Abstract
Metallic aluminium does not naturally occur in nature, and it was largely unknown, virtually a mystery, until 200 years ago. The modern aluminium production using a hydrometallurgical refining process for making alumina followed by electrolysis of this mineral was first developed in 1886 and, in principle, the same technology is still used to this day. About 90% of alumina refineries in the world use the Bayer process for refining Bauxite ore. It is very efficient, but it can only be used on high quality bauxite with low content of admixtures, especially silicon. The Bayer process also generates a Bauxite Residue (BR), maybe better known as Red Mud (RM) which is a thick red-brown, high-basicity paste consisting of silicon, iron, aluminium, titanium and others. The International Institute of Aluminium estimates that since 1886 almost a billion tonnes of aluminium were produced around the world with three fourths of this amount still being in use today, of which about 35% is located in buildings and structures, 30% in electric cables and equipment and 30% in transport. Aluminium scrap is collected all over the world. In the home, it mostly consists of aluminium beverage cans. It is claimed that 1 ton of recycled empty beverage cans save 8 tons of bauxite, 4 kg of various fluorides and 14 kWh of electricity. Additionally, recycling aluminium significantly reduces the negative environmental impact of ever-expanding RM landfills. As the idea of environmental responsibility is gaining more and more traction, separate household scrap recycling is becoming more and more popular around the world. How challenges related to such activity can be met will be the main topic of this paper alongside discussing new developments for alumina production without RM generation.
Highlights
Aluminium is a fantastic metal, or element if you like, and in this paper, I try to discuss some issues I find important to focus on in order to maintain and even enhance this articulation
Reuter “Digitalizing the Circular Economy – Circular Economy Engineering Defined by the Metallurgical Internet of Things” [52]
By reading various webpages produced by various stakeholders the impression is that Recycling of aluminium is so easy, and so good for the environment that it is done close to 100%
Summary
Aluminium is a fantastic metal, or element if you like, and in this paper, I try to discuss some issues I find important to focus on in order to maintain and even enhance this articulation. I rely heavily on various publications in the vast fields of processing, manufacturing, use and recycling, the interpretations and connotations presented are solely my own responsibility. A small amount of the metal was produced in the following decades, but a very difficult process was required, involving heating of the ores in vacuum with pure sodium or potassium. Both these elements could only be obtained by electrolysis, which was not at all straightforward at the time [1]
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