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Energy efficiency improvement and GHG abatement in the global production of primary aluminium

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Abstract

Primary aluminium production is a highly energy-intensive and greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting process responsible for about 1 % of global GHG emissions. In 2009, the two most energy-intensive processes in primary aluminium production, alumina refining and aluminium smelting consumed 3.1 EJ, of which 2 EJ was electricity for aluminium smelting, about 8 % of the electricity use in the global industrial sector. The demand for aluminium is expected to increase significantly over the next decades, continuing the upward trend in energy use and GHGs. The wide implementation of energy efficiency measures can cut down GHG emissions and assist in the transition towards a more sustainable primary aluminium industry. In this study, 22 currently available energy efficiency measures are assessed, and cost-supply curves are constructed to determine the technical and the cost-effective energy and GHG savings potentials. The implementation of all measures was estimated to reduce the 2050 primary energy use by 31 % in alumina refining and by 9 % in primary aluminium production (excluding alumina refining) when compared to a “frozen efficiency” scenario. When compared to a “business-as-usual” (BAU) scenario, the identified energy savings potentials are lower, 12 and 0.9 % for alumina refining and primary aluminium production (excluding alumina refining), respectively. Currently available technologies have the potential to significantly reduce the energy use for alumina refining while in the case of aluminium smelting, if no new technologies become available in the future, the energy and GHG savings potentials will be limited.

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Notes

  1. Estimate based on the 2009 average energy use for alumina refining and aluminium smelting and the 2009 global metallurgical grade alumina production and primary aluminium production (IAI 2013c).

  2. The GWPs used in this analysis are the 100-year values reported in the second IPCC Assessment Report (IPCC 1995).

  3. It includes CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, indirect CO2 emissions from electricity consumption and process emissions from aluminium smelting. The most important process emissions in primary aluminium production are i) CO2 emissions released during the consumption of carbon anodes, and ii) PFC emissions released when the alumina concentration in the electrolytic cell drops below a critical point.

  4. In 2009 the non-ferrous metals industry consumed about 4.3 EJ (IEA, 2011a). It is estimated that the two most energy intensive steps in primary aluminium production (alumina refining and aluminium smelting) were responsible for about 72 % of the energy consumed in the non-ferrous metals industry.

  5. Nepheline concentrate is a by-product deriving from beneficiation factories, which contains about 25–30 % alumina and 44 % silica (Smirnov 1996).

  6. This was estimated based on the reported energy use for alumina refining (IAI 2013c) for the 1998–2012 period. Although energy use data are also available for earlier years, China started reporting energy use data in 1998.

  7. In this study, and unless otherwise mentioned, electricity use refers to alternating current (AC) electricity. AC electricity is the DC electricity plus the electricity use in auxiliary components. Electricity use in alumina refining, anode manufacture and ingot casting is not included.

  8. The majority of process related CO2 emissions derive from the reaction of alumina with the anode (2Al2O3 + 3C → 4Al + 3CO2). The CO2 emissions associated with the baking of prebake anodes account for less than 10 % of the overall process related CO2 emissions. (IPCC, 2006b)

  9. Specific energy use is the sum of the energy-related fuels and electricity used in the manufacture of the various products in primary aluminium production. Energy use for transportation and life cycle energy use is not taken into account.

  10. It should be noted that this does not apply to US and European alumina refineries, some of the Australian refineries and two large Brazilian refineries.

  11. In 2009, Russian smelters produced 3.8 Mtonnes of aluminium. For an alumina requirement of 1.93 tonnes per tonne of aluminium, the alumina demand in Russian smelters was 7.4 Mtonnes. In 2009, Russian alumina refineries produced 2.8 Mtonnes of alumina. Assuming that all alumina produced was metallurgical, to satisfy the 2009 alumina demand in Russian smelters, about 4.5 Mtonnes alumina had to be imported.

  12. In this study, to adjust the investment costs from older years to current years, we used the Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index (CEPCI).

  13. Although in this analysis we have considered a near-zero emission factor for hydropower for every country, in reality, GHG emissions can vary substantially per country as tropical reservoirs were shown to be non-negligible GHG emitters (1,300–3,000 kgCO2-eq./MWh) (Steinhurst et al. 2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Katerina Kermeli, Wina Crijns-Graus & Ernst Worrell

  2. TWS Services and Advice, Imkerweg 5, 1272 EB, Huizen, The Netherlands

    Peter-Hans ter Weer

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  1. Katerina Kermeli
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Appendix

Appendix

Table 14 Estimated shares of metallurgical alumina production and capacity utilization rates (based on regional data found in IAI 1013c)
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Table 15 Default CO2 emission factors per fuel (IPCC, 2006a)
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Table 16 Fuel use breakdown in 2009 (based on IEA 2011a)
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Table 17 Fuel mix for the generation of electricity used in alumina refineries (based on IEA 2011a)
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Table 18 Fuel mix for the generation of electricity used in aluminium smelters, anode production and ingot casting facilities
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Table 19 Electricity conversion efficiency1 (based on IEA 2011a)
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Table 20 GDP growth rates (2009–2035 based on regional growth rates reported in IEA (2011c) and 2035–2050: Graus and Kermeli (2012))
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Table 21 Estimated current energy savings potentials in alumina refining per country
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Table 22 Shares of high temperature and low temperature digestion
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Table 23 Estimated implementation rates1- alumina refining - frozen efficiency scenario
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Table 24 Estimated implementation rates - aluminium smelting - frozen efficiency scenario
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Fig. 8
figure 8

Energy and GHG abatement curves for the alumina refining industry (discount rate = 30 %)-(switch alternative processes used in China and Russia to the Bayer-flotation instead of the Bayer)

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Table 25 Energy efficiency measures for the alumina refining industry ranked based on their CCE-final (discount rate = 30 %)-(switch alternative processes used in China and Russia to the Bayer-flotation instead of the Bayer)
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Table 26 Energy and GHG savings potentials for primary aluminium production (excl. alumina refining) per country
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Kermeli, K., ter Weer, PH., Crijns-Graus, W. et al. Energy efficiency improvement and GHG abatement in the global production of primary aluminium. Energy Efficiency 8, 629–666 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9301-7

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