Reducing energy consumption in secondary aluminum manufacturing through the implementation of improved workflow practices

Abstract

In the recent decades, sustainability has emerged as a crucial concern for governments and industries worldwide. While the political sphere appears to take the lead in the pursuit of a greener world from a societal standpoint, industries play a pivotal role in implementing innovative technologies. Certain industries, however, still heavily rely on natural gas consumption for their operations. Metal manufacturers, in particular, face significant energy demands due to their melting processes, which have historically necessitated the use of combustion. This paper focuses on examining the current workflow of secondary aluminum manufacturing, with a specific emphasis on rolled sheet production. By analyzing combustion intensive equipment involved in the process, the paper identifies inherent deficiencies and energy losses throughout the production process and propose strategies that can effectively reduce the industry's global carbon footprint. Results show that optimizing work flow to retain embodied energy and heat of intermediate products, as well as smart waste heat reuse can result in significant savings in secondary aluminum manufacturing.