Aluminium Production and Environmental Issues

MATS 2007 Sustainable Materials Processing

Larissa de Lima Pitondo

October/2014

z5007953

Table of Contents
Aluminium Production and Environmental Issues..............................1
1. Introduction...................................................................................3
2. Production......................................................................................4
2.1 Bauxite Mining...................................................................................4
2.2 Alumina Production............................................................................ 5
2.3 Primary Aluminium Production...........................................................6

3. Strategies and proposed solutions.................................................7

3.1.Bauxite Mining...................................................................................7
3.2.Aluminia Extraction............................................................................7
3.3. Primary Aluminium Production..........................................................7
3.4 Other suggestions..............................................................................8

4. Sources..........................................................................................8

1. Introduction
With 30% of world production, Australia is the major producer
of bauxite, the main raw material for primary aluminium production,
followed by China with 21% (Hydro, 2012). The base raw materials
for primary aluminium production are the hydroxides and bauxite
minerals (gibbsite, bohemite and diaspore), which aluminium
content varies from 31-52%. After the bauxite ore is extracted it is
refined through the Bayer process obtaining the alumina. The major
fraction of alumina is used for primary aluminium production. For
that it is smelted using the Hall/Heroult electrolytic process,
obtaining the aluminium (IAI, 2008). The remaining fraction is then
forwarded

to

production

of

refractories,

ceramics,

cement,

aluminium chemicals and others (Paspaliaris, 2001).

Environmental issues of all these processes (Figure 1) are
related to the large areas required for mining and for waste disposal;
energy and water consumption and gases emission.
Figure 1 - Aluminium production processes

Bauxite
Bauxite
Hot solution
Hot
solution
(NaOH
(NaOH +
+
Ca(OH)
)
Ca(OH)2
2)
Thickeners
Thickeners and
and
filters
filters
Bauxite
Bauxite residues
residues
(insoluble
(insoluble
materials)
materials)

Sodium
Sodium
aluminate
aluminate

Washed
Washed and
and
combined
combined

Residue
Residue

Wash
Wash water
water

Storage
Storage in
in
landfill
landfill

Recycled
Recycled to
to the
the
process
process

2. Production
2.1 Bauxite Mining
Bauxite ore is located close to the surface and in relatively
shallow layers. Generally, one square meter give one tonne of
aluminium. Because of this bauxite mining use large land areas that
influence on native forests, tropical rain forest, farming, pasture
agricultural and other areas (Hydro, 2012).
To produce 2 tonnes of alumina, between 4 and 7 tonnes of
bauxite are required and from this resulting alumina, only 1 ton of
aluminium is yield. Bauxite is usually covered by clay and rocks, so
it passes though processes of washing, wet screening and cycloning.
Remaining clay is stocked in tailing pounds that are revegetated
later (Hydro, 2012).
Environmental issues related to bauxite mining activities are
mostly related to the large deforested areas. Change of landscape
can bring many consequences once it will have influence on soil
4

quality, soil stability, soil use, water behavior and problems with
waste disposal, that also require large areas, and material transport.
Removal of vegetation leads to runoff increasing and erosion and
also disturbance of hydrology because decreases water infiltration in
the soil (Hydro, 2012). Another problem is that the original use of
soil may be affected, for example an area that before was used for
farming, after mining activity it was transformed intro native forest
or pasture (IAI 2008).

2.2 Alumina Production

Alumina is extracted from bauxite through the Bayer process
that consists in three main steps: digestion, precipitation and
calcination (Figure 2). Digestion occurs at temperatures between
220 and 260C in presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). From this
step, insoluble impurities, called red mud, is separated from the
alumina solution and stored. On the next step due to the drop of
temperature to 58C the solution becomes supersaturated and
aluminium hydroxide (Al2O3.3H2O) is precipitated. After precipitation,
aluminium hydroxide (gibbsite) is submitted to calcination under
900 to 1200C, releasing water and aluminium oxide (Al 2O3)
(Paspaliaris, 2001).
Figure 2 - Bayer Process

(Hydro, 2012)
Environmental problems related with alumina production are
mostly related to the bauxite residue, the red mud. According to
Wang and Liu (2012) 0.8 to 1.8 tonnes of red mud are generated for
each tonne of alumina. Red mud composition varies depending on
bauxite elements but, basically it is constituted by industrial alkali,
heavy metals, fluoride and other pollutants. The problem is that
there is no activity that can use the red mud, this way it needs large
areas to be stocked in projected lagoons and it is not a safe and nice
solution

for

the

environment

since

it

can

contaminate

the

surrounding environment and also there is a risk of geological

disasters as it happened in Hungary in 2010 where a dike storing
more than 1 million cubic meters of red mud broke and flooded a
large area (The Atlantic, 2011).

2.3 Primary Aluminium Production

The leader of primary aluminium production is China, with
41% of worldwide production (Hydro, 2012). The process utilized is
the Hall-Hroult at a temperature between 950 to 980C (New
Zealand Institute of Chemistry [NZIC], n.d.). The alumina is
dissolved in electrolytic sodium aluminium fluoride ( Na3AlF6)) bath
within a carbon or graphite container, called pot. An electric
current with low voltage and high current pass through the
electrolyte between a carbon anode and a cathode, that is formed
by the material of the container. Molten aluminium that is deposited
in the bottom of the container is taken to a furnace and then a
fraction is bended to alloys and finally cleaned and molded into
products.

For each tonne of metal produced, around 400 kg of

carbon is consumed, releasing CO2.

Environmental problems related to the environment are the
high-energy consumption, emission of GHG, pollutant gases liquid
effluents and waste disposal. The energy consumption in these
processes is about 20 to 40% of the total production cost. Between
the gaseous emissions are: perfluorocarbons, particulate florides
(during anode effects), alumina and carbon dust, sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide and dioxide (NZIC, n.d.). The solid waste from this
process is considered hazardous due to the content of cyanide,
fluoride, PAH and reactive metal (Hydro, 2012).

3. Strategies and proposed solutions

3.1.Bauxite Mining
Related

to

bauxite

mining

environmental

issues,

it

is

necessary that before the operation starts it must be done an

Environmental Impact Assessment analysing impacts on fauna,
flora, soil composition to avoid contamination of table water and

deforestation of rare species and possible disturbances on local and

surrounding ecosystem. Also, the landscape has to have structure to
avoid soil erosion and flooding in the area. After the operation the
mining company have to have a management plan of rehabilitation
of the mining area.

3.2.Aluminia Extraction
As explained before, the major environmental issue in this
part of production is the residue of bauxite, the red mud. Methods to
dry disposal is an alternative that is considered better than the wet
mud due to the physical space occupied and also the risk of dike
breakage. To minimise risks of environmental contamination, the red
mud is neutralized with sulfur acid (Filho et al, 2007).

3.3. Primary Aluminium Production

As stated before, the major cost of aluminium production is
due to the large amount of energy consumed and depending on the
source of energy, high GHG emissions are due to it. To minimise
GHG emissions, the energy source have to be a clean energy source
such as hydroelectric or nuclear. According to Hydro (2012) most of
gases emitted in this process are collected are collected and treated
with alumina scrubbers, so that all the fluoride is virtually removed.
The solid fraction waste is diverted to cement industry where it is
used as additive to the cement. Because high temperatures are
used to produce destroys hazardous organic compounds.

3.4 Other suggestions

Another alternative that takes into account all the steps is
trying to increase aluminium recycling, this way the only process will
be melting the metal and molding it. Recycling the aluminium only
5% of the total energy used to produce aluminium since mining is
used. Changes in landscape and GHG gases and pollutante
amissions are avoided as well. Aproximatelly 90 million metric tons
8

of CO2 is saved and more than 100,000 GWh of energy. Other

advantage is that there is no loss of quality in recycled aluminium
(Hydro, 2012).

4. Sources
Filho, S.E.B.; Alves, M. C. M. and Da Motta, M., 2007. Lama vermelha
da

indstria

caractersticas,

de

beneficiamento

disposio

de

aplicaes

alumina:

produo,

alternativas,

Revista

Matria, vol. 12, pp. 322-338.

Hydro, 2012. Aluminium, environment and society, Oslo.
International Aluminium Institute (IAI), 2008. Fourth Sustainable
Bauxite Mining Report.
NZIC, n.d. The Production of Aluminium [Online]. Available from
<http://nzic.org.nz/ChemProcesses/metals/8D.pdf>

[Accessed

in

October 20].
Paspaliaris, Panias, D. and Skoufadis, C., 2001. Precipitation and
Calcination of Monohydrate Alumina from the Bayer Process
Liquors, Eurothen, pp. 438-456, Stockholm.
Wang, P. and Liu, D. Y., 2012. Physical and Chemical Properties of
Sintering Red Mud and Bayer Red Mud and the Implications for
Beneficial Utilization, Materials, vol. 5, pp. 1800-1810.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/09/a-flood-of-red-sludgeone-year-later/100158/