary significantly and, will affect the results[18]. The refractory is then rated according to a pre-established criteria. This often consists of a visual comparison of the metal’s penetration and degree of alteration between the currently used and a new refractory.

The refractory in the belly band is additionally stressed by exposure to fluxes. These are materials manufactured by combining several different types and amounts of alkali salts, fluorides and chlorides, which have low melting points and consequently penetrate the refractory. To determine the additional effect fluxes have on the refractory integrity and components, laboratory studies involving cup tests to simulate belly band conditions are carried out. They expose refractories to aluminium alloys covered with individual or a combination of salts, KCl, CaCl2, NaCl, CaF2, NaF, cryolite (Na3AlF6), etc. while at high temperatures (Fig 10). These tests have shown that fluorides are more aggressive towards refractory integrity than chlorides and that the use of cryolite leads to the greatest amount of damage[19].

The upper zone conditions are strongly dependent on the furnace temperature, gas cleanliness and type(s) used and, any alkalies present as, at high temperatures the flux components decompose and can become gaseous. Once the flux components are part of the atmosphere they can penetrate the refractory and react with it. Alkali testing is used to determine if a new refractory formulation shows improved wear resistance in this environment before field installation takes place. It can be carried by forming a cavity in a brick like shape or setting refractory samples in an enclosed box. The cavity/box is filled with the alkali to be tested against, a lid is added to restrict the movement of the gaseous species and the assemblage is heated and kept at temperature for a predetermined length of time. The tested pieces are then analysed as to penetration and alteration. Fig 11 shows the results of such a series of tests. In aluminum melting/holding furnaces the alkalies are assumed to react with silicates in the refractory forming a glass which seals the pores preventing further destruction.

(PO2 = 0.2 atm)

MgO

Secondary spinel (dense)

Secondary spinel (porous)

Al2O3/Al composite (band with low growing rate)

Al2O3/Al composite (band with high growing rate)

Mg (g) + 1/2 O2 (g)

2 Al (1) + 3 MgO (s)

MgAl2)4 (s) Mg (g) + 2 Al (1) + 2O2(g)

2 Al (1) + 4 MgO (s) MgAl2O4 (s) + 3 Mg (g)

3 MgAl2O4 (s) + 2 Al (l)+ 3 Mg (g)

Al-Mg (Bulk)

4 Al2O3 (s)

MgO (s)

3 Mg (g) Al2O3 (s)

Al-Mg(CLAS)

Fig 6. Schematic representation of the Al and Mg reactions[8]

Fig 7. Microstructure of molten Al-5 wt. % Mg alloy, after oxidation, in air and at 1150oC. The layer between the alumina and aluminum areas is the primary MgAl2O4 spinel[8]

Fig 8. Reflected light/Cathodoluminescence (CL) micrographs showing no metal penetration and minimal metal-refractory reaction for bonite based refractory. (A) reflected light, (B) same area but using CL. Blue CL alumina layer is due to oxida-tion of aluminum, not due to refractory reduction[16]

(A) (B)

Fig 9. Castable molds showing different shaped cavities for use in testing[18]

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FURNACES26 www.aluminiumtoday.com


Refractory choicesRefractories used to line aluminium melting/holding furnaces can be bricks, castables, mouldables (plastics) or, a combination of any of these.

Initially phosphate bonded, fired brick were used, but this has been superseded with the advent of low and ultra-low cement castables. The disadvantage of using brick was that their installation required bricklayers, which took considerable time. In addition, the mortar used between the brick could be a weak link of the installation. An advantage was that the properties of the refractories were controlled during their manufacture and did not depend on field conditions.

The early use of castables was restricted to precast and fired shapes, big block, while the current expectation is that they will be field installed[21]. Precast shapes can have the same advantages as brick but still have joints and need to be brought to use temperature, which can be a challenge. Field cast installations require less time than brick for relines and lead to a minimum number of joints for comparable performance. Their disadvantage is that they depend on the installation procedures being closely adhered to so the expected properties are achieved and for a proper dry-out/burn-in schedule to be followed before they come in contact with aluminium. The selection of a castable should consider the advantages of the different types

of binder/raw material systems from a wear resistance, chemical compatibility, available equipment and personnel for installation, recommended speed of dry out and, cost.

Although the use of mouldables (plastics) is not as prevalent as castables there is no technical reason for avoiding them. Care needs to be taken to ensure proper installation procedures are followed to avoid laminations and, burn-in should take place soon after installation as the refractory may creep due to the binder being heat setting.

Even though each type of refractory was considered by itself, they can be used in combination, and often are.

In summary, there are many different types of refractories available to line aluminium melting/holding furnaces. Their selection should consider the locally available choices, the abilities of the personnel that will carry out the refractory installation, equipment available for dry-out/burn in, total time allowed for installation and heat up, cost, etc.

References[1] “Refractories for Industrial Processing: Opportunities for Improved

Energy Efficiency”, J. Hemrick, H.W. Hayden, P. Angelini, R.E. Moore,

W. Headrick, DOE-EERE Industrial Technology Program, 2005

[2] “Aluminium Salt Slag Characterization and Utilization – A Review”,

P.E. Tsakiridis, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2012

[3] “Energy Savings Through Phosphate Bonded Refractory Materials”,

J. Decker, Aluminium Cast House Technology, edited by J. F. Grandfield

& J.A. Taylor, 2009

Fig 10. Cross section of cup test showing the effect of different salts on the same low cement castable (C-6070): ~30% SiO2, ~57% Al2O3 with non-wetting addition[19]

Fig 11. Condition of refractory material for aluminium melting furnace after alkali testing at 1100°C with K2CO3/Na2CO3: (A) refractory currently in use, (B) new formulation[20]

(A) (B)

[4] “Characterization of Post-Mortem Refractory Ceramics from

Aluminum Melting Furnaces“, M. Karakus, W. Headrick, E. Feiner,

TMS Annual Meet., 2006

[5] “Comparative Strengths of Refractories versus Corundum in

Furnace Linings”, K. A. McGowan, P. A. Beaulieu, Die Casting Eng.,

V 52, #6, 2011

[6] “Advantages of Calcium Hexaluminate in a Corrosive Environment

“, M. Schnabel, A. Buhr, G. Büchel, R. Kockegey-Lorenz, J. Dutton,

Refractories World Forum, V3, #4, 2011

[7] “Refractories for Molten Aluminum Confinement”, C. Allaire, Can.

Cer. Soc., V 69, #1, 2000

[8] “Interfacial Phenomena”, C. Allaire, Am. Ceram. Soc. Proc., V 1,

d883, 2000

[9] “Advances in no Cement Colloidal Silica Bonded Monolithic

Refractories for Aluminum and Magnesium Applications”, M.W.

Anderson, L.A. Hrenak, and D.A. Snyder, UNITECR Proceedings,

Vancouver, 2013

[10] “Additives and the Corrosion Resistance of Aluminosilicate

Refractories in Molten Al-5 Mg”, M. Allahevrdi, S. Afshar, C. Allaire,

JoM, 1998

[11] “Anti wetting Additives for Aluminosilicate Refractories in

Molten Aluminum Contact Applications”, Devdutt Pramod Shukla,

PhD Thesis, 2009

[12] “Furnaces: Improvement of Low Cement Castables by Non-

Wetting Additives”, S. Afshar, C. Allaire, JoM, V1, 2001

[13] “The adhesion, cohesion, and non-wetting properties of liquid

phosphate bonded refractories”, docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://

www.thermbond.com/White Papers/

[14] “The Use of Calcium Aluminate Solutions in the Aluminium

Industry”, C. Wöhrmeyer, N. Kreuels, C. Parr, T. A. Bier, UNITECR

Proceedings, Berlin, 1999

[15] “Raw Material Concepts for SiO2 Free High Strength and Low

Wettability Aluminium Castables”, A. Buhr, Dagmar Gierisch, R.W.

McConnell,. UNITECR Proceedings, Orlando, 2005

[16] “Characterization of Submerged and Metal Contact Refractory

Materials for Aluminum Melting/Handling Processes “, M. Karakus,

W. Headrick, D. Shukla, M. Bright, MST, 2006

[17] “Overview of New Refractory Technology and Its Impact

on Energy and Maintenance Cost Savings at Several Die Casting

Facilities”, R.M. Cullen, K.A. McGowan, Die Casting Engineer, 1,

March 2013

[18] “Assessing Monolithic Refractories for Use in Aluminum Melt-

Hold Furnaces”, A. Wynn, J. Coppack, T. Steele, Advanced Materials

& Processes, July, 2011

[19] “Effects of Salts on Metal Oxidation and Refractory Corrosion

Induced by Molten Aluminum Alloys”, S. Afshar, C. Allaire, E. Dajoux,

CIM, V 3, 2004

[20] “Improved Monolithic Materials for Aluminum Melt-Hold

Furnaces”, J. Coppack, T. Steele, A. Wynn, Industrial Heating, Jan.,

2012

[21] “Current Trends in Aluminium Casthouse Furnace Linings”, D.

Jones, 3rd International Melt Quality Workshop, Dubai, November

2005

Major portions of this paper originally appeared in “Refractory Considerations for Aluminum Melting and Holding Furnaces”, IRE, p 22-25, Jan. 2015Reprinted with permission

ruth.indd 4 5/12/15 10:30 AM

Customized stirring solutions – guaranteedperformance and payback within a year

We understand that you are looking for performance solutions that give you a return on your investment. That is why our products consist, not only of electromagnetic stirring (EMS) equipment, but include an all-important performance warranty. Our job is done when we have delivered a full range of process improvements for your business. Without compromising on the quality of your product, you can achieve optimized performance and typically benefit from payback within 12 months. With the world’s most comprehensive range of EMS products we provide energy efficient, tailored solutions for melting and holding furnaces up to over 200 tons, side and bottom mounted, and air and liquid cooled systems for all process steps. For more information visit abb.com/metallurgy

ABB ABMetallurgy ProductsPhone: +46 21 32 50 00Fax: +46 21 14 83 27E-mail: [email protected] (products)E-mail: [email protected] (service)

FURNACES/HEAT TREATMENT ABB ADVERTORIAL28 www.aluminiumtoday.com


ABB is acutely aware of the continued need for EMS products which are designed with flexibility in mind. Optimum results are achieved by expertly selecting the correct product based predominantly on the individual needs of the customer. To claim that a narrow range of products and cooling systems can fulfill all possible requirements is to oversimplify matters. As such a comprehensive range of energy efficient products, that can offer truly tailored solutions, is an absolute necessity. Some form of performance guarantee, such as ABB’s performance warranty, can act as an additional reassurance that the supplier has the expert knowledge and range of products necessary to deliver significant and long term benefits.

EMS installationAny reliable conclusion regarding the advantages or disadvantages of EMS systems, cooling systems or even choice of fitting position, should be based on analysis of data from a wide range of different installations. Anything less is simply speculation. ABB’s first EMS installation for aluminium was in 1968. Our conclusions are based on an exceptionally broad range of knowledge and data from 219 EMS installations for aluminium, including both liquid and air cooled, and side and bottom mounted systems, and over 1500 accumulated years of operation.

EMS can offer the following benefits: Increased productivity Lower energy consumption Reduced dross formation Higher allow yield Homogeneous aluminium bath temperature and chemical composition

By providing a range of EMS systems for production capacities from 5 to over 200 tons, that can be tailored to any kind of furnace and process step, the customer doesn’t need to be an expert themselves in order to choose a supplier that can

provide a system that meets their needs. Most companies specialise in a certain kind of EMS system while ABB specialises only in customer solutions.

One cannot underestimate the importance of designing products that not only contribute to overall energy efficiency but are in themselves energy efficient. There is a certain misconception that larger stirrers, often with liquid cooling, are less energy efficient than their smaller, sometimes air-cooled counterparts. Figure 1 shows clearly that energy consumption as kWh/t is the same regardless of factors such as furnace size, cooling system or whether it is side or bottom mounted. Larger stirrers use more energy in order to produce more aluminium but it doesn’t make them any less energy efficient than smaller stirrers.

Energy consumption does, however, fluctuate from one process step to another. See figure 2 which shows power usage by process step. Aluminium bath homogenisation in a holding furnace can be achieved using a relatively low stirring force; simply because the burners have a lower energy output compared to melting and twin chamber furnaces. A stronger stirring force is, however, required in order to increase heat transfer from the burners and roof radiation in both melting and twin furnaces. Energy consumption in this case is determined by the process step. In order to optimize both energy consumption and process benefits it is necessary to tailor a stirring profile controlling duration, intensity and direction to a customer’s needs. This, as well as the choice of appropriate EMS and cooling system, requires comprehensive expertise coupled with a broad range of products to choose from.

CoolingThere is some debate as to whether air cooling or liquid cooling is best for EMS systems. Some would argue for air and others for liquid and supply only one or the other. Based on data from a total of 219 aluminium installations, where 199 are liquid cooled and 20 are air cooled, ABB can conclude that both kinds of cooling systems have their merits. Air cooled EMS systems were developed to meet the demand for electromagnetic stirring on furnaces with production capacities of up to approximately 40 tons. Typically, the financial investment

Electromagnetic stirringIn today’s aluminium market the demand for products that improve profitability continues to rise. Electromagnetic stirring (EMS) is a well-established method of improving furnace economy and, in some countries, is fitted as standard. By Kristofer Malmberg, Ph.D.*

Fig 2 ALEMS energy efficiencyFig 1

*Metallurgist

100

Pow

er o

utpu

t [%

]

80

60

40

20

0Charging Melting Skimming

Process steps

Alloying Holding Casting/transfering

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needed and resulting stirring power are more appropriate for stirrers of this size. In addition, air-cooling systems require the use of filters, which should be changed on a regular basis, resulting in a higher level of maintenance than liquid cooling systems.

For larger stirrers on furnaces producing more than around 40 tons, liquid cooling is deemed to be more appropriate. As a rule, more cooling power is required for larger EMS systems. A liquid cooled EMS is well-equipped to deal with these demands and at the same time remains compact in size. Any benefits associated with the use of a considerably larger, equally powerful air cooled EMS cannot be justified when compared to the practical difficulties involved. Since liquid cooling consists of a closed loop water circuit, there is no need for filters less maintenance is therefore required. Careful analysis of installations confirms that liquid cooling offer a superior level of reliability for more powerful EMS systems.

FittingTraditionally, EMS systems have been fitted to the bottom of the furnace as standard. A bottom mounted EMS benefits from being fitted on the furnace bottom where there is maximum potential for optimum stirring. Stirrers mounted on the side will usually experience a certain loss in performance compared to bottom-mounted stirrers. The side-mounted EMS was developed and patented by ABB to satisfy the need for stirring where bottom mounting is not possible, for example stationary furnaces. To ensure maximum performance the EMS should be bottom mounted where possible.

It has been said that there are less complications involved in the installation of side mounted EMS as compared to the bottom mounted variety. This may well be true. Based on our considerable experience, it must be said that the long-term benefits of bottom mounting by far outweigh the short-term inconvenience associated with installing a bottom-mounted EMS system.

For the above reasons our customers have chosen side mounted only four times out of 219 installations. ABB can conclude that bottom mounted EMS should be

recommended over side mounted and side mounted should be recommended over not having EMS at all.

Process benefits are achieved through metallurgical improvements, which are driven by forced convection. When the magnetic field is introduced into the aluminium bath, an eddy current is produced, repelling the magnetic field and causing movement in the aluminium bath. The resulting rotation brings the cold bottom melt to the hot surface and the hot surface aluminium to the cold bottom. Any size of aluminium bath can, in as little as two minutes, reach a temperature homogenisation with a difference of max +-5oC. This can be compared to a typical temperature difference of 70-100oC in the absence of stirring. A lower surface temperature allows for more effective heat transfer from the burners, and furnace roof radiation is therefore increased.

Productivity is improved and dross generation decreased, which in turn leads to a higher aluminium scrap yield. An increase in productivity means that less energy is needed to reach the desired casting temperature. Moreover, the number of rejects due to faults caused by variations in casting temperature is greatly reduced. While alloying, electromagnetic stirring results in chemical homogeneity, decreased alloying time and increased alloy yield. The EMS dissolves alloys, such as Fe, Si, Cu, with a higher melting point more efficiently on account of the movement of the molten aluminium, which constantly feeds the liquid surrounding the alloy with unsaturated, hot aluminium.

ConclusionIn supplying 219 EMS systems for aluminium, ABB has gained invaluable knowledge and expertise which allows us to address the debate surrounding energy efficiency, choice of cooling system and fitting position on the furnace. As predicted, analysis of the facts confirms our original statement; a comprehensive range of energy efficient products, carefully selected on the basis of customer needs, is a prerequisite for providing customers with tailored solutions and guaranteed results. t

We can help youwww.innovaltec.com

[email protected] +44 (0) 1295 702800

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• IHI '1,200 Tonne' 4 stand cold mill (1974)• IHI '72"' 4 stand cold mill (finishing) (1968)• Loewy '1,400 Tonne' cold mill• United '72"' 4 stand cold mill• Bliss '3,000 Tonne' hot reversing mill (1962)• United '82"' single stand hot reversing mill• Krupp '3,000 Tonne' warm mill (1973)• United '72"' hot continuous mill• Alcoa '1.1m' 65k tpa coil preparation line (1994)• Alcoa '1.1m' 42k tpa 180m p/min coil coating line• Alcoa '7 Tonne' coil packing line• Alcoa '62"' 35k tpa tension leveller• Bronx '150 mpm' multi strand slitting line (2000)• Watanabe '6 Hi Pull Through' slitter (1972)• Alcoa '1.2m' 42k tpa & '68'" 10k tpa slitters (1969)• Stamco '60"' 35k tpa slitter (1965)• Hercules 'WSL 850' 62" roll grinding machine• Cincinnati 'Filmatic 14" LR' roll grinding machine• Waldrich Siegen 'WSF 40/3' (1966), '60"' (1964), '24"' (1969), '18"' (1966) roll grinding machines• Knoevangel '2.2m' 4 sided scalper (1988)• Ingersoll '1.8m' scalper• Altek dross press• Major '15 Tonne' rotary furnace• Furnace Engineering 'Five Zone' furnace• Alcoa '30,000 TPA' can end line (2006)

ALUMINUM ROLLING MILL, INGOT SCALPERS, ALUMINUM PROCESSING EQUIPMENTLOCATIONS: Point Henry, VIC; & Yennora, NSW; Australia

ADVERTORIAL ABB.indd 2 5/13/15 9:32 AM

MQP - ADVERTORIAL - CASTHOUSE30 www.aluminiumtoday.com


If you know accurately the weight of liquid aluminium in holding or transfer furnaces in the production of aluminium alloys you can increase overall casthouse production by up to 15%. How? By in-stalling a Batchpilot system from MQP.

Batchpilot, is a system with unique technology for accurate electron-ic measurement of furnace heel weights and transfer weights. It is based on the principle of measuring changes in the furnace hydrau-lic cylinder pressure with furnace tilt angle.

The Batchpilot system has the capability to measure furnace heel and transfer weights to an accuracy of 0.5% and 1.0%. This means measuring the weight of a 50 t full furnace to +/- 500 kg.

The benefits of accurate measurement of furnace heel and full fur-nace weights are well accepted in the casthouse industry in terms of:• Increasing the percentage of “right first time” batching which reduces/ eliminates costly furnace waiting time.• Eliminating short casts.• Alloy changes easier to manage as heel weights in the furnace are accurately known.• Reduced energy costs by spending less time with burners on idle.

An important feature of the Batchpilot system is a fully automated weighing capability and down line integration of the output data into the casthouse management data network

Overall the outstanding advantage of the Batchpilot system is that it brings a significant increase in production without the need to install new capacity. This is particularly important in the current scenario where markets are recovering but billet production capacity is lagging behind and ingot and billet premiums have grown by more than 50% this year.

Prevailing billet premiums, are now at an all-time high, and forecast to rise even further, which means that the present payback time for a 70MT Batchpilot system is less than one month in terms of the increased production it brings.

The Batchpilot system is fully established in production usage with over fifty units installed in casthouses around the world. An auto-mated unit is available with full automation of the measuring cycle and automatic integration of data generated into the plant batching calculation. The complete BatchPilot system can be tailored and cus-tomised to individual customer needs. “BatchPilot” furnace heel and transfer metal weighing system.

Increase casthouse production by 15%

To discuss Batchpilot contact: MQP Ltd, 6 Hallcroft Way, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 9EW, England

Tel: +44(0)1564-200443, Fax: +44(0)778-606-2474 Email: [email protected]

Monitoring measurement process

Measurement process status

Measurement process status

Back

EmergencystopDisplay control signals

(between BatchPilot 200 and furnace PLC)

Number of tilts done:

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Trend #1 Trend #2

Running

Select operation to perform

Date Time

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Help

System schematic

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BatchPilot

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CASTHOUSE MQP.indd 1 5/7/15 3:34 PM

From Refinal high performance refining

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CASTHOUSE32


First Gulf AluminiumCasthouse Conference ‘GulfCast’, was held on 2nd – 4th March 2015 at the Sharq Village & SPA in Doha, Qatar.

The conference was held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Bin Abdullah Al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry and organised by Qatalum.

Day One of the programme opened with a welcome speech by Mr. Abdulrahman Al Shaibi, Chairman of Qatalum.

The opening presentation, on the subject of Safety, was given by Mr Abdulla Yaqoob Senan, Senior Manager SHE, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). The presentation highlighted Alba’s Safety Journey and the challenges faced.

The second session, on the subject of Pot Room – Casthouse, was presented by Mr Christian Stette, Qatalum’s Casthouse Process Manager, highlighting the Optimised Flow of Liquid Metal to Casthouse. That was followed by a session on the subject of Liquid Metal Quality, given by Mr Pete Forakis, Middle East Regional Director at STAS Middle East. The presentation highlighted how to achieve optimal crucible skimming efficiency.

The next presentation was delivered on the subject of how to Reduce Melt Loss, Recover Aluminium and Reuse the By-products, by Mr Alan Peel, Managing Director of Altek Europe Ltd in the UK. Mr Peel focussed on an Optimised Approach to Total Dross Management.

With half the sessions completed, the next presentation was given on the subject of Aluminium Dross Treatment – Zero Waste Solution, by Mr Frank Pollmann, CEO of Taha International Corporation in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The presentation provided details about environmental and sustainable methods concerning aluminium dross processing and treatment at plant level.

The afternoon sessions started with a speech from Ms. Kathrine Fog, Senior Vice

President, Head of Corporate Strategy & Analysis Hydro ASA.

Next up was a presentation on the subject of Scrap Re-melting and Recycling, which focussed on Fully Integrated Re-melt Facility for Billet Production. Delivered by Franz Niedermair, Managing Director of Hertwich Engineering GmbH in Austria, it highlighted and inspected a case study: HAI, Romania and Talex, Abu Dhabi, which examines key points relating to the most advanced casthouses worldwide.

The penultimate session, on the subject of Refractories & Lining Materials, was presented by Mr Jonathan Prebble, Manager of Aluminium Process Technology at Pyrotek Euroservice in the UK.

The tenth and final session of the conference’s first day, on the subject of Energy and Energy Savings Potential in Aluminium Casthouses, was presented by Dr. Oliver Moos, Managing Director at Gautschi Engineering GmbH in Switzerland. Key topics examined included processes, equipment, labour and the different factors influencing energy saving potentials in Aluminium Casthouses.

Day twoThe second day, March 5th, consisted of a host of presentations and a speech by distinguished Guest Speaker Mr Tim Murray, CEO of Alba.

The morning session opened with a session on the subject of Casting Technology – VDC Casting. Mr Helge Jansen, Managing Director of Hycast AS in Norway, gave an informative and illuminating presentation highlighting breakthroughs in Hard Alloy Billet Casting.

The second session of the day was a Safety Managers Panel Discussion. The panel presented key safety issues with a common interest, and invited the audience

to thereafter participate in discussions. The next session encompassed a

presentation on the subject of the LME & Aluminium Market, which focussed upon LME Updates and Forward Prognosis, presented by Harald Ødegaard, Senior Vice President of Norsk Hydro ASA in Norway. This was followed by a session which asked: Aluminium Downstream, Automotive Gateway in Qatar – just a Vision or Feasible? The presentation drew upon information regarding materials science, Qatar Science and Technology Park, the open air weathering of advanced materials, laboratory corrosion testing, training and education, collaboration with universities and companies, and new projects. This was delivered by Dr. Sami Labidi, Technical Manager, Material Science Center Qatar – QSTP LLC, State of Qatar. Next up was the penultimate section, on the topic of Competence and Innovation, delivered by Professor Hans Jørgen Roven, Centre for Advanced Materials, Qatar University.

After the distinguished guest speaker Mr Tim Murray, CEO of Alba, delivered an illuminating speech, Day Two concluded with its sixth and final session, entitled: Choosing the Correct Approach for Casthouse Project Implementation – The Development of an EPC Solution. This presentation, delivered by Mr Lee Allen, Key Account Manager at Fives Solios Ltd in the UK, focussed upon choosing the correct approach for project implementation – a complex process. Fives Solios Ltd had coordinated its considerable resources to develop an EPC execution strategy for Aluminium casthouse projects. This presentation discussed how the EPC strategy has been developed and how it can benefit project implementation for the end user. t

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Securing safe metal fl ow

*Mr. Italo Dal Porto, MSc, Senior Engineer at HMR Hydeq AS, Norway

‘Lean Production’, one of the most recognised approaches, combined with a systematic implementation of ‘Just in Time’ effort, exposes quality problems that are otherwise hidden by buffer stocks. Forcing smooth fl ow of only value-adding steps uncovers problems, which must be dealt with explicitly.

A core principle of Lean Production is the fl ow of the products, which is pulled by the market instead of pushed by production management. In the case of aluminium production we see in more and more smelters that the metal fl ow is now directly pulled from the casthouse needs and the casthouse becomes the centre of the operations, including the management of the machines for the transport of the metal.

Using MTV’sAs far as for the process of metal transfer from potrooms to the casthouse, the use of Metal Tapping Vehicles (MTV) capable to tap, transport and discharge made without additional devices and directly controlled by one man appears more adherent to Lean Production. Also the interface/operations with the Metal Treatment Stations (MTS) are possible without additional manpower or equipment. Tapping with specialised vehicles is a highly advisable solution for most of the smelters seriously looking for improving the overall plant effi ciency.

Releasing metal tapping from cranes reduces time losses and increase crane availability for pot tending operations.

How it worksHMR Hydeq AS is a Norwegian special purpose vehicles manufacturer, with nearly 30 years experience with tapping vehicles.

With HMR’s tapping vehicles one person can tap and weigh aluminium in the potroom, transport, operate the Metal Treatment Station and discharge the molten metal in the casthouse in a safe and effi cient way. One vehicle with a capacity for instance of 7.9 ton, can move more than 200 tons of liquid metal in 24 hours. No splashing, no overloading, no metal loss, one machine only. The metal is delivered to the casthouse by MTVs Just in Time. Casthouse calls for

metal and information on the amount to be delivered and cells to be tapped are directly broadcasted to the MTV driver. The process is “clean and clear” since it is controlled by the MTV driver only. No other fl oor personnel are required.

Dirty crucibles are brought directly from discharging in the furnace to HMR’s crucible cleaner and cleaned hot, again Just in Time, by the driver. No local storage of crucibles is created.

Maintenance and substitution of tapping and discharge tubes are performed by the MTV driver, too.

There is no need for tilter in the casthouse. MTVs discharge the metal by itself. No additional equipment is necessary. Discharge is carried out through a tubing system from the bottom of the crucible in such a way that the dross is left in the crucible. No skimming or de-drossing is necessary. Dross is removed from the crucible in the HMR crucible cleaner approximately every eight hours. Active suspension tilts the vehicle to optimise discharging effi ciency.

SafetyThere are obvious safety benefi ts resulting from transporting the molten metal in a closed system. There is no splashing from the crucible during transport or during discharge into the casting furnaces. The weighing system on board the vehicle has an overload protection, which stops tapping automatically when the maximum of capacity is reached. In addition to this a mechanical system blocks the metal

The only way of securing long-term profi tability of a smelter is to improve the overall plant effi ciency. This is achieved by using proven techniques of process improvement applied with a systematic approach on the process components: Materials, procedures, personnel, machines and their management.Italo dal Porto* explains.

POTROOMS

CASTHOUSE

FINISHED PRODUCTS

Casthouse metal fl ow

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tapping flow before the crucible is overfilled. The crucible stays on board the MTV at all times. It is released only for cleaning and maintenance, when it is picked up by the vehicle without the use of additional equipment or manning.

A closed cabin with high micro environmental standard, good visibility and full hydraulic suspension on all wheels provides excellent working conditions for the operator. All operations are controlled from the cabin by electrical buttons and joysticks. The keyboard and the monitor, which the driver uses to communicate with the vehicle, are placed ergonomically around the operator. An onboard weighing device can be linked up to the smelter’s production planning system via WLAN.

ExtrasThe vehicle does not require any ancillary equipment, like compressed air, cranes, tilting platform, etc. nor other operators on the floor. The whole system is self-sufficient and independent. The machine has its own compressor for tapping and discharging of crucibles and it can lift off and fetch the crucible without external help. The crucibles on the vehicle are enclosed, so the loss of heat and metal from oxidation is marginal. The vehicles have a kneeling function, so they can tilt in any direction to ensure that the crucibles are emptied efficiently.

Complete closed tapping systemThe HMR tapping vehicle is integrated with a crucible cleaner, tube cleaner and tube pre-heater. Together they form a Complete Closed Tapping System. At the HMR crucible cleaning station the crucible is cleaned while still hot – this reduces a total amount of crucibles needed at smelter and extends the lifetime of the crucibles. Lifetime of the lining is normally 1.5 - 2 years.

The environment also gains from the closed system, since the exhaust from the crucible during tapping is fed under the pot hooding. The closed system and the short cycle time together reduce the temperature drop in the metal, which again saves energy for re-melting in the casthouse.

Driver’s working conditionsClosed cab with high micro environmental standard, good visibility both for transport driving and working, fully hydraulic suspension on all wheels to minimise vibrations – these are some of the steps toward excellent working conditions of the operator.

Hydraulic suspension also benefits the lifetime of the vehicle. Lack of vibration has a positive effect on the machine itself. The keyboard and the monitor, which the driver uses to communicate, are placed ergonomically around the driver. On board weighing device can be linked up to the smelters production planning system and data for tapping and discharging are sent wireless to onboard weighing equipment, which in return sends back the actual values to the central computer. t

Contactwww.hmr.no

HMR Tapping vehicle in Qatar

HMR.indd 2 5/13/15 10:13 AM

RECYCLING 35www.aluminiumtoday.com

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

*Sustainability Council Leader and Marketing Director, Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products, Constellium

Recycling existing aluminium products requires 5% of the energy that would have been used otherwise to produce primary metal. No other major material exhibits such a huge difference in the environmental impact of its two potential sources. As a result, recycling is a major driver of sustainability. However, the current focus on increasing the percentage composition of recycled content in products provides an inadequate picture of aluminium recycling and may even be counterproductive to real progress on sustainability.

In an effort to clear up the many misconceptions about aluminium recycling, Catherine Athènes, Sustainability Council Leader of Constellium, a global producer of value-added aluminium products, states that industry efforts would be better focused on improving the scrap collection process to enhance the overall volume of available scrap content needed for recycling and improve the environmental footprint of the entire supply chain.

Content vs. collectionWith limited availability globally, secondary aluminium is a sought-after resource. In Europe, large amounts of waste have been illegally exported to developing countries in Africa and Asia over the past few years, forcing industry players to become dependent on metal import.

Because of such restricted availability, increasing the recycled content of one product – or even one producer – simply diverts recycled metal from being available for other products or producers, thus creating no net environmental benefi t. Contrary to common belief, boosting the percentage of recycled aluminium in products does not achieve greater sustainability. It’s the equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul. While some aluminium producers and key players boast higher percentages of recycled aluminium in their products as part of their sustainability strategies, industry efforts are better focused on improving the scrap collection process and on increasing end-of-life recycling in order to enhance the overall volume of available content.

At Constellium, we concentrate on improving the recycled scrap collection process via three priority areas: Improving the collection rate in collaboration with key stakeholders, improving sorting through partnerships, and improving recycling processes, including the development of new scrap tolerant alloys. These efforts have a real impact by increasing the gross volume of available scrap for recycling and by helping create better closed loops.

For example, we are actively involved in “Every Can Counts,” a programme launched in 2009 which aims at increasing “on-the-go” beverage can collection. We also co-founded the IRT M2P programme,

a French R&D initiative designed to promote technology transfer from university to industry with an emphasis on aluminium recovery of end-of-life vehicles.

Through our work with policy makers and industry associations to improve and increase the collection of aluminium, we hope the conversation shifts away from a less impactful focus on increasing the composition of recycled content towards improving efforts at increasing the available amount of scrap aluminium to recycle.

Recycled content vs. end-of-life recyclingCarried out during the entire life cycle of the aluminium product, recycling presents different challenges and benefi ts along the way, including the recycling of end-of-life products.

Two types of aluminium scrap exist: Runaround scrap and end-of-life scrap. Runaround scrap comes from processes along the production chain, including from rolling operations and stamping and milling processes. Currently, runaround scrap is entirely recycled. From a life cycle perspective, runaround scrap accounts for very little additional CO2 impact during the remelting process, and otherwise remains “transparent.” End-of-life scrap, on the other end, comes from a product after it has ended its useful life. Recycling end-of-life scrap avoids using primary metal for the production of the next product

Why increasing the percentage of recycled aluminium content does not improve sustainability.By Catherine Athènes*

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and offers CO2 benefi ts, since producing primary aluminium from bauxite ore requires around 20 times more energy than creating new metal from recycled aluminium.

At the moment, end-of-life recycling of aluminium is very good, with a 95% recycling rate in automotive and transportation and 95% in building and construction. As for packaging, progress is being made but efforts are still needed, with a current recycling rate of 70% for beverage cans in Europe.

At Constellium, our goal is to increase the recycling of end-of-life products. We are dedicated to the creation of effective closed loops and to the improvement of the sustainability of the whole supply chain. We are very active within the industry to improve material stewardship and build binding recycling standards. As an early member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), a new global sustainability standard for the aluminium industry, we have pushed for material stewardship, which is specifi c to the aluminium value chain considering the infi nite recyclability of aluminium and

the benefi ts of recycling. With our long-standing commitment to enhancing the sustainability of our operations, we see this new ASI standard as a natural extension of our own sustainability efforts.

In short, measures have to be taken by the industry to boost the overall sustainability of the aluminium value chain through end-of-life recycling and better closed loops. These measures can be achieved by engaging in a dialogue about recycling of packaging applications with consumers, through building adequate collection schemes, by improving sorting and refi ning techniques to recycle more of the initial product, and by developing new scrap tolerant alloys to make the recycling system more effi cient and in sync with market dynamics.

In the end, increasing the recycled content of a certain product is only decreasing the recycled content of another, in which case higher recycled content brings no environmental benefi t. The only way to improve the CO2 footprint of aluminium products through recycling is to increase the volume of available scrap. It is only possible to increase the volume

of available aluminium scrap by increasing end-of-life recycling, which is being achieved thanks to industry-led programs and cooperation with organisations.

With the use of aluminium expected to grow strongly worldwide over the next decades, especially in the automotive industry, aluminium is set to become the material of choice in a variety of applications. To reduce their CO2 footprint, carmakers are turning to aluminium to achieve lightweighting and reduce their environmental impact, constituting a relatively recent initiative in an industry that was dominated by steel. As such, the industry foresees that very little aluminium will be coming from end-of-life vehicles in the near future as cars made with aluminium are still currently in use. That leaves industry players some time to work on improving sorting processes while virgin metal is still produced to answer the growing demand of the global automotive industry. Fully committed to developing, producing and selling sustainable products that meet our customers’ needs now and in the future, we at Constellium will be present at every step of the way. �

Western Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia

Precimeter Control ABÖstra Hamnen 7/ SE-475 42 Hönö/ SE

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Closed Loop: Joining forces to save resources

Sustainability and eco-friendly utilisation of resources are high on modern corporate agendas. Aleris’ closed loop initiative is a holistic approach to optimise resource conservation beyond the boundaries of single companies by cooperating with customers along the value chain. Tobias Utz* explains.

*Manager, Closed Loop Operations Contact: [email protected]

From the Bronze Age up to modern times, the progress of mankind has been closely linked to the discovery and improvement of new metals and alloys with useful characteristics. One of the most interesting characteristic of technical metals is their recyclability.

This outstanding feature is not found in stones, wood or other natural materials. Once they break up or are worn down, they can only be discarded or used as filler material for groundwork. Neither does it apply for plastic materials, the other big achievement of mankind in the field of material development. The recyclability of most plastic materials is significantly inferior to that of metals. In general, the industry is forced to downcycle the material.

Aluminium recyclingCollection and reuse of scrap metal has been practiced from the start of their use. An item made of iron or steel may well contain fractions of metal that have already been in use dozens of times. In modern times, the recycling of metals has grown into a worldwide billion dollar business. Recycling aluminium is highly attractive since it results in recovering 95% of the energy needed to produce the metal from ore. But with the progress in metallurgy and the diversification of alloys, a certain handicap in the recycling of metals has been showing up: Alloying elements – as well as some unwanted “metallurgical

poisons” – sometimes cannot be removed from a given batch of recycled metal and might reduce its usability for high end applications.

In the case of aluminium, this results in the “down-cycling” of a high proportion of all recycled material to so called secondary aluminium caused by its contamination with iron. This unwanted ingredient stemming from e.g. iron screws embedded in shredded compounds reduces the ductility and toughness of the metal. Such secondary aluminium is typically used in specific foundry applications such as high-pressure die casting.

Even if a scrapyard is in a position to keep aluminium fractions containing iron contaminations separate from the higher value primary material, the latter batch will usually still consist of a more or less chaotic mix of different types of alloys with a wide variety of ingredients interfering with the requirements of the remelter, who has to produce a given

alloy with narrow specification ranges for alloy additions. In order to meet these specifications, he has to dilute the batch by adding “virgin” primary material until the required max limits for all elements are met, and fill up deficits by admixing the necessary amount of alloying elements. So any opportunity to source in separately collected aluminium scraps of more or less uniform alloy composition would be helpful in limiting the inconveniences linked to using unsorted primary scraps.

The closed loop approach“Given our sustainability commitment, we constantly look for opportunities to reduce our impact with respect to resource consumption,” says Tobias Utz, Manager Closed Loop Operations with Aleris in Koblenz. Aleris therefore started to look for ways to improve resource conservation along the value chain extending from its operations to its main customers and their utilisation of aluminium.

If a customer consumes huge quantities of the same alloy or at least of a narrow group of alloys and produces sufficient quantities of production offcuts and chips, using this material as pure fraction reintroduced into the operation of the smelter will significantly reduce the need to admix “virgin” primary aluminium and related quantities of alloying elements. The closed loop approach thus consists of selecting suited customers and of identifying and implementing procedures

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and structures to maximise the amount of metal that might be directly re-injected into the process flow for producing new ingots of the same alloy type. Saving large amounts of material from being down cycled by collecting and recycling it at the highest possible level represents a significant contribution to protecting the environment.

Example applicationIn a recent case, Aleris had approached a customer who annually processes about 2,000 metric tons of 5083 alloy aluminium plate, 60% of which ends up as offcuts and chips. Both companies set up a joint project team to identify and implement procedures and structures to

maximise the amount of metal that could be directly re-inserted into the process flow for producing new ingot of the same alloy type.

“As in other cases, this closed loop initiative resulted in a classic win-win-situation,” says Andreas Schäfers, Aleris production manager of foundry operations. By recycling roughly 1,200 metric tons at the same alloy level, both companies were able to contribute to protecting the environment by saving resources and energy.

In addition, customer relations were enhanced since the customer now also acted as a supplier.

The process implemented at the premises of the customer consists of

separately collecting offcuts and chips in containers fitted with lids to prevent water and dirt from contaminating the material.

Three or four times a month, a full container is sent to Aleris, where the material is used in the next casting process for 5083 alloy. This also yields a financial advantage for the customer as less raw material must be purchased and he only has to pay a remelting fee. This collaboration has further improved an already close partnership between both companies.

“Our partners were quite satisfied with the outcome, which has also helped them significantly in improving their standing in the field of sustainable environmental management,” discloses Schäfers.

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*EHS Manager, Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, UK

1. How important is environment health and safety (EHS) in a processing environment?With further changes in legislation it is now more than ever essential that changes to processes and procedures be made, otherwise companies leave themselves open for possible prosecution.

2. What is the most important aspect of EHS that workers should adhere to?Realise that they have responsibilities of their own and that it is important they follow any procedures that are put in place to ensure their wellbeing.

3. In your experience what is the most common area to be neglected by either workers or companies?Taking shortcuts either intentionally or because they are not fully aware of what they are supposed to do and do not ask for more information.

4. Has there been a particular incident that you have known that has formed your views on safety? One of our people decided not to follow a system of work and left out a vital step, which caused a serious incident and highlighted the need to investigate all incidents.

5. What is the biggest challenge when implementing EHS in a plant?Ensuring that procedures and practises are achievable and sensible.

6. Are there any specifi c areas that Bridgnorth is investing in to improve EHS?Changed the structure so that the different sections can infl uence their general duties.

7. In terms of safety, what are you most proud of at Bridgnorth?Last year we managed to operate for 571 days without a lost time incident. �

The Aluminium Federation UK (ALFED) Health and Safety Workshop was held on 11th – 12th March 2015 and brought together aluminium professionals to discuss maintaining a safe working environment. Nadine Firth was in attendance and spoke with Neil Birt* of Bridgnorth Aluminium, about how environmental and safety issues can affect a workforce.

Workshop highlights UK safety

, about how environmental and safety issues can affect a workforce.

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*Sales and Marketing Director, Toyota

There are approximately 5000 accidents every year that involve workplace transport, of these around 25% involve forklift trucks. In the worst scenario, the accidents can cause a fatality or life changing injuries. Tony Wallis* explains how this can be prevented in the aluminium industry.

Safety in materials handling

Even when an incident does not cause a personal injury, it can cause damage to trucks, infrastructure and goods, which results in reduced productivity and cost. Therefore it is important that you do everything you can to protect the people who operate forklifts and other warehouse equipment, or work alongside them.

Toyota Material Handling UK believes that companies who operate material handling equipment should focus on three key areas to be safe and effi cient: Product, Process and People.

PRODUCT – Suitability for useWork equipment, including forklift trucks, powered warehouse equipment and hand pallet trucks should be suitable for the task, but also take into account the working conditions and safety risks.

When choosing new or used equipment make sure you receive a full site survey from the supplier to identify the best options for your business. This will help you to understand the type of equipment you need, but also the options that may benefi t your operation, like additional working lights, speed limiter or safety awareness aids like blue safety lights.

If your operational environment or the load changes – ask your material handling supplier to repeat the site survey and check the equipment is still safe and suitable for use.

If you are buying new equipment, check it conforms to the requirements of European Community law; it must be CE marked and come with a Declaration of Conformity.

Having a safe product at acquisition is only part of your responsibility. The diffi cult part can be having the right processes in place and correctly trained

people to keep the trucks and operation safe and effi cient.

PROCESS – Keeping your truck in a safe conditionBoth managers and operators need to work together to ensure the truck and the site in which it operates remains safe.

Service and preventative maintenanceThe best way to keep your truck operating safely and reliably is to have a regular service and maintenance schedule. Your trucks need to be inspected in line with the number of hours and working environment. If you rent a truck – this may be included in the rental package. If you purchase a truck you may need to set up a separate schedule.

Thorough examination If you own or operate a forklift truck, you are required by law to make sure it meets safety requirements. Some insurance companies will carry out an inspection of your equipment, but this may be not cover both LOLER98 and PUWER98. A ‘Thorough Examination’ accredited by the CFTS meets and exceeds your obligations under LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.

For more information visitwww.toyotathoroughexamination.co.uk

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HEALTH & SAFETY 41www.aluminiumtoday.com


Hand pallet trucksHand pallet trucks are also included under PUWER98. This means as work equipment they should be maintained and regularly inspected. Toyota has a team of hand pallet trucks specialists who service and repair all popular makes of hand pallet trucks.

Daily checksMake sure checks are carried out at the start of each day/shift to ensure that the truck is in a safe condition to operate.

This can be automated with a system on the truck. But if you don’t have this, you can still provide your operators with a checklist – Toyota has templates available at www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk.

You should have a process in place to ensure any defects are reported which might affect safe operation, to ensure they are put right and the truck is not used in the meantime. This process should be clearly highlighted, for example, on a notice board for reference.

PEOPLE – Creating a culture of safetyOperator trainingTraining operators can help make your operation safer and help your operators work more effi ciently. As an employer you have a responsibility to ensure that employees have adequate training on all necessary equipment. Make sure you have a structured training programme that covers all areas of driver and site safety are covered including; their responsibilities, safe operator training, daily check process, personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements, site rules, service processes, refuelling/charging processes. It is important to monitor the performance of all your operators to make sure they continue to work safely.

PPEIt is an employers’ responsibility to provide adequate and safe PPE, not only for your operators but also people who work around materials handling equipment.

SpeedWarehouse environments are fi lled with dangers including pedestrians, vehicles and blind corners. There are no defi ned maximum speed limits for forklifts, as a safe speed for one operation, may not be for another. Carry out a risk assessment on your operation to set a maximum speed and make sure this is communicated to your team.

Mobile phoneThere are no regulations that prohibit using a handheld device whilst operating a forklift truck, unless you are driving on a public road. Put a policy in place that prohibits the use of mobile phones whilst operating a forklift truck and enforce it.

Pedestrians and site safetyAs a leader within a business there are a lot of areas you need to consider, but safety on site is the responsibility of everybody and it starts with good communication.

Carry out regular risk assessments on your operation and identify areas for improvement. Make sure both operators and pedestrians follow the site safety rules – they should be clearly visible throughout the site.

Toyota’s safety guidesTo support companies who operate material handling equipment, Toyota Material Handling UK provide free safety resources guides and posters can be requested at www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk/

This includes safe operation posters, forklift safety guides, manual handling guides and daily checklists. �

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*Wise Chem LLC, USA

This is the second in a series of interviews on safety related topics with industry leaders. Tim Murray, took the helm of Alba in 2012 and has since had a positive impact on safety not only within his own company but industry wide. From instituting innovative safety campaigns with eye-catching titles such as “Safety Breeze” to travelling the globe promoting safety, Tim and Alba have taken a leadership role in safety in the aluminium industry. Tim has proven focusing on safety has a positive effect not only on the workers but also on a company’s bottom line.

1. How do you view safety? In terms of safety I take it very personally. The week before I was appointed CEO, we had our fifth fatality in less than three years. So, the first thing we did was to take over safety directly by terminating a contract with a safety consultant. My view is that you cannot outsource safety. At the end of the day, we as management, as CEO, I feel personally responsible for safety.

2. Can you finish this sentence? Safety is important because...It’s the number one thing to me. We want workers to be safe, work safely, go home safely and be safe at home. To me this is people’s life. We want workers to go home to their children. We don’t want them not to come back from work.

3. What’s your view on the current state of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) in the global aluminium industry?From what I have seen, if you look at the environmental procedures and equipment, everything in the new equipment we buy, it’s kind of built in. The awareness is there. We recycle almost everything, even with our processes. I think we are almost at 99% in terms of zero waste. Smelters historically had a bad reputation that they pollute and are a dangerous place. People

have gone to great lengths to make sure they are protecting the environment and showing it.

4. How has EHS at Alba evolved overtime? Historically, I think Alba was more of a compliance mind set. We had good systems and processes. The responsibility was not with the line management. This is one of the big changes we made. We had to drive the ownership of safety to the shop floor. So the biggest change for us was the ownership, of taking personal responsibility. That you are responsible for your safety as well as your colleague’s safety.

5. Can you explain the corporate structure at Alba and why safety reports directly to you?I believe safety needs to report to the CEO to show the importance and that ultimate responsibility falls on the CEO. If safety reports to another executive it will not have the same level of authority and there are potential conflicts of interest.

6. A safe and successful mainte-nance turnaround requires months – or years – of meticulous planning. How is Alba’s EHS personnel involved in the planning process

for maintenance shutdowns. In terms of maintenance and shutdowns we have a very clear process, it’s not just for major shutdowns. It’s for anything, anytime we do work activities. We do a risk assessment as part of the permit to work. An assessment of the area, here are the risks and here are the hazards. Major shutdowns are a bit more involved depending on what the shutdown is. We enforce our safety and our principles on the contractors.

7. How does Alba handle protecting outside contractors from hazards in your plants, let alone themselves? In terms of contractors, this was a very big piece of the push of changing the safety. If you look at Alba, we have 3000 workers and another 600 FTE and contractors. If you look at the contractors you have a whole variety of languages. So if you look at the terms of the principles in our safety, we have translated them into all of the languages. I tell everybody they are Alba employees, they are not contractors. When they are in our plant they are our employees.

8. Can you explain how Alba promotes safety to your workers? The first thing is if you are a new worker,

A conversation about safety with Tim Murray, CEO of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)By Alex W. Lowery*

Safety first

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you get the orientation. For me, I want safety right here, I want it in front of your face all the time. So with these campaigns that we are doing, I think it is a way to keep the momentum on the safety. I tell people I want safety to be fun. I do not want it to be another part of my job. You should want to do it.

9. The use of Wise Chem is synonymous to good safety practices in our industry for preventing molten metal explosions. How does Alba learn of new best safety practices? In terms of safety practices, we attend the major conferences, where typically there is always an update on technology and safety. Our suppliers come selling their products, and say hey we put this in the new smelter in Ma’aden. Or we did this here. So we are always looking to make improvements. The exposure is through the technical conferences and commercial conferences. There are a lot of papers and you get a lot of feedback after the conferences.

10. How has Alba dealt with minimising the interaction

of moveable equipment and pedestrians? Within our plant, as part of the campaign we did do a bit on walkways, handrails etc. At the beginning we assigned a manager, called it special projects of safety. One of his biggest initiatives was the movement of the heavy vehicles particularly liquid metal around the plant. One area we used to let pedestrian cars drive around and as a result of this review we stopped that. It was a big change in the culture for people to think I cannot drive my car through the fastest way to get to wherever. So we spent a lot of time on that. We also widened some roads in our plant.

11. In terms of safety what are you most proud of within Alba? I would say that I am most proud that we have had no fatalities while I’ve been CEO. If you ask me what is my number one achievement as CEO, that’s it.

12. How does Alba prevent the accumulation of aluminium fi nes in your facilities? We actually recently upgrading line 4 and 5. We are doing a lot of upgrades because they are a bit older and we are creeping

the capacity. Then in terms of the port facilities we obviously try to minimise the amount of dust and fi nes as we unload. We do not have much spillage in terms of alumina. Again, everything is fairly well integrated into the plants.

13. How do you view safety over the short-to-medium term in relation to the global aluminium industry? In the short term from at least an Alba perspective it was a huge issue, because we were on the wrong path. We were having fatalities; we were having two lost time incidents a month. If you walked into the plant you didn’t feel safe. Today I think when you walk in the plant you feel safe.

14. What does Alba have in store for 2015? Number 1 is to work together to achieve zero LTI in 2015. Number 2 is to expect volatile LME prices. Which so far I unfortunately have been correct on.

15. Will safety always be a priority in the future? For sure, for as long as I am CEO and hopefully when I leave it stays. �

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COATING46 www.aluminiumtoday.com


From chrome to chrome-freeVarious coating processes determine optimum use for pre-painted aluminium products. Ed Musingo* writes.

Prepainted aluminium parts are extensively used throughout many industries, from assembly, all the way to the marketplace and the after-market parts business. Industries which rely heavily on pre-painted aluminium include, but are not limited to, automotive, aviation, electronics, marine, medical/dental, home furnishings, and commercial buildings.

Because of the extraordinary combination of properties, such as light weight, durability, and resistance to corrosion and the elements, the use of aluminium components in these various industries has continued to grow strongly. Pre-painted aluminium can be used as a component in the manufacturing process, a part of a completed product, or a finished piece.

Due to its chemical properties, aluminium substrates, like many other metals, need an optimal protection to be safeguarded from environmental factors. For many decades, chrome-based coatings were the standard-bearer for aluminium pre-treatment; however, chrome-based coating processes are no longer used in many markets because of regulations, changed market demands, and issues related to health, safety, and environmental protection.

For some years now, chrome-free technologies have successfully been introduced as a reliable alternative for aluminium coating. There is little difference between the chromium-containing and chromium-free technologies with regard to the process sequence, but it helps to know how the industry has changed over the decades with the switch to more chrome-free applications.

The beginning of chromate coatingsThe use of chromate coatings began in the early part of the 20th century which roughly coincides with the use of aluminium for light-weight but strong parts for aircraft. To make the metal stronger, aluminium alloys were made (especially using copper); however, corrosion was a concern that was not

addressed completely by normal coatings (paints).

Scientists and engineers discovered that a film of chromate could significantly reduce the corrosion of aluminium. Experiments also concluded that a film of chromate also greatly improved the adhesion and corrosion resistance of paint and other decorative coatings on aluminium.

As the rest of the 20th century unfolded, aluminium was found to be useful in many other applications, again because of the advantages of lightweight and increased corrosion resistance when chromated. This was particularly true for the architectural industry and more especially the extrusion and coil industries. Decorative coatings (paints) applied over chromated aluminium had very good adhesion and corrosion resistance when compared to bare aluminium.

The chromating process in those times involved five to seven stages, consisting of clean, rinse, deoxidise, rinse, chromate, rinse, final rinse. The accepted cleaning step became an etching/alkaline cleaner step, requiring an acid deoxidizing (or desmutting step). The deoxidizing step was often used in the extrusion industry because the cleaning process needed a stronger solution and was measured in minutes rather than seconds; therefore, the extrusions had more opportunity to build a layer of oxides (smut).

The coil industry generally used a “final rinse,” another solution of chromate that was less aggressive than the chromating stage. This final rinse was added as insurance in case some areas of the coil strip were not adequately chromated because of the relatively shorter chromating time.

Chrome-based coatings provided the substrate with excellent adhesion and corrosion resistance. These coatings were also very forgiving if the substrate was under or over cleaned.

Concerns about using chromateIn the 1950’s, concern began to build over the toxicity of chromates. The EPA and OSHA began during the next two

decades to introduce increasingly strict restrictive regulations over their exposure and release to the environment. Waste treatment systems were now required to remove chromium from plant discharges at much lower limits. The use of chromates therefore incurred a high cost penalty because the process generated a large volume of chromate wastewater.

Research began in earnest during this period to reduce chromium, at least on coil coating lines. The approach used was to apply a chromate treatment directly onto the metal surface, rather than spraying or immersing the aluminium into a reactive bath followed by rinsing. These new chromates were “pre-reacted” to resemble a chromate coating or pre-treatment reaction with the metal surface, so rinsing was no longer required.

As a result, the solution was “dried-in-place” onto the metal surface. Unfortunately, this approach was possible only for two dimensional applications, like sheets or coil coating. A 3D application used in the extrusion industry would have to use chromate solutions (chrome phosphate) for a while longer. The use of dried-in-place chromate solutions for coil-coated aluminium offered many immediate advantages:

t Greatly reduced amount of chrome-bearing wastewater. All of the chromium solution is at the chemcoater stage while the rinse and final rinse stages are eliminated.

t The chromium is carried out on the metal surface instead of continuously circulated as in the case of immersion or spray stage. The need for bath stabilisation or continuous overflow is eliminated.

t Pre-treatment coating weights can be controlled to a comparatively low range, which results in more consistent quality.

t The only major source of chrome-bearing wastewater is from cleaning the chemcoater equipment (solution pan, applicator rolls, hoses, etc.), which is easily segregated into a reduced volume.

Although the dried-in-place application

*Ed Musingo of Bulk Chemicals, Inc. serves as the NCCA Technology Committee Chair.

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of chromate pre-treatment solved many issues, regulatory pressures continued to build rapidly where chromium had to be removed completely in the very near future. Additionally, dried-in-place chromium pre-treatments still didn’t work for the extrusion industry.

Industry converts to chrome-free technologyResearch work began in earnest on eliminating chromium entirely. By the year 2000, successful uses of chrome-free treatments were being demonstrated on aluminium extrusion lines. When it was demonstrated that a chrome-free process could meet the AAMA standards, more manufacturers and suppliers quickly adopted the chrome-free technology.

Some aluminium coil coating paint lines made the conversion to the non-chrome dry-in-place treatments with good results. These products were titanium based with additions of polymers. They were aggressive materials so the chemical coater had to change from mild steel to acid-resistant trays, pick-up rolls and other similar pieces of processing equipment.

The new chrome-free treatments typically replaced the chromate chemicals (which included phosphoric and hydrofluoric acid) with fluocomplexes of zirconium and titanium (which included specialty polymers). Surprisingly, typical pre-treatment coating weights were an order of magnitude less than the chromate based versions. This industry typically ran the chrome phosphate coatings between 60 – 120 mg.ft2. The new chrome-free pre-treatments were usually around 6 – 12 mg/ft2.

The chrome-free coatings were still usually applied as a recirculation spray, but the coating was nearly invisible and uniform, so the 3D nature of the processed parts were no longer a major constraint against its use.

Ironically, it was now the coil coaters

who were slow to adopt this new technology for several reasons:

t Most coil coating lines are multi-metal toll coating lines that pre-paint steel and zinc-coated steels as well as aluminium. Only the chrome dried-in-place coating could be run on all three major substrate types with proven results.

t Coil coaters were comfortable with the advantages of the chrome dried-in-place pre-treatments and were not eager to be first in running chrome-free pre-treatments.

Further research focused on extending the dried-in-place technology to the pre-treating of all metals that were processed on coil coating lines without any reduction in quality. This work was mostly done during 2000 through to the present. This technology has been developed to the point that its acceptance is growing as a result of its proven success.

Various processes used for non-chrome pre-treatmentsManufacturers and suppliers involved in the treatment of coil coated aluminium follow a variety of best practices to ensure the highest quality finished product, which can last for decades if the aluminium is cleaned, pre-treated and painted correctly.

Today, alkaline cleaners are the primary materials used in the United States for cleaning aluminium because alkaline is less expensive and can be used in mild steel equipment. On the contrary, acid cleaners with fluoride are more expensive to operate and must be used in an acid-resistant tank or spray chamber.

Alkaline cleaners can aggressively etch the aluminium surface, removing aluminium fines and oils from the metal’s surface. If operated at too high of a concentration, alkaline cleaners can over clean or over etch the surface, leaving smut. A high degree of smut (residual alloying elements and/or their oxides)

can be detrimental to the adhesion and corrosion resistance of the final product.

Even though acid-based cleaners are more expensive they can be beneficial in the processing stage. Acid cleaners, typically sulphuric/hydrofluoric products, will dissolve aluminium fines from the surface of the metal while removing light oils. This provides an ideal surface for further applications.

The measurement of these pre-treatments is generally by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF); however, the extremely low levels of all these pre-treatments make coating measurement a challenge. This is especially true since the elements being measured are generally alloying elements within the aluminium alloy itself. Careful blank measurements and subtraction of this blank is necessary.

What’s next in aluminium pre-treatment? Advances in chrome-free development continue to this day. The previous use of chromium may have inhibited research since chromium enjoyed early success in aluminium pre-treatment.

Since chrome-free research continues in many directions (zirconium, titanium, silanes, novel polymers, etc.), there are no set standards on their use. It may be another 10-15 years before chrome-free applications become standards in the industry. t

The National Coil Coating Association (NCCA) is an established trade organisation dedicated to the growth of coil-coated products. Founded in 1962, the NCCA consists of more than 100 member companies that are at the forefront of the industry. Members include coil coating service providers as well as manufacturers and suppliers of metal, coatings, chemicals and equipment. Members of NCCA also process and warehouse the coil-coated products prior to delivery to user industries. For more information, visit the NCCA website at www.coilcoating.org.

Uncoiler

Dry

Top coaterFinish oven

Water quench

Recoiler

Cut-off

curing ovenPrime coater

Exit accumulator

Entrance accumulator

Pretreatment (cleaning and conversion coating)

Coil coating is a continuous, automated process for coating metal before fabrication into end products.

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SHOW NEWS48 www.aluminiumtoday.com


‘The Bright World of Metals’GIFA - METEC - THERMPROCESS - NEWCAST will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany on 16th - 20th June 2015. Almost 2,000 exhibitors will be presenting the latest technology, including:

The ARUN and MetalScan brands are well known in the various metals industries worldwide, for innovative equipment used in the rapid analysis of liquid metal before casting, rolling, extrusion or forging. Equally the fi nished products, such as rods and bars or semi-fi nished products such as extrusion ingots or billets can be analysed using the well accepted technique of optical emission spectroscopy (OES).Modern instruments are now desktop mounted or portable, and are much more affordable than you might think. ARUN pioneered the use of solid state detector chips (CCDs Change Coupled Device) to replace the classical Photo Multiplier Tubes (PMT) on which older traditional instru-ments were based.With up to date software, written in house spe-cifi cally for these smaller units, running under Windows 7 or 8, the modern desktop spectrom-eter can communicate with a factory network, send results over the internet and even be inter-rogated and operated remotely by the manufac-

turer as a service or diagnostic aid.The MetalScan PolySpek Neo, high performance desktop now regularly replaces much larger and more expensive older PMT units while the entry end PolySpek Junior is the industry standard in china for Aluminium extruders. Potable analysers are covered by the ASSort and ASCert models. All models are hard at work in most industrial coun-tries of the world and nearly all the cars used in Formula 1 and Indy Car races have parts analysed by ARUN. All MetalScan instruments are designed, built, calibrated and tested in the UK using local sup-pliers and no work is subcontracted to the Far East or India.Whether you are checking incoming materials, melting materials for extrusion, precision die casting investment or sand casting in any metal, ARUN Technology has a model to suit your appli-cation and your budget and we will be pleased to demonstrate working units at GIFA.

See us with the FESA UK Foundry Group in Hall 15 Stand H16-02

For further information contact: Lee Lythe, Sales Director, MetalScan Limited trading as ARUN Technology. Unit 16, the Brunel Centre, Newton Road, Manor Royal, Craw-ley, West Sussex, RH10 9TUTel +44 (0) 1295 513123 [email protected] www.aruntechnology.com

BLOOM ENGINEERING (Europa) GmbH

Bloom Engineering is one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of industrial burners and combustion systems and looks back on a history of more than 70 years. Founded in the U.S. in 1934, the company expanded within shortest time to a worldwide system of branches – e.g Bloom Engineering (Europa) GmbH in Germany in 1968 – sales offi ces and production plants. Bloom is specialised in burners for the high tem-perature range with worldwide distinguished Low NOx technology and reduced emission of CO2 for the steel and aluminium industry. A spe-cial emphasis is our regenerative burners which are not only environment-friendly due to most advanced technology but which also arrange for increase in production. They guarantee a stable combustion behaviour and have an ex-cellent turndown range, too. The product range also includes cold air and warm air burners with high heat capacity and pollutant reduced NOx emission for different application areas of the steel, aluminium and waste industry, as well as fl are systems for low calorifi c gas.Bloom offers burners with preferably small emission of pollutants but also with maximum capacity and durability. Before delivery the products are tested extensively in own test-ing facilities to guarantee a smoothly running assembly and perfect functionality. Due to re-duced energy consumption and low shut down times our systems amortise very fast.Our speciality is optimisation of furnace plants and rebuild of existing combustion systems to recuperative or regenerative heating. With the assistance of experienced technicians we fi nd suitable solutions for each application. World-wide more than 200 members of staff are at your disposal. Customer proximity and interna-tional exchange of experiences guarantee an ef-fi cient problem solving and a fast and qualifi ed service.Hall 9, Stand 9F22

Melting Solutions offer a full range of furnaces and equipment for casthouses in all areas of the aluminium industry. With more and more de-mand for recycling, and realisation of the ever in-creasing value of scrap, Melting Solutions’ range of advanced Tilt Rotary Furnaces are able to de-liver unrivalled productivity and metal recoveries, even on contaminated scrap and drosses. Melt-ing Solutions also offer a full range of reverbera-tory melting furnaces, with electromagnetic met-al stirring and pump circulation. Other specialist products include combustion air pre heaters in the form of recuperators, saving energy at low capital costs.Scrap is a valuable resource and low cost feed-stock, Melting Solutions’ specialist know how and furnace technology for scrap and dross melting continues to deliver energy effi cient high productivity furnaces that achieve high metal re-coveries, ensuring profi tability for its customers

worldwide. Melting Solutions have long experience in sup-plying of complete turnkey melting plants for the secondary aluminium industry. From project planning through to material handling, scrap pre treatment, melting and casting. Melting Solutions offer a comprehensive range of ingot casting machines for both ingot and di-oxidant products.Melting Plant scope of supply includes full pollu-tion control, incorporating thermal oxidisers and bag fi lters to ensure plant emissions can meet the most stringent pollution controls.Key to this success is Melting Solutions’ customer partnership taking projects from initial concept through to installation, commissioning and be-yond with long term training and maintenance.Melting Solutions is the trade name for Inter-power Induction’s fuel fi red product range.

MELTING SOLUTIONS

Hall 10, Stand E09

Büttgenbachstr. 14, 40549 Düsseldorf Tel: + 49 211 50091 0Fax: + 49 211 50091 [email protected]

ARUN TECHNOLOGY AND METALSCAN LTD.

ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL TODAY

Aluminium International Today is the only bi-monthly journal dedicated to all sectors and regions of the international aluminium manu-facturing and processing industry.Meet the team to discuss editorial and adver-tising opportunities and collect your FREE issue.

Hall 3,Stand F57

AIT METEC.indd 1 5/11/15 11:03 AM

EVERYTHING YOU NEED FORMETALS ANALYSIS

PRECISELY MORE AFFORDABLE-MADE TO MEASUREARUN Technology, the UK-based world leader and pioneer of CCD based spectrometers for metals analysis.

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The new PolySpek line-up nowincludes the PolySpek Neo. Simple,rapid and accurate analysis mademore widely available and more costeffective than ever before. For the complete control of your metalsincluding all major alloying and refining elements PolySpek Neo is theanswer. Designed and manufacturedin the UK complete with local aftersales service and support.

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5HISTORY 51www.aluminiumtoday.com


Spitfi re: The aluminium iconAircraft have changed out of all recognition in little more than a century since the fi rst fl ight. During that relatively short period of history there has been a few aircraft that are recognised far beyond the world of aviation enthusiasts, but one stands alone as an icon of aviation – the Supermarine Spitfi re.By Ian Oliver*

*Marketing and Communications Manager, Aluminium Federation (UK)

By the early 1930s the biplane that had dominated the early decades of fl ight was becoming obsolete, replaced by the monoplane. This was aided by the advent of the all-metal semi-monocoque as the preferred method of construction, especially for fi ghter aircraft, as more powerful engines became available and speeds rose.

Replacing tubes and canvas, this new construction was more demanding when building the aircraft, but it delivered better aerodynamics and higher performance.

The potential of aluminium for airborne construction had been evident since 1903, when German metallurgist Alfred Wilm discovered that after quenching, an aluminium alloy containing 4% copper would harden slowly when left at room temperature for several days. Duralumin, also known by several other trade names, is today mainly used to describe aluminium-copper alloys, designated as the ‘2000’ series by the International Alloy Designation System (IADS).

Its fi rst use was in rigid airship frames of the ‘Great Airship’ era of the 1920s and 1930s. Duralumin quickly spread throughout the aircraft industry in the early 1930s, and was used by Spitfi re designer Reginald Mitchell in his successful racing seaplanes of the 1930s.

A notable feature of the Spitfi re design was its distinctive elliptical wing. Thin, to reduce drag, the wing still needed to house the retracted wheels and armaments. It also needed to be strong to enable high speeds when diving, and Mitchell’s solution was to incorporate a D-shaped torsion box in each wing, to bear the aerodynamic loads. The prototype Spitfi re fi rst fl ew in March 1936, prompting an initial order from the UK Air Ministry for 310 aircraft.

Into productionSpitfi re production started at factories around Southampton. But despite the substitution of pressings, extrusions, forgings and castings for assembled components, it soon became clear that putting the Spitfi re into mass production would be much harder than Supermarine (by then part of Vickers) had anticipated.

The company had survived the lean years of the Great Depression producing small batches of virtually hand-built aircraft. It is interesting to note that the Spitfi re’s great foe and contemporary, the Messerschmitt Bf109, was designed from the outset for mass production, and could be built in less than half the time needed for a Spitfi re.

By the middle of 1938, the looming threat of war demanded radical action. Due to production delays, the fi rst Spitfi re deliveries to the RAF did not occur until August 1938, and only 49 planes had reached the RAF by the start of 1939. It was decided to build a massive factory for Spitfi re production at Castle Bromwich in north Birmingham, UK. Lord Nuffi eld, the founder of Morris Motors, was put in charge of production, with an initial order for 1,000 Spitfi res.

Despite Nuffi eld’s vast experience of mass car production, the complexity of the Spitfi re came as surprise and the project ran into trouble. The outbreak of hostilities brought constant demands from the RAF for specifi cation improvements, for which the Morris Motors management was not prepared.

Lord Beaverbrook, then Minister for Aircraft Production, transferred Castle Bromwich to the Vickers company, which promptly brought in Supermarine engineers to help increase production. The mixing of mass production techniques

with specialist aviation skills saw output rise steadily.

The mass production of aluminium aircraft required a step change in aviation-grade aluminium production. In 1938 James Booth Ltd established a new plant at Kitts Green in Birmingham, three miles from Castle Bromwich, to concentrate aluminium production in a new facility away from its copper and brass factory in the city.

The Spitfi re in actionDespite there being far fewer Spitfi res than Hurricanes available to the RAF for the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Spitfi re excelled in its demanding role of countering the threat posed by Messerschmitt Bf109 bomber escort fi ghters. This freed the slower Hurricanes to attack bomber formations.

Spitfi re development and production continued throughout the war, the Southampton factories being bombed in 1940 but recommencing operations shortly afterwards. By the time production ended at Castle Bromwich in June 1945, a total of 12,129 Spitfi res had been built there - more than half of the 20,400 examples built.

LegacyThe Spitfi re was certainly one of the most effective fi ghters of its time. As a feat of engineering it was at the cutting edge of technology from the mid 1930s until nearly 1950, and was continually developed. It encompasses in one aircraft type most of the major developments of the piston-engined fi ghter era. By 1945 the original 27-litre Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engine had been replaced by a 36.7-litre Griffon engine, more than twice as powerful and delivering a top speed one-third higher.

HISTORY 51

Spitfi re: The aluminium iconAircraft have changed out of all recognition in little more than a century since the fi rst fl ight. During

HISTORY may june.indd 1 5/12/15 10:22 AM

HISTORY52 www.aluminiumtoday.com

Aluminium International Today

HISTORY www.aluminiumtoday.com

But though still competitive at the end of the war against piston-engine fi ghters, the Spitfi re quickly faded from the scene as the era of the jet engine dawned.

The Castle Bromwich site was taken over by Jaguar Cars in 1977, and currently builds most Jaguar models. The XJ saloon and F-Type coupe feature Jaguar’s Intelligent

Aluminium Architecture, and the factory uses the world’s largest aluminium press.

And what of the Kitts Green aluminium plant? In 1977 the site became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcan Aluminium, and in 2000 the site was acquired by Alcoa Inc., and brought into the Flat Rolled Products division of Alcoa Europe. From Spitfi re to Airbus, few UK aircraft have not incorporated aluminium from Kitts Green in their construction. Worldwide, Kitts Green plate is used by all major airframe builders in Europe, the Far East and the USA including the latest Boeing designs.

ThinkTankIn an initiative to showcase the Supermarine Spitfi re Mark IX and Hawker Hurricane Mark IV aircraft on display at the ThinkTank, Science Museum in Birmingham, UK a 50m2 gallery has been

constructed on the mezzanine fl oor, where visitors are at eye level with the aircraft.

The gallery opened on 28th March 2015 and enables visitors to fi nd out about the history and evolution of the aircraft.

Not only does the gallery look at the technical achievements of the planes, but it also looks at the human stories of the people who made the Spitfi re at the Castle Bromwich factory. The science of fl ight is explained through the interpretation, and fascinating objects relating to the planes displayed, including the one Magnetron, a pilot’s fl ight suit, compasses and articles of socio-historical importance.

In a public poll in 2006, ThinkTank’s Spitfi re Mk IX was chosen as the UK’s favourite museum piece. �

Contactwww.alfed.org.uk/www.thinktank.ac

The Kitts Green aluminium plant in the 1940s

TMS 2015The 144th annual TMS meeting and exhibition was held on 15th – 19th March 2015 in Orlando, Florida.

More than 4,000 business leaders, engineers, scientists and other professionals in the materials fi eld joined Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotel for the latest edition of the TMS.

The gathering is known in the aluminium industry for the opportunity it provides to exchange technical knowledge, leading to solutions in the workplace and in society.

ConferenceTMS 2015 presented 70 symposia covering a broad range of topics related to minerals, metals, and materials. The

Light Metals Keynote session looked at the latest developments in smelting, with an opening presentation, which provided an overview of an alternate smelting process.

Other sessions followed, which provided a detailed look at aluminium processing, aluminium alloys (development and applications), and aluminium reduction technology (environment, operations, energy consumption, materials and equipment).

ExhibitionVisited annually by more than 4,300 scientists and engineers, the TMS 2015 Annual Meeting & Exhibition is a top global showcase for the latest products and services in minerals, metals, and materials markets.

Aluminium International Today exhibited alongside companies such as Emirates Global Aluminium, Fives Solios, AUMUND Foerdertechnik GmbH, Hycast AS, Mecfor Inc and Rio Tinto Alcan.

TMS 2016The 145th Annual Meeting and Exhibition is scheduled to be held in Nashville, Tennessee on 14th – 18th February 2016.

For more information, visit www.tms.org

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EVENT REVIEW

HISTORY may june.indd 2 5/12/15 10:23 AM

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