The concept of modern ecosystem for the Ural Aluminium Smelter

Abstract

The main requirement for the ecosystem of a modern industrial enterprise is to ensure the reduction of human impact on the environment. Facing the strict environmental policies of today, most production companies are forced to implement additional environmental measures, which can be quite costly. The share of such costs in the cost of production is constantly rising, which is especially critical in the steel industry where the rate of return is traditionally low. An effective way of tackling this problem would be to develop and implement a strategy for a comprehensive environmental modernization of production sites. This paper examines a concept of such strategy drawn up for the Ural Aluminium Smelter. The paper describes the main aspects related to the use and disposal of hazardous production waste – i.e. red muds and flue gas emissions. The concept is aimed at minimizing the negative impact of waste on the environment by waste neutralization and utilization in the production of additional marketable products. Such potential products may include iron-bearing pellets for iron and steel industry, mortars and fertilizers. The main organic additive considered for use in the above products is peat, a natural renewable resource found locally. A special focus of the modernization concept is on the development and implementation of innovative soil material designed as a temporary cover for existing tailings aimed at preventing wind erosion. It is shown that the use of flue gases for neutralization of highly alkaline solid waste will help reduce the impact of harmful emissions.