Aluminum: Recycling and Environmental Footprint

• Published in: JOM (1989) 2019-09, Vol.71 (9), p.2926-2927
• Main Authors: Wong, David S., Lavoie, Pascal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative fuels; Aluminum base alloys; Aluminum industry; Aluminum oxide; Aluminum: Recycling and Environmental Footprint; Bauxite; Bayer process; Calcification; Chemistry/Food Science; Demand; Design of experiments; Durability; Earth Sciences; Electrolytic cell linings; Emissions; Energy consumption; Engineering; Environment; Environmental impact; Extractive metallurgy; Fluorides; Fly ash; Food packaging; Gas composition; Gases; Greenhouse gases; Gypsum; Industrial wastes; Inventory; Magnetic separation; Metal powders; Metals; Peat; Physics; Process controls; Reclamation; Red mud; Residues; Sintering; Vacuum distillation; Waste management
• ISSN: 1047-4838; 1543-1851
• DOI: 10.1007/s11837-019-03656-9

Since 2000, global primary aluminum production has increased by 250% to an annual output of almost 65 million metric tonnes in 2018, much of this due to growth in China.1 Global demand continues to be driven by the need for strong, lightweight materials for vehicles and transport (to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions), durable and long-lasting materials for building and construction, protective packaging for food products, innovative consumer products, and many other uses.2 Aluminum's durability and almost limitless recyclability, requiring only 5% of the original energy to produce primary metal, make it a key material and commodity in the world today.2 By 2040, global aluminum demand is projected to continue to grow, to as much as 90 million tonnes of primary metal per year with an additional 70 million tonnes of demand met by recycled aluminum.3 However, it is clear that further intensification of global production must be sustainable and matched by effective solutions that can address both current and future environmental challenges faced by the industry. [...]the fourth article, by Shi et al., titled "Analysis of Remediating Effects of Peat, Sawdust, and Gypsum in Alkaline Bauxite Residue Based on Orthogonal Experiments," examines the suitability for plant growth of remediated bauxite residue following application of different treatments Moving away from the Bayer process, Zhou et al. present research relating to the extraction of alumina from coal fly ash (a major industrial waste stream from the coal-fired energy sector in China) as an alternate input to the primary aluminum industry. To download any of the papers, follow the URL http://link.springer.com/journal/11837/71/ 9/page/1 to the table of contents page for the September 2019 issue (vol. 71, no. 9). * "The Sandy Desilication Product Process Concept" by James Vaughan, Hong Peng, Dilini Seneviratne, Harrison Hodge, William Hawker, Peter Hayes, and Warren Staker. * "Comprehensive Recovery of Iron and Aluminum from Ordinary Bayer Red Mud by Reductive Sintering-Magnetic Separation-Digesting Process" by Feng Gao, Jihao Zhang, Xinjie Deng, Kaituo Wang, Chunlin He, Xinsheng Li, and Yuezhou Wei. * "Assessment of Bauxite Residue for Reclamation Purposes After Calcification-Carbonization Treatment" by Yanxiu Wang, Ting-an Zhang, Guozhi Lv, and Weiguang Zhang. * "Analysis of Remediating Effects of Peat, Sawdust, and Gypsum in Alkaline Bauxite Residue Based on the Orthogonal Experiment"