Dr. Lisa O’Donoghue – Coordinator

EIP Raw Materials Commitment

Value ChainMining

Refining & smelting

Recycling and recovery

Construction Gov. Agency

Research

Environmental

Objectives• To boost the innovation capacity of the aluminium

value chain with respect to secondary raw materials recovery

• To foster international co-operation among 40 key players across the aluminium value chain

• The creation of new value chains for the recovered raw materials from by-products

• To test the viability of solutions via pilot actions

• To mobilise a significant part of the aluminium value chain to increase the impact of research

• To promote socially acceptable, environmentally responsible and economically viable technologies

Challenges

Industry Challenges• Process: Bauxite - alumina - aluminium

• 140 millions tonnes of bauxite residue produced 2014*

(K.Evans)o Landfilled

o Sea or river disposal

• Highly alkaline

• Contains heavy metals & traces radioactive substances

• Variation in composition depending on the ore

• EU: Cost, transportation and legislation challenges for

both management and reuse

*European Aluminium Association

Industry Challenges• In spite of increasing global demand, since 2003 it was

reported that plants closing in EU

• Costs/ Safe environmental management (Ajka Alumina plant

accident, Hungary)

• “Restoring the aluminium industry to competitiveness is an

urgent issue” Commissioner Tajani

• European competitiveness in this sector is imperative to:

o both stabilise and reduce EU dependence on imports,

o promote production and

o protect jobs

From problem to opportunity

Drivers:

• Environmental drive

• Management costs

• Safety and Best practices

• IAI Technology Roadmap

• Residue Strategic Goal

o Develop sustainable storage without the need for ongoing management;

o Remediate all residue using various means including process-generated

o Utilise 20% of residue by 2025;

o Reduce soda trapped in mud sent to residue storage.

Addressing Challenges

Research

Innovation

BRAVO

Activities

Cooperation

Al-Ore

Al-Source

Al-Build

Al-Chain

Al-Aware

BRAVO Modules

Al-Ore

• Optimisation to reduce waste residues, increase their subsequent processabilty and reduce their environmental impact.

• Evaluated at process level such statistical techniques ; VMEA

• Explore optimised and alternative processing techniques• Input from BRAVO partners along the value chain will be

key to the success of such tests, specifically as the output of one step is the input to the another step in the chain.

• Effect of materials composition variations per plant. • Pilot output data will include BR volume per alumina

tonne, composition, pH and grain size.

Al-Source

• Al-source focuses on using the bauxite residue as a source of critical raw materials including gallium, titanium, selium, germanium, dysprosium and cerium.

• The residue contains high value metals in small fractions combined with a low grade bulk component composed of iron oxides.

• Al-Source will assist partners developing a holistic and optimised n integrated metallurgical system (including pyro-, hydro-, bio-, electro-chemistry) for the metal recovery by-products.

• The effect of varying composition due to differing sources of materials (composition and grain size) and processing parameters will also be quantified.

• This will be done via the expertise of the BRAVO commitment (involving academia, industry and technology suppliers) in metallurgy.

Al-Build• Innovations is the use of the bulk

material w for the construction sector.

• Assist partners with technologies for a

series of complex and integrated

solutions to convert residue wastes to

raw materials and products.

• Al-build will focus on the remaining bulk

low grade residue, exploring

techniques and processes from

alternative industries including the

construction sector.

Al-Chain• The Al-Chain project focuses on both policy, co-operation across

the aluminium value chain and the creation of innovation across the chain.

• Al-Chain focuses on the Innovation and Commercialisation activities of the BRAVO commitment and support the co-operation activities including the following:

• Policy development/ Best practices/ Dissemination days

• Knowledge exchange

Al-AwareAl-Aware focuses on both :

o public awareness ;

o skills, educations and knowledge within the

European aluminium value chain and

internationally.

• Al-Aware will pre-dominantly undertake the

cooperation activities of the BRAVO commitment

previously detailed.

Technology Templates

Technology MappingAl-Ore

•Partner 1 (TRL4)

•Partner 2 (TRL2)

•Partner 3 (TRL5)

Al-Source

•Partner 1 (TRL3)

•Partner 2 (TRL4)

•Partner 3 (TRL1)

•Partner 4 (TRL2-3)

•Partner 5 (TRL3)

•Partner 6 (TRL4)

•Partner 7 (TRL1)

•Partner 8 (TRL2-6)

•Partner 9 (TRL2)

Al-Build

•Partner 1 (TRL1)

•Partner 2 (TRL5)

•Partner 3 (TRL2)

•Partner 4 (TRL4)

•Partner 5 (TRL5-6)

•Partner 6 (TRL 1)

•Partner 7 (TRL4)

•Partner 8 (TRL4)

Sharing Best Practices• Best practices regarding Residue Management available

• State of art technologies innovation to utilise the residue

and achieve targets

• Present 3 partner innovations that are under

development;

o Zaak Technologies and Rio Tinto

o Rusal - Aughinish Alumina

o Fraunhofer Institute IWKS

Bauxite Residue

Oil & Gas

Building & Construction

Others

Red Mud Slurry Additives Slurry

No drying of red mud slurry

Bauxite Residue to Smart Spheres – The Approach

Smart Spheres

Patent pending technology, proven by outsourcing sub-process to

vendors

Zaak Technologies

Construction material

Tech. MortarPlaster/Rende

rConcrete

Other applications

Horticulture Moulding

Ke

y

US

Ps

Price

Thermal

insulation

Lightweight

Purity

Performance

Oil &

Gas

Proppants Paints

Sintered Spheres - Applications

AVAR

The advancement in state of the art in this project is to develop a combined process for the

removal on vanadium in tandem with gallium recovery at a purity of 6N. There is currently

no industrial process which removes vanadium and gallium in a single step process at this

level of purity. This project will for the first time combine vanadium and gallium recovery

processes in one single industrial system.

The ground breaking nature of AVAR is three-fold: a) the development of a novel Ga and V

recovery process from Bayer liquors for the first time including the hand to hand

development of specialized equipment b) recovery of high value 6 N purity gallium and

vanadium c) overall process integration and optimization with the main Bayer production

process

Bildquellen: © Fraunhofer ISC; © flickr

Innovative Separation-Technologies

Development of physical, chemical and biological methods

for the recovery of materials

Selective recovery of materials by gas phase reactions

Source: © Fraunhofer ISC

Opened System

DepositionCondensation

A(s), e. g. Powder, contaminated

T1

A(s) + B(g) C(g)

B(g)

T2

C(g)

Thank You• If you are interested in any of these technologies or

projects, or the activates of the BRAVO EIP, please contact us.

www.BRAVOEIP.eu

Dr. Lisa O’Donoghue

Design & Manufacturing Technology,

University of Limerick

Ireland

Lisa.odonoghue@ul.ie