Aluminum Company Research Articles

Study on sedimentation of tailings sludge from bauxite processing plant of TKV's Aluminum Companies by lamella thickener

Study on sedimentation of tailings sludge from bauxite processing plant of TKV's Aluminum Companies by lamella thickener

Optimisation of the Circular Economy Based on the Resource Circulation Equation

The lack of effective evaluation methods and implementation guidelines has led to frequent obstacles in the process of circular economy in enterprises. The efficiency equation for resource circulation can effectively evaluate the efficiency of an enterprise’s circular economy resource circulation from three perspectives: input, circulation, and output. Additionally, it delves into each link to identify weak points, offering guidance for optimising the enterprise’s circular economy. Utilising a value flow analysis within the context of a circular economy, this paper evaluates circular economy efficiency using a resource circulation efficiency equation. It conducts factor analysis across three dimensions: resource input, resource circulation, and waste output. This analysis aims to evaluate the corresponding resource productivity, added value output rate, and environmental efficiency. Factor decomposition techniques were then employed to identify the underlying factors contributing to poor circular economy outcomes. Furthermore, based on the relationships among three resource circulation indicators, this paper forecasts the potential advantages of integrating circular economy improvement measures and proposes practical optimisation approaches. The enhanced resource circulation efficiency resulting from the proposed optimisation approaches was validated through a case study with an aluminium company.

Beware the puppeteers: the role of geopolitics in the bargaining dynamics between a Russian politically connected MNC and the country of Montenegro

PurposeThis paper aims to use the obsolescing bargaining power (OBP) Model (Vernon, 1977, 1998) to analyze the case of United Company Rusal, a Russian politically connected multinational companies (MNCs) that was one of the world’s largest aluminum companies between 2005 and 2014, having acquired and, ultimately, sold the Montenegrin aluminum smelter company Kombinat aluminijuma Podgorica.The authors did so with the aim of answering the following question: How do geopolitics affect the bargaining balance of power between a Russian MNC and a host country? Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the discourse analysis methodology to identify the key players in the bargaining process and illustrate the evolving bargaining process.FindingsThe authors demonstrated that, over time, the shift in power from the Russian MNC to the host government had not merely been the result of the increase in committed MNC assets in the host country but, rather, of a geopolitical chess game involving the Russian Government, North Atlantic treaty organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). By extending the OBP model with geopolitics, the authors found that a political agenda can influence the outcome of a bargaining process.Originality/valueThe authors extended the OBP model to illustrate the complex interaction between an emerging market MNC and an emerging host country government, indirectly influenced by two supranational organizations – the EU and NATO.

Social hotspots in the automotive industry’s aluminum value chains—combining primary and generic data

Abstract Purpose The automotive industry and its suppliers have been facing increasing challenges in the sustainable sourcing of raw materials on environmental and social levels. To identify social risks in the value chain of aluminum in the automotive sector, this study aimed to examine how a generic hotspot analysis based on S-LCA can be conducted and support the reporting according to new legislative requirements such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains. Methods This study investigated the social risks in the supply chains of two selected aluminum components of an aluminum company using a generic social hotspot analysis based on the UNEP Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Organizations 2020. The study employed the generic PSILCA© database and different additional indicators for the assessment. The UNEP Guidelines 2020 used in combination with the associated methodological sheets were beneficial in structuring the procedure within the social hotspot analysis. They gave the inexperienced user a guide, which led to the results presented in this work. Results and discussion A high number of social hotspots in upstream processes outside Europe across the different investigated indicators for both supply chains assessed were detected. Most social risks were identified in Guinea, as well as in a European and an Asian Country in the stakeholder categories “Workers” and “Local community.” Especially, the alloy element production in the Asian Country and the bauxite mining in Guinea showed an above-average number of social hotspots. The implementation of the work was associated with an enormous effort in information collection about the supply chains to be investigated and depended on the direct suppliers’ willingness to contribute. The need for a safe and supporting environment for suppliers to enhance transparency was identified. Conclusions Combining generic and company data to conduct a social hotspot assessment (e.g., using PSILCA©) to meet legislative requirements proved to be a suitable approach for complex supply chains such as the automotive one. Despite this, limitations of the PSILCA© database and potential for improvement were acknowledged regarding industry-wide social assessments of supply chains. Additionally, the study serves as an application example of the UNEP Guidelines 2020 and the activity variables for science in practice. Further development and standardization of social indicators and activity variables for impact measurement were identified as a research priority.

Research on The Impact of Aluminum Enterprise Information System on Performance after Implementation

Chinese aluminum companies and their industries are undergoing high-tech manufacturing industry upgrades.However, as its capital investment in industrial informatization continues to increase, its corporate performance is still uncertain.This study selects China's aluminum companies as the research object. Through a sample survey and analysis of the informatization level and corporate performance of these representative companies, the research conclusions are as follows: The first is the ongoing transformation of Chinese aluminum companies into high-tech manufacturing industries. With the investment in industrial informatization, their corporate performance levels have been significantly improved. Second, enterprise information concept does not have a significant impact on corporate business coupling and corporate performance. Third, the degree of enterprise business coupling plays a partial mediating role in the impact of the four dimensions of enterprise informatization level (organizational management informatization, marketing means informatization, product production and processing informatization, and artificial intelligence application) on enterprise performance. Fourth, employees' own information literacy level plays a positive regulating role between corporate business coupling and corporate performance.

EFFECTIVE MATERIAL MANAGEMENT AND FIRM’S PRODUCTIVITY IN SELECTED ALUMINUM MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated how effective material management (MMGT) affects firm’s productivity in selected aluminum manufacturing firms in Delta State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to ascertain effect of the measures of effective MMGT, namely; Planning Strategy (PS), Material Control Management (MCM) and Work-In-Progress Management (WIPM) on Firm’s Productivity (FP). The respondents' responses were collected using a five (5) likert scale questionnaire. This study's population is 293 people, with a sample size of 169 employees from the selected Aluminium company in Delta State, Nigeria. The questionnaire was coded using an excel spreadsheet, and the respondents' profiles were analysed manually using basic percentage, while descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, and multiple regression used statistical tools in SPSS version 23. The findings showed that there is a substantial positive association between PS, MCM, and WIPM and FP. The study's findings indicate that good MMGT has a positive and significant effect on company productivity in selected Aluminium manufacturing enterprises in Delta State, Nigeria. As a result, the study proposed that Aluminium manufacturing firms adopt a policy framework to promote speedier implementation of material control systems in Nigerian Aluminium production in order to excel and ensure its future, hence increasing organisational efficiency.
 Keywords: Material, Management, Productivity, Planning, Strategy and Work-In-Progress.

Research the slurry thickening efficiency of aluminum companies in Vietnam using experimental settling column system

The thickening is the process of increasing the solid fraction in the slurry. The purpose of the process is to obtain a thicker sludge product and to obtain an overflow product with a minimum solid amount. The equipment used are traction thickener, cable thickener, caisson thickener, tray thickener, E-Cat thickener, lamella thickener, etc. This stage plays an essential role and greatly affects operations in mineral beneficiation factories. However, this is a problem for Aluminum companies in Vietnam because the amount of particles passing 1 mm is significantly higher than the design, leading to the overloading of thickeners. The overall productivity of the factories was affected and seriously reduced due to not being able to ensure the amount of feeding coarse particles and having to stop the operation to fix the problem. The requirement is to find and apply advanced technologies to improve the sedimentation process. This article presents the characteristics of bauxite slurry in Daknong and Lamdong companies. The amount of fine particles passing 0.02 mm reaches more than 62% (in the case of Daknong) and 72% (in the case of Lamdong) with the main minerals (gibbsite, goethite, kaolinite, ilmenite, etc.). On that basis, the survey was implemented to define the optimal type of flocculant aids (NALCO 85035 and HA - LB 080), flocculant dosage (40 grams/tons), and pH of the sludge (6.5 – 7). The obtained underflow product has a solid phase concentration of over 35% and the overflow has an amount of solid/water of less than 100 mg/l. Research was conducted on an experimental settling column system and it was recommended to pre-test a Lamella high-performance thickener for further research.

Lean Optimization of Batch Production in an Aluminium Company

This work investigates the optimization of a batch type of production and operational management in an aluminium company using a lean manufacturing system. The operation and production system of the case study company runs in various sectors, which led to waste in the system, hindering the company's ability to meet customer demand. Through operational data analysis and questionnaires, the team identified the types of waste generated by the case study company. Lean manufacturing techniques such as eight deadly wastes, Heijunka, takt time, 5S approach, quality tool management, value stream mapping, Kaizen, Kaban, Gemba, and top and bottom-level involvement were employed to manage the waste. The findings reveal defects in inventory, transportation, waiting times, and untapped ideas of employees, all of which significantly impact the company's performance. This allows for daily production of small batches of aluminium alloys (AA3001, AA3105, and AA3110) without issues, supported by the principle of pull production. Additionally, the application of Takt time results in a significant reduction of production time, leading to improved efficiency. The study also highlights the high interaction effect of transportation, defects, and inventory wastes on various production lines, such as the bogie fitting line paint line, and anti-intrusion. Among the lean manufacturing tools, Kaban, standard work, and 5S are identified as the most frequently used. The research findings provide valuable insights for manufacturing industry leaders to spot the performance gaps and enhance the application of lean manufacturing practices.

Impact of Industrialisation on Sustainability of Natural Environment and Tribal Communities in Odisha, India

Based on an empirical exploration, the dominant objective of the paper is to understand the impact of industrial projects, for example, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) on the sustainability of tribal communities as well as the surrounding natural environment. The contemporary industrial project has devastated the natural capital through its industrial practices, such as over-extraction of natural resources, over-passage of decomposed wastes, contamination of water bodies, inordinate drilling out of groundwater, etc., without any concern for the existence of nature as well as the rich culture developed by the tribal communities. In this context, the study unearths an empirical understanding of NALCO in Koraput, Odisha, and its impact on the sustainability of the tribal village communities as well as their symbiotic relationship with the natural environment. The empirical investigation has been conducted in selected tribal villages located in and around the NALCO.

The detrimental consequences of mining and inspiration for the Gandhamardan movement in western Odisha, India

AbstractMost of Odisha's mineral resources are situated in tribally controlled regions that are impacted by resource extraction operations. Being a mineral‐rich state, Odisha is becoming a popular investment location. The majority of the population is made up of indigenous people who have historically subsisted on the highlands' natural resources. Local people (most of them are tribal) of the Gandhamardan hills region have protested extraction, insisting that their rights to holy religious sites near the mine, traditional methods of subsistence and the environment be protected. The purpose of this article is to look into the impact of mining during the extraction phase in the 1980s, which was a driving element in the emergence of the resistance movement, as well as discuss the future expectations of mining and its effect. The paper is based on primary data that includes direct interview to 366 households. The purposive sampling method has been deployed to collect data from the participants of Gandhamardan movement (1980s). According to the findings, mining has impacted three vital areas, including religious beliefs, the environment and livelihood, prompting the local community to resist mining activities. These three areas were crucial for the emergence of Gandhamardan or BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company) movement. The environmental component has received widespread support both domestically and worldwide. The State Government should have a clear strategy in place that acknowledges the economic relevance of managing forest resources in a way which improves local people's economic conditions with local economic development.

Decoupling analysis between economic growth and aluminum cycle: From the perspective of aluminum use and carbon emissions

Increasing aluminum demand under the clean energy and low-carbon transformation background increases the fuzziness of relationships between economic growth and aluminum use or aluminum related carbon emissions. To figure this out, this paper established an aluminum use and carbon emissions integrated decoupling model within the framework of anthropogenic aluminum cycle. A material flow analysis (MFA) during 2000–2020 for China's aluminum cycle was firstly conducted to quantify both aluminum flow and carbon emissions in each aluminum life-cycle process. Then, this paper evaluated and decomposed the decoupling index of aluminum use-economy and carbon emission-economy via the LMDI decomposition model. Results show that: (1) secondary aluminum has not become effective supplement for primary aluminum in China; (2) the expansive negative decoupling state was the most prevalent state. The decoupling effects of carbon emission were better than that of aluminum use; (3) technology improvement was an important impactor to decoupling process but didn't offset the growth in aluminum consumption or carbon emissions at most of the time. The government and industry organizers should implement active countermeasures to stimulate aluminum companies developing technology to improve aluminum use efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Production of Bauxite Certified Reference Material (BARC‐B1201) for Nine Property Values (Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, TiO2, V2O5,MnO, Cr2O3, MgO and LOI) Traceable to SI Units

The National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of Materials (NCCCM) / Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), India have produced an Indian origin bauxite certified reference material (CRM), referred to as BARC‐B1201, certified for major (Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, TiO2, loss on ignition ‐ LOI) and trace contents (V2O5, MnO, Cr2O3, MgO). Characterisation was undertaken by strict adherence to ISO Guides. A method previously developed and validated in our laboratory, using single step bauxite dissolution and subsequent quantitation (of Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, TiO2, V2O5, MnO, Cr2O3 and MgO) by ICP‐AES (SSBD ICP‐AES) was used for homogeneity studies and an inter‐laboratory comparison exercise (ILCE) of the candidate CRM. LOI was determined by thermo‐gravimetric analysis. Property values were assigned after an ILCE with participation from seventeen reputed government and private sector laboratories in India. The CRM was certified for nine property values: Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, TiO2, V2O5, MnO, Cr2O3, MgO and LOI, which are traceable to SI units.

A Study on Executive Performance Appraisal System in NALCO

The international employment climate expects a huge deal of commitment, loyalty, effort and dedication for the employees. Employees in turn also have high expectations from their employers. Performance appraisal must be viewed as an intrinsic or an already in-built part of a manager’s responsibility. It is a systematic way of ensuring that superiors and subordinates gather on a periodic basis and discuss the past, present and future performance and expectation issue and reach on common or neutral grounds on various dimensions or aspects of it. The gatherings should be established on a clear and mutual understanding of the work concerned and its standards, levels and outcomes. It is also to be understood that such procedures and systems are kept in place to fulfil and achieve certain goals and not only for formalities or paperwork’s. The paper intends to focus light upon the need of such methods which benefits all the concerned parties of a work environment, with giving a special reference to National Aluminium Company Limited or commonly known as NALCO.

Isolation and Characterization of Siderophores Producing Chemolithotrophic Bacteria from the Coal Samples of the Aluminum Industry

Siderophores are iron grabbers and are classified according to the ligands used to chelate the ferric iron. The role of siderophores is to scavenge iron and make it accessible to the cell. It has crucial applications in industries, medical, research, and environmental clean-up. In the current research work, the authors attempted to isolate and characterize a few siderophores producing bacteria from the coal samples, collected from the Bharat Aluminum Company Ltd. Chhattisgarh. The quantitative and qualitative assay for siderophores producing bacteria (SPB) was carried by Chrome Azurol Sulfonate agar test for all the ten samples and positive results were observed only in two strains, i.e., B6 and B7 when grown in iron-deficient succinate medium in an incubator shaker for 48 h at 120 rpm. The biochemical tests revealed that the B6 and B7 strains have similarities to Bacillus sp. and Vibrio sp., respectively. The study reflects the potential of these strains as effective siderophores producers and holds a noteworthy perspective in further industrial and research applications.

Empirical Analysis of the Hugh Gray 'Nessie' Photograph

The first photograph said to be of the Loch Ness Monster was taken on 12th November 1933 around noon by a local man by the name of Hugh Gray. I say "Loch Ness Monster" because I believe the photograph to be genuine and part of the evidence portfolio. The picture that generally circulates is shown below. The Scottish Daily Record took his picture and Mr. Gray gave the following account to them having been interviewed by Hugh Mackenzie (the future Provost of Inverness), Peter Munro representing Hugh Gray's employers at the British Aluminium Company and a Daily Record staff member:
 Four Sundays ago, after church I went for my usual walk near where the river enters the Loch. The Loch was like a mill pond and the sun shining brightly. An object of considerable dimensions rose out of the water not very far from where I was. I immediately got my camera ready and snapped the object which was two or three feet above the surface of the water. I did not see any head, for what I took to be the front parts were under the water, but there was considerable movement from what seemed to be the tail, the part furthest from me. The object only appeared for a few minutes then sank out of sight.
 A contemporary picture of Hugh Gray was printed later which I don't think flatters him much but is shown below to show you the man behind the monster.
 The tenor of the account suggests some throwing up of spray and water as the presumed tail beat about the waters and hence caused some blurriness around that region of the picture. Mackenzie described Gray as a man highly respected by his fellow workmen, employers and locals. Likewise, the Daily Record had the negative examined by four experts who deemed it as untampered. It caused a stir, was panned by zoologists and faded along with general Nessie-lore as the World entered war six years later. Twenty-two years on, Nessie author, Constance Whyte, visited Hugh Gray in May 1955 who was sticking to his story and still had vivid memories of that day plus he also recounted five other times he claimed to have seen the monster over those decades. Renowned monster hunter, Tim Dinsdale, also recounts how he visited Gray in April 1960 and described him as "a most courteous individual" as he took him to the spot of the sighting[4]. He spoke with "complete conviction" about that day as well as maintaining an accuracy of his account. He also added some detail of his other sightings which partly consisted of rapidly moving bow waves with no visible cause. What remains of the photograph today is uncertain.

Environmental management system implementation in a wood and aluminum company in Eastern Morocco

The present work concerns the implementation of an environmental management system in a company that specializes in wood and aluminum carpentry in Eastern Morocco in the city of Oujda. The implementation of this system was based on the latest version of the ISO 14,001 standard (environmental management) published in 2015. Therefore, the chosen approach was the PDCA approach: plan, do, check, act. The implementation of action plans established from the analysis of the environmental aspects of the company's activities allowed the decrease in energy consumption, such as electricity consumption, which decreased by 5% in the first five months of the year 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. In addition, the implementation of action plans led to more efficient waste management, particularly by waste sorting, which led to a 14 % increase in valorized waste through its reuse in just the first five months of the current year (2022).

Investigation of Energy-Saving Strategy for Parallel Variable Frequency Pump System Based on Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm

This paper presents an energy-saving strategy that was applied to a parallel variable frequency pump system of a water circulation pumping station. Firstly, the mathematical model of shaft power consumption for the parallel pump system was established using quadratic polynomial fitting, with some constraints configured according to the system’s water supply demands. Then, the algorithm program was designed with the goal of minimizing the energy consumption through the application of an improved differential evolution algorithm. Additionally, the energy consumption model and constraints were integrated and simplified in order to adapt to the algorithm calculation. In the end, the algorithm was implemented according to the pump design parameters and supply targets of the pumping station. Meanwhile, a comparison was done between the differential evolution (DE) algorithm and the genetic algorithm (GA). Furthermore, an experimental test was conducted in an aluminum company in order to verify the applicability of the energy-saving algorithm in practice. The results demonstrated the feasibility of using the improved differential evolution algorithm in order to achieve a minimum energy consumption operation strategy; the results consequently manifested the superiority of the differential evolution algorithm in both computing time and optimal solution aspects.

Continuous Production and Competitive Advantage in Selected Aluminum Company in South- South, Nigeria

The study investigated Continuous Production and Competitive Advantage in Selected Aluminum Companies in South- South, Nigeria, with specific objectives: to examine the relationship between mass production and customer collaboration, to determine the influence of process production on customer retention, to investigate the impact of assembly production on customer advocacy. The Study adopted a descriptive research method which is structural deigned questionnaire techniques that allows the gathering of data from desired respondents that will be used for analysis, the data employed for the study was primary data. The primary data used for analysis were response gathered from selected aluminium companies in south-south Nigeria. This study considered the total number of seventy-five (75) respondents. The research assign Alphabet to the items responds VE= Very effective, E=Effective, U= Undecided and I = Ineffective. The data analysis method used in this study is percentage frequency counts to determine the result of each items in the research questions and mean value decision rule is 2.5. SPSS was used to determine the decision rule of mean.

Impact of Applying Six Sigma Methodologies on Improving the Quality of Industrial Processes at Bahrain Aluminum Company (ALBA)

Impact of Applying Six Sigma Methodologies on Improving the Quality of Industrial Processes at Bahrain Aluminum Company (ALBA)

Nitrogen management can boost rice (Oryza sativa L.) production near aluminium smelter: A field study

Nitrogen (N) management is a key to sustain rice yield under submerged condition. Time and amount of N application boost rice production under adverse environmental situation. To test this hypothesis a field experiment was conducted at different villages in and around Hindustan Aluminium Company Ltd. (HINDALCO), Hirakud, Sambalpur, Odisha in the year 2015 and 2016. The rice ecosystems were selected on the basis of distance from the smelter plant. Different treatments were framed to test the hypothesis as T1-Farmers practice (60:30:30 kg N: P2 O5:K2O ha-1); T2- 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) of nitrogen(N) ; T3 -100% RDF of N; T4 -125% RDF of N; T5 -150% RDF of N. It was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications in the farmer's field. The test crop was rice cv.Tejaswinee. Growth parameters like plant height (cm), panicle length (cm) and number of effective tillers per hill were found to be highest in the plots where 125% RDF of N was applied. However the chlorophyll content(mg g-1 fresh)was estimated highest with 150 % RDF of N applied plots. The grain and straw yield (q ha-1) of rice were also observed highest with treatments receiving125% RDF of N.The rice ecosystems which are nearer to aluminium smelter plant were supposed to be affected with less yield as compared to far distance rice ecosystems. The grain quality parameterof rice like protein content (%) was also affected at smelter sites as compared to far distances. However with increasing the N level to 125 % RDF protein content was increased.