Aluminum Decarbonization

In this blog post, you can read about:

• Introduction to Aluminum: Its widespread use across industries and its significance in daily life.
• Primary Aluminum Production: Steps involved, environmental impacts, and challenges.
• Secondary Aluminum Production: Recycling process, energy efficiency, and its role in decarbonizing the economy.
• The Future of Aluminum Recycling: Anticipated trends, benefits, and actions for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint.
  

The Importance of Aluminum in Our Daily Lives

It’s fascinating to learn that since 1880, almost a billion tonnes of aluminum have been produced worldwide, with 75% still in productive use today.¹ From the buildings we live in – to the cars we drive, aluminum is essential for creating quality lives for millions. 

• The automotive industry relies on aluminum for its lightweight and durable properties: it’s used to make engine blocks, cylinder heads, wheels, and body panels, which helps improve fuel efficiency and overall performance.
• The construction industry uses aluminum for its strength, corrosion resistance, and versatility: it’s used in structural components, roofing, windows, and doors. It is also used in the electrical wiring and plumbing systems of buildings.

And these are just two examples.

Now, let's take a closer look at what it takes to produce primary aluminum compared to its recycling. Also, we will review what actions we can take toward decarbonizing the aluminum industry.

Primary Aluminum Production

Read on to learn more about steps in primary aluminum production.²

Step 1: Bauxite mining

The primary ingredient for making aluminum is bauxite. It's often found in the top soils of various tropical and subtropical regions such as Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Australia. Mining bauxite is extracted from open and underground mines. Bauxite mining methods can negatively impact the plant and animal life in the surrounding area. Clearing trees and grasslands for mining can lead to biodiversity loss, habitats, carbon emissions, and soil erosion.

Step 2: Bayer process
The bauxite is processed through the Bayer process to extract alumina, a white powdery substance containing aluminum oxide. 

Step 3: Hall-Héroult process
The alumina is then taken to an aluminum smelter. It is dissolved in a special liquid called a molten cryolite electrolyte bath. An electric current is then passed through the liquid, which causes the aluminum oxide to break into its components. This process creates molten aluminum, which is collected and poured into ingots.

Step 4: Casting
The ingots are then transported to different industries for further processing, such as manufacturing aluminum products or as raw materials for other products.

These methods require a vast amount of electricity and water, which results in high carbon emissions and air and water pollution.  Another side effect could be even noise and heat pollution.

Secondary Aluminum

Refining raw material (bauxite) to alumina is not required for the secondary production of aluminum. Instead, aluminum scrap is melted and refined, making this process more energy-efficient. Recycling aluminum is up to 95% less energy-intensive than primary production from bauxite.³

As the economy continues to grow and develop, the demand for aluminum is expected to rise up to 80% by 2050.⁴

The good news is that half of this demand can be met through recycled aluminum. Aluminum can be melted and reused repeatedly without losing its properties.  

• The aluminum industry distinguishes between two types of recycled aluminum: old or post-consumer scrap and new or pre-consumer scrap. In 2019, 20 million tonnes of recycled aluminum was from old scrap. That helped avoid 300 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions as the recycled metal reduces demand for primary aluminum.⁵
• Recycling aluminum results in only 0.5 tons of CO2 emissions per ton of aluminum produced, in contrast to about 16 tons of CO₂ per ton of primary aluminum.⁶
  

The Future of Aluminum Recycling

Global aluminum production is expected to increase because of the trend toward more lightweight vehicles. Besides, mounting and framing equipment for solar photovoltaic panels and large reflectors for concentrated solar power plants are also in demand.

By using recycled aluminum instead of making new aluminum, we can significantly reduce pollution and save money on energy.

Not only the environment benefits from recycling, but businesses do too. When it comes to reducing our carbon footprint in the aluminum industry, there are several actions businesses can take to make a positive impact:

• focus on improving material and resource efficiency. It could be achieved by designing lightweight products and reducing material losses during manufacturing.
• increase the lifetime of goods containing aluminum by repairing and refurbishing them when possible.
• increase the use of recycled aluminum, as it is much less energy-intensive than producing it from scratch.
• switch to low-carbon power sources, such as Carbon capture and storage (CCS), the grid, or Nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs). It will help reduce producers’ reliance on fossil fuels.
• there are also some near-zero-emissions refining and smelting technologies businesses can use: electric and hydrogen boilers, mechanical vapor recompression (MVR), and concentrated solar thermal (CST).

By utilizing recycled aluminum and intentionally decreasing our CO2 emissions, we can contribute to preserving natural resources and reducing our carbon footprint. Collaboratively, we can establish sustainable and efficient methodologies to positively impact the environment, the industry, and forthcoming generations.

Works Cited

¹ “Aluminium Recycling Factsheet.” International Aluminium Institute, 2020, https://international-aluminium.org/resource/aluminium-recycling-fact-sheet/. Accessed 4 April 2023.

² The Aluminum Association. “Primary Production 101.” The Aluminum Association, https://www.aluminum.org/primary-production-101. Accessed 23 April 2024.

³ The Aluminum Association. “Secondary Production 101.” The Aluminum Association, https://www.aluminum.org/secondary-production-101. Accessed 23 April 2024.

⁴ “Aluminum in Autos Better than Steel to Save Energy and Cut Carbon ...” Business Wire, 19 September 2013, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130919006286/en/Aluminum-in-Autos-Better-than-Steel-to-Save-Energy-and-Cut-Carbon-Oak-Ridge-3 National-Lab-Confirms. Accessed 4 April 2023.
⁵ “IAI Material Flow Model - 2021 Update.” International Aluminium Institute, 2021, https://international-aluminium.org/resource/iai-material-flow-model-2021-update/. Accessed 4 April 2023.
⁶ Mission Possible Partnership, et al. MAKING NET-ZERO ALUMINIUM POSSIBLE. An industry-backed, 1.5°C-aligned transition strategy. 2022. missionpossiblepartnership.org, https://missionpossiblepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Making-1.5-Aligned-Aluminium-possible.pdf.
⁷ “Our Vision 2050 for the aluminium industry.” European Aluminium, 24 October 2022, https://european-aluminium.eu/blog/vision2050/. Accessed 4 April 2023.
⁸ World Aluminium, and Carmine Nappi. The Global Aluminium Industry 40 years from 1972. http://large.stanford.edu/, http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2016/ph240/mclaughlin1/docs/nappi.pdf.