Efficient production

Aluminium is amongst the world’s most important materials. Production has doubled in the last 20 years and it is expected that the world will use three times more aluminium in 2050 as today. In one sense, aluminium is good for the environment. Since it is relatively light and strong, it is possible to make lighter and more energy efficient cars, trains and aircraft. The drawback? Aluminium plants require huge amounts of electricity, which in most countries is supplied by polluting coal and gas-fired power stations. The metallurgical production process also produces CO₂ and another strong greenhouse gas, sulphur hexafluoride. Fortunately, good solutions are plentiful. The most efficient aluminium factories use only a third as much electricity as older plants, and new technology is being developed and demonstrated. Another important solution is to ensure that as much aluminium as possible is recycled. At the moment nearly 20 percent is lost.  Production based on scrap aluminium uses only a twentieth of the energy used by production from its raw material, bauxite. Also, it will soon be possible to do CO₂ capture and storage on aluminium factories, a solution you can read about elsewhere in this magazine.