Driving sustainability with the Outotec alumina calcination solutions

In recent years, Outotec introduced a new generation (GEN 5) of alumina calciners, enhancing the sustainability of the entire process. The new calciners are more fuel-efficient than the previous generation. They are also more compact, making them more sustainable from a construction and manufacturing perspective as well.

For the alumina industry, energy efficiency is one of the main drivers for technology development. Alumina is the primary feedstock for aluminum metal production, and calcination is one of the primary energy consumers in that production chain. Alumina calcination requires approximately 3 GJ of energy per ton of alumina produced, which can be more than 30% of the total energy for the alumina production process alone.

Heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy is one of the sustainability challenges of alumina and aluminum production. The highly endothermic and high-temperature processes require large amounts of energy, which generates CO2 emissions. Research into alternative fuels is ongoing, with some of the larger producers looking into supplementing or substituting fossils with, for example, solar or hydrogen-based concepts.

Significant fuel savings with calcination optimizers

Calciner optimizers have proved to significantly reduce the energy consumption of alumina calcination by stabilizing and optimizing the process. These digital solutions help run the plants more efficiently and find the optimal operating points, which may sometimes seem counter-intuitive and difficult to deduce for a human operator. Optimizers are especially useful in the installed base and older plants, playing a significant part in improving efficiency.

Outotec’s Pretium Calciner Optimizer has sparked significant interest among customers. The two already active cases in alumina calcination have proven the tool’s usefulness and potential, driving both fuel savings and increased output.

“We applied our calcination optimizer in an old generation plant and were able to reduce its energy consumption by up to 10 percent. And a 10% fuel reduction means 5500 tons of CO2 avoided per year. That is equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions of more than 600 average EU citizens. In newer plants, the potential for specific fuel energy reduction is somewhat lower. However, then again, newer plants operate at a higher capacity, so the overall impact can still be quite significant,” Dr. Perander says. “What sets us apart from the competition is our fundamental process knowledge about these plants. We can provide advanced analytics and diagnostics as well as operational advice that add a lot of value to our customers. We’ve applied the same principles to, for example, roasters used to refine copper concentrate before refining.”

Experts in the spotlight

With digitalization technology and solutions becoming more prevalent, new skills are needed to maintain the position of a technology leader. A shift must be made from pure engineering expertise to the ability to apply machine learning and AI, for instance. Outotec has already taken steps to enhance the company’s digital capabilities and recruited new experts. External collaboration is also essential in this regard.

Future focus on decarbonization

The aluminum industry continues to seek ways to improve efficiency further. While in new installations the theoretical limits are getting closer and closer there is still room for further efficiency improvements, for example in heat recovery from process streams or through process control and optimization. In the older plants the potential efficiency gains through such measures are naturally even larger. At the same time, global emission limits are becoming more and more stringent, so not doing anything is not a viable option.

However, many players realize that it is not enough just to meet the regulatory limits. Being a good corporate citizen goes above and beyond the minimum requirement, and many have launched initiatives to improve their sustainability and benchmark themselves against each other. An excellent example of this development is the Aluminium Stewardship Index, which has started to gain traction globally in the last couple of years. There is also talk of introducing new classes of exchange-traded aluminum, based on the level of environmental footprint, driven mostly by consumer demand.