Aluminium International Today Digital June 2020

RECYCLING

LABELLING

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

ASI UPDATE

www.aluminiumtoday.com

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

SUSTAINABILITY SUPPLEMENT

CLOSING THE LOOP

CONTENTS

Digital Edition No.11 Editorial Editor: Nadine Bloxsome Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855115 nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com

1

COVER RECYCLING

LABELLING

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

ASI UPDATE

2 NEWS/PRODUCTS

Production Editor: Annie Baker www.aluminiumtoday.com

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

Sales Sales Manager: Nathan Jupp nathanjupp@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855139 Sales Director: Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117

SUSTAINABILITY SUPPLEMENT

CLOSING THE LOOP

Advertisement Production Production Executive: Martin Lawrence

Recycling

8

10

14

recycling aluminium should not

be left to recyclers addressing the challenges of aluminium recycling bmw extends aluminium recycling

Advertorial

Circulation/subscriptions Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034­ email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Annual subscription: UK £224, all other countries £244. For two year subscription: UK £403, all other countries £439. Airmail prices on request.

Single copies £41

THE EDITOR’S COMMENT

15 FRONT COVER: INDUCTOTHERM GROUP

28

banyard billet heaters

Labelling

16

the world needs lower carbon

aluminium

Supporters of Aluminium International Today

ASI 18

update

Progress on responsible aluminium production and sourcing through the asi standards

Circular 22 24

ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL TODAY is published six times a year by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email: aluminium@quartzltd.com

28 32

closing the loop to a perfectly infinite circular economy

keeping sustainability in view entering the age of sustainable

aluminium

Sorting

36 Sorting non-ferrous metals and

© Quartz Business Media Ltd 2020

@AluminiumToday

Digital Edition - June 2020

the circular aluminium action plan

Sustainability

Aluminium International Today (USO No; 022-344) is published bi-monthly

by Quartz Business Ltd and distributed in the US

by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Aluminium International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

Printed in the UK by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 2YA, UK

ISSN1475-455X

economy

creating top qualities to a

5mm grain size

- right down

C0MMENT

1

Giving aluminium a label The last couple of years have seen the introduction of a number of low carbon aluminium products released into the market. However, the lines can sometimes be slightly blurred when it comes to analysing what makes these products ‘greener’ than others.

This idea was highlighted in a recent Podcast interview with Hilde Kallevig from Hydro, where we discussed the importance of not ‘Greenwashing’ aluminium products and differentiating between labelling products as either recyled or low carbon.

This conversation just so happened to be at the same time that the Carbon Trust released a report calling for the publication to universal standards of the carbon footprint of primary aluminium (full story on page 16.)

Interestingly and even more timely, as I write this comment, news has just broken that the LME has announced plans to launch a platform to trade ‘low carbon’ aluminium mostly produced with renewable energy, marking the first time a metal will be traded based on its environmental footprint in the exchange’s 143 year history.

The move apparently comes after pressure from En+, owner of Russian producer Rusal, for the LME to force suppliers to disclose their carbon footprint on the exchange...

I hope you enjoy and as always, I am interested to hear what you think!

Nadine Bloxsome Editor, Aluminium International Today E: nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com W: www.aluminiumtoday.com Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

2 INDUSTRY NEWS

www.aluminiumtoday.com

NESPRESSO LAUNCHES NEW CAPSULES USING 80% RECYCLED ALUMINIUM Nespresso, an operating unit of Nestlé, has announced the launch of what it claims are the first coffee capsules made using 80% recycled aluminium.

“We are constantly challenging ourselves to improve the sustainability and circularity of our operations,

including the way we source, use, and recycle materials. Reaching 80% recycled aluminium in our capsules is a significant milestone and something we have worked hard to achieve together with our suppliers,” said Jérôme Pérez, Nespresso Head of Sustainability.

The first-ever coffee capsules made from 80% recycled aluminium are the “Original Line Master Origin Colombia” coffee. By the end of 2021, Nespresso aims to have the full “Original Line” and “Vertuo” ranges of coffee capsules made using recycled aluminium.

Made of a thinner aluminium foil, each new capsule is reportedly produced using 9.2% less aluminium material and is therefore apparently 8% lighter.

Due to the composition of the aluminium alloy required to produce Nespresso capsules, the company claims that 80% is the current maximum amount of recycled content that can be included. However, Nespresso says that it continues to look at solutions that will increase that percentage.

The launch of these capsules follows the introduction of new fully recyclable boxes for Nespresso machines, made from 95% recycled material, earlier this year in March. By the end of 2021, Nespresso has set the target of having all machines sold in this new packaging.

ALUMINIUM STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE CERTIFIES SEVEN HYDRO EXTRUDED SOLUTIONS FACILITIES Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has announced that Hydro Extruded Solutions has been successfully certified against the ASI Chain of Custody Standard for its facilities in Birtley (UK), Bedwas (UK), Cheltenham (UK), Chrzanów (Poland), Tibshelf (UK), Tønder Precision Tubing (Denmark) and Trzcianka (Poland).

Their products are destined for applications in building and construction, electronics, transportation, among other industry sectors.

Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said “We warmly congratulate Hydro Extruded Solu-

Digital Edition - June 2020

tions on their multi-site Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification. Hydro has continued to expand their CoC Certifications from their primary production business divisions through to rolled products, and this latest Certification now enables their extruded metal customers to leverage the company’s sustainability credentials further downstream and in a great variety of key business sectors.”

“This is a milestone for us in our sustainability agenda, and in our strategy to help our customers document that they offer aluminium products that are sourced and

produced responsibly throughout the entire value chain,” says Executive Vice President, Egil Hogna, who leads Hydro’s Extruded Solutions

business area. “Doing business the right way is what our company is all about.”

Aluminium International Today

OES | XRF | XRD Complete portfolio for reliable aluminum analysis Elemental analysis is essential to the quality of your aluminum products. We offer solutions that fit your needs and your budget. For pure and alloyed aluminum and for inclusion analysis, our instruments deliver unmatched speed, precision and accuracy. Industry-leading OES. Versatile, non-destructive XRF and XRD. Highly efficient automated instruments including sample preparation. A network of local support. You’ll have the instruments and expertise to achieve superior product quality, reduce costs and maximize uptime.

Thermo Scientific™ ARL iSpark™ OES

Thermo Scientific™ ARL easySpark™ OES

Thermo Scientific™ ARL™ SMS-2500 automation

Discover more at thermofisher.com/aluminum © 2020 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified.

Thermo Scientific™ ARL™ 9900 XRF-XRD

4 INDUSTRY NEWS

www.aluminiumtoday.com

EN+ GROUP SUPPORTS THE PUBLICATION OF THE METHODOLOGY TO DEFINE LOW CARBON ALUMINIUM BY THE CARBON TRUST En+ Group has thrown its support behind a new report from the Carbon Trust, calling for the publication to universal standards of the carbon footprint of primary aluminium.

The paper entitled The Case for Low Carbon Primary Aluminium Labelling includes a simple methodology to define the ‘low carbon category ‘as a separate ‘asset a class’ and recommends, dependable, proper labelling, to distinguish Low Carbon aluminium from other types of aluminium which can have a carbon content of over 5x that of leading Low Carbon producers.

As part of the drive to a low carbon economy, numerous international aluminium producers have already launched ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ products, but they lack transparent communication and a clear and consistent approach to labelling.

The vital importance of carbon transparency has become a key concern of the industry’s clients as well as end consumers. Given the growing opportunities for alumini-

um to be used as a ‘green material’ for new industrial projects in a post-COVID-19 recovery, clarity and transparency have become urgent issues to resolve. The new Carbon Trust report offers a clear solution and a path forward.

The list of recommendations for calculating the carbon footprint of primary aluminium to carry the lower carbon aluminium ‘label’ suggested by The Carbon Trust includes the following: 1. A ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ label should be defined by a current threshold of 4.5 t CO2 per tonne of aluminium for the process emissions from aluminium electrolysis, anode production and aluminium casting, including full lifecycle emissions associated with fuel combustion and electricity consumption.

2. The footprint measurement must follow the IAI methodology with a uniform approach to electricity impact accounting.

3. The footprinting scope should expand to full cradle-to-gate, with companies signing up to a lower carbon label committed to doing so within two years of receiving the label.

4. The aluminium sector as a whole needs to achieve emission reductions over time consistent with the decarbonisation pathways defined by science-based targets aligned to the Paris Agreement goals.

En+ Group has long been an advocate of transparency and disclosure by aluminium producers of the carbon footprint of their metals.

Last year the Group launched a campaign for Level 1 carbon emissions to be stated on all warrants for London Metal Exchange traded aluminium as a transformative step for the industry to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement. En+ Group was also the first in the industry to introduce systematically commercial contracts with a guaranteed

carbon footprint and disclosure of carbon footprint for the smelter of origin.

Lord Barker, Executive Chairman of En+ Group, said: “En+ Group is absolutely certain that only by providing clear and consistent information about carbon content on their products can aluminium producers enable customers to make genuinely informed buying decisions.

That is why we warmly welcome The Carbon Trust’s new paper as a timely analysis of how global producers need to act now on carbon transparency, which is a vital part of any industry’s commitment to meaningful carbon reduction.

En+ Group is committed to building a post-COVID- 19 recovery that is green, sustainable and resilient. That will require real change in the way we all do business and this insightful work from The Carbon Trust is a great pointer to the urgent first steps that our industry needs to take.”

TOMRA SORTING RECYCLING ENABLES THE PRODUC

TOMRA has developed X-TRACT units for magnesium removal, a ground-breaking x-ray-based solution which can separate magnesium from aluminium in products such as Zorba and Twitch.

With consistently high purity rates of 99% being achieved with in-field testing, the material can be treated and traded within the US as it meets the stringent quality requirements of Digital Edition - June 2020

domestic customers.

Until now the only way of treating Zorba for the removal of contaminants such as magnesium has been a two-stage sink-float operation whereby the majority of the heavy metals are separated from the shredder scrap, while the hollow aluminium scrap, magnesium and high-density plastics are floated out in an additional media stage.

Aluminium International Today

INDUSTRY NEWS 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

HYDRO SUPPLIES ALUMINIUM FOR THE OCEAN CLEANUP’S SECOND-GENERATION INTERCEPTOR The Ocean Cleanup has developed the first scalable solution to efficiently intercept plastic in rivers, before the plastic reaches the oceans. Their solution utilises corrosion-resistant aluminium.

“Providing aluminium for such a unique project is truly inspiring.

It highlights the opportunities this represents in term of dealing with one the biggest environmental issues we are facing, in addition to the vast prospects of aluminium solutions,” says John Delamboy, commercial director for Hydro Extruded Solutions in the Benelux region.

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. Their statistics show that about 1% of our 100,000 rivers are responsible for 80% of the plastic which flows into our oceans via rivers.

The organisation has developed the Interceptor, an autonomous system for collecting plastic pollution from rivers before it reaches the sea. Over the span of

five years, they aim to halt the 80% of plastic coming from rivers into our oceans by focusing on the most-polluting 1,000 rivers around the world.

Light and affordable structural element The Ocean Cleanup was looking for a light and affordable structural element that offered possibilities for scalability and part integration. Aluminium turned out to be a viable

alternative, and Hydro is involved as one of the aluminium material suppliers for the second-generation Interceptor.

Aluminium was also a logical choice because of its corrosion resistance in open waters.

Design collaboration The companies working with The Ocean Cleanup are collaborating to optimise the design of the Inter-

ceptor to make the system even better.

Today, one Interceptor can extract 50,000 kilograms of trash from a river each day, going up to 100,000 kilograms under “optimised conditions.”

Hydro has supplied aluminium profiles in four different shapes from its Dutch plant in Hoogezand. The profiles are used as construction parts for the body and roofing.

CTION OF LOW MAGNESIUM TWITCH FROM ZORBA

Sink-float processes have historically been difficult to manage, require a large footprint, can be relatively unstable and can be expensive because the operational cost per ton is relatively high.

Now, TOMRA’s upgraded X-TRACT for magnesium removal offers a reliable, robust and cost-effective alternative to sink-float separation.

The system uses existing TOMRA XRT Aluminium International Today

technology but in a new configuration so that it is capable of sorting material of different density levels and separates magnesium from aluminium to create furnace ready products, including low magnesium Twitch, across the Zorba size spectrum from 5-120mm.

Now, TOMRA’s upgraded X-TRACT for magnesium removal offers a reliable, robust and cost-effective

alternative to sink-float separation.

The system uses existing TOMRA XRT technology but in a new configuration so that it is capable of sorting material of different density levels and separates magnesium from aluminium to create furnace ready products, including low magnesium Twitch, across the Zorba size spectrum from 5-120mm.”

Digital Edition - June 2020

6 INDUSTRY NEWS

www.aluminiumtoday.com

UK ALUMINIUM PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE HITS NEW HEIGHTS IN RAPIDLY-GROWING MARKET The UK’s aluminium packaging recycling rate has risen to 56%, its highest ever level, increasing yearon-year by 4% (from 52% in 2018).

That’s the findings of the latest Environment Agency data, published on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) earlier this month.

The aluminium packaging market grew by 8% (year-on-year), with 207,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging sold in the UK during 2019. A record 116,670 tonnes were recycled, including an estimated 76% of

all aluminium beverage cans sold.

More than 102,944 tonnes of the collected aluminium packaging (88%) was recycled into new high quality products within Europe. The business recycling rate once again surpassed targets, reaching 63% (compared to 60% in 2018), while consumer-collected aluminium packaging recycling also rocketed by 20% year-on-year (from 74,595 in 2018 to 89,543 in 2019).

Alongside greater public awareness about the widespread bene-

fits of recycling, delivered through initiatives such as MetalMatters and Every Can Counts, the positive increase can be partly attributed to the aluminium sector’s continued investment into ensuring that the packaging it produces is recycled.

The volume of aluminium packaging recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA) also increased, as a result of increasing volume of household residual waste being diverted to energy from waste plants (EfW) rather than going to landfill.

Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro, commented: “The continuing increase in recycling rates is all the more significant given the substantial increase in sales of aluminium packaging.

Aluminium recycling is a true circular success story. Infinitely recyclable, reformed endlessly and retaining its properties indefinitely, nearly 75% of all aluminium ever produced worldwide is still in use today. Within 60 days, the aluminium packaging that consumers recycle could be back on supermarket shelves – a hugely powerful message that really seems to resonate.

“Since 2010, the UK’s aluminium packaging recycling rate has increased by 15% (from 41% in 2010 to 56% in 2019). This demonstrates the desire of British consumers to step up and do their bit for the environment. Our goal is to achieve an aluminium packaging recycling rate close to 100% across the UK – maintaining such impressive progress is essential to make this a reality.”

BALL SELECTS ACOSTA FOR US ALUMINIUM CUP LAUNCH Sustainable aluminium packaging solutions supplier Ball has selected consumer packaged goods sales and marketing agency Acosta for its aluminium cup.

Under this national partnership,

Acosta will exclusively represent as the brand launches in grocery, drug and C-stores, food service, specialty channels and select mass channel retailers, across the US. Acosta CEO Darian Pickett said:

“We are honoured that Ball has entrusted us to represent the Ball Aluminium Cup in US retail and on-premise outlets.

“Our team is proud and eager to provide sales, analytic, retail and

supply chain support to a global brand with a long legacy in the packaging industry, as they launch and accelerate the introduction of the aluminium cups into locations over the next year.”

INDUSTRY NEWS 7

www.aluminiumtoday.com

ALUPRO COMMENDS RECYCLING INDUSTRY RESILIENCE AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro, explores the impact of COVID-19 on kerbside recycling collections and discusses the importance of maintaining high reprocessing rates to create essential packaging materials.

Last week (14 April), the Association of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) published data investigating the impact of Covid-19 on local authority waste and recycling services. The findings, which prove hugely insightful reading, report that more than 90% of councils are continuing to run dry recycling collections as normal (or with only minor disruptions) – despite national staff absence rates of c.20%.

This insight not only demonstrates resilience from across the industry, but also national perseverance in the face of adversity.

By continuing to provide kerbside collections, local authorities are providing an invaluable service that keeps resources away from landfill and retains them within the value chain. Recycling is providing an important response to the hugely challenging scenario we all currently face.

Take aluminium, for example.

With inherently circular properties, aluminium can be collected,

recycled and very quickly returned to a packaging system critical in the provision of food, drink and even essential medical supplies. The average beverage can has a cycle of just 60 days, meaning it can be reprocessed and returned to the supermarket shelf in less than eight weeks.

This emphasises the vital importance of maintaining kerbside collections and continuing to provide UK reprocessors with vital secondary raw materials.

Andy Doran, Senior Manager (Sustainability & Recycling Development) at Alupro member Novelis UK, commented: “As our automaker customers are severely impacted, we have temporarily stopped our assets serving that sector. On the

other hand, our Warrington plant will continue to serve the beverage can market, which remains very much business as usual in the current climate.”

Maintaining a continuous flow of aluminium packaging is therefore essential to keep the cycle moving.

As such, it’s positive to see that only 1% of MRFs nationwide are temporarily closed, with close to 95% operating either as normal or with only minor disruptions.

With social distancing and safe working practices paramount to maximising the wellbeing of staff and keeping facilities open, we advocate adherence to the recently-published safety guidance advice from the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH). Com-

piled with insight from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health England (PHE), the document details best practice for waste management facilities nationwide.

By adhering to this advice, transfer stations and MRFs will be able to continue supporting reprocessors nationwide in maintaining valuable services through a hugely challenging global period.

At Alupro, we commend the waste industry’s frontline workers, who are providing an essential service in very challenging circumstances. By providing collections for local residents, they are helping to supply raw materials critical for manufacturing essential food packaging and medical supplies.

CALL FOR A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY PLAN: THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY’S RECOMMENDATIONS The aluminium industry supports calls to place the European Green Deal at the centre of any reconstruction package.

It also calls on Europe to use the plan to reinforce its strategic auton-

Aluminium International Today

omy in global value chains, preserve existing industrial assets and restore the production in Europe instead of relying on carbon-intensive imports from China and other regions.

Download the European Aluminium’s recommendations, which outlines a set of concrete measures that the EU Commission and the Member States could take to help the aluminium industry going

through the crisis and mitigate the risks of a more severe impact on our value chain.

Digital Edition - June 2020

8 RECYCLING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Recycling aluminium should not be left to recyclers

By Melanie Williams* Everyone agrees that recycling aluminium is worthwhile and necessary. Aluminium can recycled again and again without loss of quality, which fits well with the requirements of a circular economy.

Europe recently made an ambitious commitment to an economy with netzero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Of course it’s difficult for the economy to be net zero without being circular, so there will be even more focus on recycling in the future. There is also likely to be a significant impact on trade and supply chains for both primary and secondary aluminium.

Some companies have already understood that recycling of both pre and post consumer scrap must be part of their strategy. Not only can they then make claims about the recycled content of their products, but also they effectively reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of their entire range. While it is relatively straightforward to take back process scrap from immediate customers or return it suppliers, is more difficult for a company at the top of the supply chain to retain sight of its products as they are sold to consumers and then disposed of after use.

Both pre and post consumer scrap are likely to be classified as ‘recycled’ according to a draft European Standard for calculating recycled content. So it makes sense to maximise the recycling of process scrap as a first step, before moving on to end of life material.

Companies are now also realising that they should take responsibility for their products throughout their life cycle including how they are recycled at end of life. This is likely to mean changes to supply chains. As in other sectors, some primary aluminium providers are acquiring recyclers and collectors to secure supply, and then applying their skills to produce blends/alloys, which conform to customer needs. Studies have explored the implications of fundamental changes to value chains in the metals industry. For example, according to a World Economic Forum report , it could become more profitable and sustainable to reposition a business as “providers of metals” derived

from mining, recycling and reuse rather than as a pure mining or metals company.

Europe needs to step up recycling.

Currently, significant quantities of scrap aluminium are exported, mainly to Asia. This is replaced in European manufacturing by imported primary aluminium. But even if Europe manages to reprocess all of its own scrap, we will still need primary aluminium to respond to the increasing demand for aluminium for energy efficient buildings and lightweight vehicles. Europe is a successful exporter of high value aluminium products including cars, boats, and aircraft. In fact, the EU exports more cars than it imports. So this surplus of aluminium containing exports over imports is yet another factor driving demand for imported primary aluminium.

Much of the imported primary material comes from China, which uses coal as a source of energy to produce aluminium with the highest carbon footprint.

European Aluminium indicates that in 2017, around 900 thousand tonnes of scrap were exported. If Europe recycled all of its own aluminium scrap rather than exporting it, imports of primary aluminium would be reduced by about 24% and 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions would be avoided.

European Aluminium has recently published a Circular Aluminium Action Plan for optimising recycling in Europe. It includes regulatory measures to promote the retention of aluminium scrap in Europe. The industry points to foreign recyclers who don’t work to the same standards as European ones, as part of the problem. There are calls for a mandatory EU certification scheme for all recyclers, with third party verification to guarantee compliance with EU environmental standards. These measures will certainly help, but companies in the value chain should be making more efforts themselves to promote the collection of their products at the end of their life, because there may be wider trade implications in the future.

Measures under discussion by the European Commission, to implement a net zero economy will have far reaching ramifications. A ‘carbon border tax’ is one

example of the new measures proposed and it is rising up the political agenda.

Europe has already recognised the problem of carbon leakage, which occurs when carbon intensive manufacturing is displaced to countries with weaker environmental safeguards, only for the products to be imported back into Europe.

The carbon border tax removes that advantage from carbon intensive imports.

Different variants have been proposed ; average sectoral emissions of European producers could be used as a baseline or importers could prove that their products’ actual emissions performance is better than the average. But all are likely to have the effect of making scrap and recycled aluminium an attractive way of reducing the carbon intensity of foreign products targeted at EU markets.

Aluminium is key to the future of lightweight, carbon efficient transport and European companies have developed some of the alloys needed to optimise performance. The aluminium content of these cars, boats and aircraft needs to be brought back at the end of their life so it can be used again to manufacture more of the same. A report from the International Aluminium Institute predicts the increasing use of both primary and recycled aluminium in vehicles produced in China. It would logical for China to use that recycled aluminium as a way of minimising a carbon border tax on imports to Europe.

So European cast houses, semi fabricators and their customers should be thinking about gaining access to their own or their competitors scrap and end-of-life aluminium alloys, even if they have been exported to other countries.

The lifetime of aluminium in vehicles is at least ten years and in buildings even longer, so there are those who will argue that it is too early to make changes.

Nevertheless companies should be aware of the potential for foreign competitors to gain an advantage by recycling Europe’s scrap back to its consumers as high value imports. And those who act first are more likely to get ahead of the curve in a circular economy. �

Consultant www.melaniewilliamsconsulting.com Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

HIGHER ALUMINUM PURITIES, ULTRALOW MAGNESIUM CONTENT: X-TRACT SORTS IT! TOMRA‘s X-TRACT units for magnesium removal achieve low magnesium twitch production from Zorba.

DISCOVER X-TRACT! www.tomra.com/recycling

10 RECYCLING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Addressing the challenges of aluminium recycling

By TOMRA Recycling*

* www.tomra.com/recycling Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

www.aluminiumtoday.com

RECYCLING 11 5

Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

12 RECYCLING

Demand for aluminium has risen steadily over recent years and is predicted to increase further over the next two decades, with both the European car industry and construction industry likely to remain major end users of this highly versatile metal. In the car industry, the need to lightweight vehicles is driving up demand for aluminium, in particular wrought aluminium alloys for use in electric vehicles as the industry shifts away from internal combustion engines which use cast alloys.

And, with Europe’s construction industry under increasing pressure to reduce its CO2 emissions and become more energy efficient, demand for aluminium from this sector is also likely to rise further still as it is such a lightweight, energy efficient and infinitely recyclable material.

We’ve already witnessed European plastics manufacturers committing to increasing the amount of recycled content of their products in order to reduce their carbon footprint and now we’re seeing the same thing happen in the aluminium industry, where aluminium producers are marketing high recycled content aluminium to demonstrate their environmental credentials and their commitment to reducing CO2 emissions.

It’s clear that the end markets for high quality recycled aluminium already exist and that demand is only likely to rise further in the future. The challenge for European scrap metal processors, along with the growing number of aluminium producers who are investing in equipment to sort the scrap material themselves, is how to produce a consistently high quality, high purity furnace-ready aluminium product.

To achieve this, and optimise the use of scrap in their furnaces, the infeed material needs to be cleaned of heavy metals, of aluminium-plastic compounds and of other light material, such as magnesium.

Being able to rely on a repeatable quality furnace material is key for the aluminium industry.

Removing contaminants to produce high-purity aluminium One of the major sources of scrap aluminium is Zorba – a mixed non-ferrous material generated by eddy-current separators in end of life vehicles (ELV) and Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE) recycling. Zorba consists primarily of aluminium (typically 70-80%) and other non-ferrous metals like copper, brass and zinc, as well as magnesium generated by eddy-current separators.

Additionally, Zorba can contain nonmetallic contaminants such as rubber and foil. In Europe, magnesium makes up between 1-2% of a typical scrap aluminium fraction and is regarded as an unwanted contaminant in the scrap mix.

Digital Edition - June 2020

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Secondary aluminium smelters ideally like the aluminium from Zorba to contain very low magnesium, typically well below 0.5% by weight.

Similarly, the increasing volume of aluminium-plastic compounds, as well as contaminating plastic and non-metallic materials in Zorba make it difficult for processors to produce high-purity aluminium scrap.

Historically, both the magnesium and the aluminium-plastic compounds would have ended up in the aluminium fraction, reducing the quality of the aluminium product and, subsequently, reducing its market value.

Until two years ago, processors could sell this lower quality material to China, but since China closed its borders it has become increasingly difficult to sell Zorba that has not been cleaned.

Consequently, there is a now a surplus of Zorba in Europe. With an excess amount of Zorba sitting in yards across Europe, the issue of quality becomes even more significant. Selling it on without cleaning it simply isn’t a sustainable solution, especially if you want to get a good price for the material. Only those recyclers who are able to process the material and recover a consistently highquality aluminium product will be able to sell it on to end customers in domestic markets.

Due to magnesium and aluminium being similar in density, traditional sink-float dense media plants struggle to clearly differentiate between these materials in order to separate them and remove contaminants. There is a risk that the aluminium recovered using a sink float separation process won’t meet the quality standards required by end customers, and, as a result, processors would face penalties for supplying an inferior quality product.

Making the most of the latest technology Removing aluminium-plastic compounds, light plastics and magnesium from aluminium scrap requires advanced sorting technology. One such technology which addresses this challenge and offers a reliable, robust and cost-effective alternative to sink-float separation is the latest application TOMRA Sorting has developed for our X-TRACT unit which enables the removal of aluminiumplastic compounds and magnesium from aluminium in products such as Zorba.

During our test centre and in-field testing we put hundreds of tonnes of sorted and traded material through the X-TRACT unit with the belt running at 3m (10 feet) per second and achieved consistently high purity rates of up to 99%. This

means the material can be traded more robustly and used in domestic or close-tohome markets. The system uses existing TOMRA XRT x-ray technology but in a new configuration so that it is capable of sorting material of different density levels.

It can separate light materials, aluminiumplastic compounds and magnesium from aluminium to create furnace ready products – including what’s referred to as low magnesium Twitch – across the Zorba size spectrum from 5-120mm.

This degree of separation of fines simply couldn’t be achieved using dense media plant processes and, until now, it wouldn’t even have been possible using TOMRA’s sensor-based sorting technology Aluminium International Today

RECYCLING 13 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

ABOUT TOMRA SORTING RECYCLING TOMRA Sorting Recycling designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting technologies for the global recycling and waste management industry. Over 6,000 systems have been installed in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Responsible for developing the world’s first high capacity Near Infrared (NIR) sensor for waste sorting applications, TOMRA Sorting Recycling remains an

because magnesium is very similar in density to aluminium so the technology couldn’t recognise the difference between the materials.

Now though, the capabilities and combination of the x-ray technology used in TOMRA’s X-TRACT unit make it by far the most consistently accurate solution available on the market today. In our test centres in Germany and in the States, we have achieved consistently high purity rates of 99% recycled aluminium – meeting the requirements of end customers who specify magnesium-free aluminium or typically well below 0.5% by weight.

Being able to produce up to 99% recycled aluminium vastly enhances the Aluminium International Today

industry pioneer with a dedication to extracting high purity fractions from waste streams that maximize both yield and profits.

TOMRA Sorting Recycling is part of TOMRA Sorting Solutions which also develops sensor-based systems for sorting, peeling and process analytics for the food, mining and other industries.

TOMRA Sorting is owned by

market opportunities for processors who can sell their furnace-ready products, including low magnesium Twitch, across the full size fraction spectrum to secondary aluminium smelters within their own country or to customers in other European countries. And with the quality and purity of the material guaranteed to be consistent, processors can establish long-term, reliable sales channels within Europe, with no penalties for missing quality requirements. The ideal circular economy solution would be for scrap material to be used in same country where the new products are manufactured, effectively closing the loop on aluminium recycling.

Norwegian company TOMRA Systems ASA, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Founded in 1972, TOMRA Systems ASA has a turnover of around €876m and employs ~4,000 globally.

For more information on TOMRA Sorting Recycling visit www.tomra. com/recycling or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

The capabilities of our X-TRACT unit aren’t limited to removing aluminiumplastic compounds and magnesium.

It is also capable of sorting wrought aluminium (sheet) from cast aluminium (alloys).

Wrought is low density while cast is higher density, so the magnesium and aluminium-plastic compounds end up in the wrought. With the X-TRACT unit we can now remove the magnesium and aluminium-plastic compounds from the wrought.

Our ongoing commitment to R&D means that we will continue to explore other bespoke metal applications for this world-class x-ray based technology. � Digital Edition - June 2020

14 RECYCLING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

BMW extends aluminium recycling BMW’s press shop in Dingolfing – the largest of the BMW Group worldwide – is the first in which all aluminum sheet waste is separated and recycled to make it reusable for industry. The BMW Group has invested around €6.5 million euros in the technical retrofitting of the Dingolfing press shop for the implementation.

The shop now enables CO2 savings of around 120,000 tons of CO2 per year through the recycling process. In contrast to the production of primary aluminum from new raw materials, the production of secondary aluminum is associated with 95% less greenhouse gas emissions.

When producing components in the press shop, there is always a waste of sheet metal. These remaining sheets from the twelve production presses are separated fully automatically via scrap chutes; distributed on three different conveyor belts; and pressed into cubes.

As a result, the aluminum residues are collected so that the materials of different

components do not mix with their individual compositions. This separation is then maintained in the recycling process.

The BMW Group is working with the world’s leading aluminum recycling specialist Novelis. Novelis melts the aluminum residues from Dingolfing, alloys the material and uses them to produce aluminum sheets, which in turn can be used in industry, including in vehicle production at the BMW Group Dingolfing location.

The recycling process, as has now been established in the Dingolfing press shop, is already being implemented in the light metal foundry of the BMW Group plant in Landshut. The adaptation to a press shop should now serve as a role model for the entire company.

The Dingolfing plant is one of the BMW Group’s 31 production sites worldwide.

Around 1,500 automobiles from the BMW 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 series roll off the assembly line every day at the 2.4 automotive plant. In 2018, the plant

manufactured a total of almost 330,000 vehicles. Around 18,000 employees and 800 trainees are currently employed at the Dingolfing location.

In addition to the automotive core production, the production of vehicle components such as pressed parts or chassis and drive components is located at the location. Due to its aluminum expertise in chassis construction and its many years of experience in the field of alternative drives, the BMW Group Dingolfing plant supplies key components such as highvoltage storage, electric transmission and drive structure for the new BMW i models in Leipzig and provides high-voltage storage and electric motors for plug -inhybrid models from the BMW Group.

The body shells for all Rolls-Royce models are also built at the site. The socalled dynamic center, a large storage and handling center, supplies the worldwide BMW and MINI dealer organisation with original BMW parts and accessories. �

WEBINARS At a time where international travel is still restricted, but business must go on, Aluminium International Today is running a series of Webinars to keep the industry connected.

Register to hear from industry experts about topics ranging from cyber security resilience, digitalisation, manufacturing case studies and more.

All Webinars are free to attend and also give you the opportunity to network with colleagues, clients and friends in one place.

aluminiumtoday.com/webinars

Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

ADVERTORIAL 15

Banyard Billet Heaters – 50 Years Strong, Forefront of Innovation

Over 50 years ago, Banyard developed an induction system used in the process of aluminum extrusion. As the industries that utilise extruded aluminum have developed and expanded, the Banyard technologies have evolved along with them. The strong foundation of the Banyard brand has allowed for the core technology to have longevity in the marketplace whilst the research and development efforts continue to keep Banyard at the forefront of innovation. As such, Banyard has long been the brand trusted by aluminum extruders around the world.

THE ADVANTAGES OF BANYARD INDUCTION TECHNOLOGY POST-HEATING Unlike traditional gas furnaces that heat metals from the outside in, induction technology consists of coils which create an electromagnetic current that couples with the metal to efficiently heat it from within. Implementation of the Banyard induction technology in line with traditional gas heating systems provide considerable advantages to aluminum extruders, most notably a very precise temperature heating profile.

Banyard induction technology takes induction heating to the next level for aluminum extrusion. With several heating zones, the individual coils can be at different temperatures across the billet which allows the material to be heated at a gradient and offers even greater flexibility and increased precision in the heating and extruding process. These induction heaters provide a substantial improvement in the quality of finished product due to this optimized temperature control capability. A hybrid approach is often implemented which involves pre-heating the aluminum with gas and then transferring it to the induction furnace for the final heating process. This provides a production option that is economical, efficient and precise.

THE BANYARD DIFFERENCE Whilst Banyard’s core technology has fundamentally remained the same through the years, its digital IGBT power conversion technology and user interface are state-of-the-art and deliver increased reliability, greater accuracy and reduced maintenance for aluminum extruders. An investment in Banyard technology is one that you can depend on for many years to come.

WWW.INDUCTOTHERMGROUP.COM/BRAND/BANYARD/

Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

16 LABELLING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

The world needs lower carbon aluminium A labelling scheme for primary aluminium would help get there sooner...

By Hugh Jones*

The Carbon Trust is an independent organisation with a mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy. It works with businesses, organisations and governments around the world on opportunities in a sustainable low carbon world. It has a strong track record in developing and deploying low carbon technologies and solutions. And it

is seen as a global leader in measuring and certifying the environmental footprint of organisations, products and services.

Taking all this experience together the Carbon Trust decided to look at the aluminium sector, the carbon impact it has, and how this impact could be reduced. With aluminium production estimated to account for approximately

one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the sector will have to demonstrate its contribution towards climate change mitigation by reducing the carbon footprint of its primary processes.

At the very end of April 2020, the Carbon Trust released a report which outlines how the primary aluminium industry can move towards a more sustainable, lower carbon

*Managing Director, Business Services, The Carbon Trust Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

LABELLING 17 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

future. This recognises that although secondary aluminium has a lower carbon impact that there is still an underlying demand for primary aluminium and carbon savings here would have the greatest impact.

Through analysing present practices the Carbon Trust has assessed the lower carbon options with the purpose of encouraging companies to move towards them. One compelling action it recommends is the establishment of a reliable and trusted labelling scheme to demonstrate the carbon content of producing primary aluminium, to allow customers to choose lower carbon aluminium.

A key finding of the Carbon Trust’s report is that the choice of electricity to power aluminium production is the most important factor in determining the carbon content – hence a switch to renewable power sources is the most important single thing aluminium producers could do to lower their carbon impact and help play their part in the fight against climate change.

This report was produced against a backdrop of the aluminium industry taking steps towards sustainability e.g. the Aluminium Sustainability Initiative (ASI), which defines a performance standard including a minimum carbon efficiency target for aluminium smelters,

Hugh Jones

to be achieved by 2030 for all existing plants. The report hopes to build on such initiatives by speeding up the process of lowering carbon impacts in the industry. A number of aluminium producers have already launched ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ products. All of these products are defined by a carbon intensity threshold, but there is a lack of consistency on the threshold level and even on the scope of the footprint being measured and communicated. Therefore, the report presents recommendations for a clear methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of primary aluminium - accounting for the specific source of electricity - as a basis for carrying a lower carbon aluminium ‘label’ as a demonstration of present performance, rather than future ambition. Crucially, such a label, along with the measurement calculations supporting it, would ideally be used by many primary aluminium producers, presenting purchasers with a valued common label of what can be regarded as ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’.

The aim is not to introduce a new standard, but to clarify and constrain choices within existing standards to maximise consistency of measurement, and thus comparability between the results calculated by different companies.

The market impact of a labelling scheme on the aluminium market would be significant. In our report we outline how the development of a ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ labelling scheme could evolve, recognised and supported by the industry and its customers.

Consideration has to be given to the potential implications for the aluminium market, and how it helps to further the reduction in overall carbon intensity of primary aluminium. It is clear that major customers of the aluminium industry in packaging, automotive and other sectors are looking at their supply chains to drive down their scope 3 carbon footprints.

What is less clear is the extent to which they are prepared to pay a premium for the lower carbon product. � The question for differentiated primary aluminium is closely linked to the approach for recycled aluminium. In the case of recycled aluminium, which is supply constrained, generating demand by crediting the lower carbon impact of the recycled material to the user does not, ultimately, drive real carbon reductions

in the market. The question for primary aluminium should therefore be whether the supply of ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ is constrained. Although aluminium plants are capital intensive and immobile, it is, at least theoretically, possible to connect renewable electricity supply to plants, meaning that the same constraints faced by the recycled market do not apply. � Supply of ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ is not constrained, and an increase in demand caused by successful deployment of a ‘lower carbon primary aluminium’ label could lead to an increase in supply to meet this demand, and hence a reduction in global emissions.

The full report goes through the methodology in detail but the summary recommendations are: � A lower carbon primary aluminium label should be defined by a current threshold of 4 tCO2E per tonne of aluminium for the process emissions from aluminium electrolysis, anode production and aluminium casting. � The carbon footprint measurement of primary aluminium must follow the IAI methodology with a uniform approach to electricity impact accounting (as set out in full in the report). � The footprinting scope should expand from IAI’s Level 1 to cradle-togate, including the full lifecycle impact of electricity after a short introduction period for the scheme, say by early 2023. � The aluminium sector needs as a whole to achieve emissions reductions over time consistent with the decarbonisation pathways defined by science-based targets aligned to the Paris Agreement goals. This implies a regular review of the threshold level for the ‘lower carbon primary aluminium label’.

The report also goes into much more detail on how the labelling scheme could operate and look, but it really is a starting point for a discussion with important players and stakeholders in the aluminium sector. A global scheme such as this could have a significant impact in a key sector and the Carbon Trust is ready to help such a scheme to get established and to evolve. �

The full report can be read here: https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/the-case-for-low-carbon-primary-aluminium-labelling Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

18 ASI UPDATE

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Progress on responsible aluminium production and sourcing through the ASI Standards The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s (ASI) certification program was developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process and is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminium value chain. It is designed to drive responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium through uptake of the standards throughout the industry. By Dr. Fiona Solomon*, Thad Mermer** Five years of ASI in June 2020 After several years of preparation work led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ASI was incorporated as an independent not-forprofit organisation in June 2015. Over the past five years of determined effort from our 120+ ASI Members, the ASI Secretariat and numerous stakeholders, we can report considerable success in the various aspects of the ASI work program.

This article provides some insights into our progress and the activities we are currently undertaking to make the ASI Standards more effective and relevant for the coming five years and beyond.

1. Certification progress Since the launch of the ASI certification program in December 2017, our Members have been actively certifying operations along the entire value chain. As of June 2020, 58 Performance Standard certifications and 20 Chain of Custody Certifications have been achieved, with certified facilities located in 28 countries covering all world regions.

2. On-product labels ASI Chain of Custody (CoC) Certifications now extend from bauxite extraction through to downstream manufacturing sectors, meaning that the flow of ASICertified material from mine to final product is now possible. Knowing that the ASI Performance Standard applies along the value chain of ASI-Certified materials enables CoC Certified members to use ASI labels on their products as a way to demonstrate their responsible production and/or sourcing of aluminium following the ASI Standards.

ASI has launched an on-product logo that is now in use on aseptic carton packaging on retail shelves, such as in the example in Fig 2. This increases the visibility of the ASI program and means

that aluminium has become the first metal with a comprehensive standards and certification program that includes a consumer-facing label.

*CEO, ASI, **Communications Manager, ASI Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

ASI UPDATE 19 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

include the 2020-2021 ASI standards revision in light of LME’s Responsible Sourcing initiative; the potential use of ASI Certification, metrics and audits by LME; ASI monitoring and evaluation projects; and other relationship-strengthening activities that can promote the shared values of both organisations.

Third, in 2016, ASI and International Aluminium Institute (IAI) developed a Memorandum of Understanding to underpin collaboration on our efforts to support continuous improvement in the performance of the global aluminium industry and the sustainable use and recycling of its products. ASI recently received funding from ISEAL (see below for more on ISEAL) for a joint project with IAI that will focus on ASI Chain of Custody data for 2019 and how this data can be integrated into IAI’s Global Mass Flow Model to produce visualisations and projections.

3. Monitoring and evaluating of our impact The ASI Certification program exists to create the possibility for companies along the entire aluminium value chain to demonstrate that they are producing this key material in a responsible and sustainable manner, drive change, and make a real impact on the ground. The Impacts Dashboard on the ASI website is the first point of reference to find out how this change is happening. The dashboard displays 15 key indicators (e.g., number of certifications achieved, total number of workers in certified facilities, among others), as well as links to more visual indicators such as the certification map.

ASI has recently launched its new ‘Stories of Change’ series, which documents evidence of change on the ground directly derived from ASI implementation. The first stories look at how ASI Certification helped two ASI Members formalise their approaches to biodiversity and wildlife conservation: EGA for the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle and AMAG Austria Metall AG for sustainable management of the surrounding Lachforst forest.

ASI is currently working on a new Public Dashboard for elementAl (our online assurance platform), that will enable access to aggregated data on ASI Certifications. This data is already published in PDF form with each ASI Certification, but the database approach will enable this to be more easily accessed and analysed.

Aluminium International Today

4. New collaborations/affiliations with aluminium sector leaders Working in partnership with established sector leaders is one strategy ASI is leveraging to increase the ASI Standards’ reach and outreach. First, BREEAM is an international scheme that provides independent third-party certification of the assessment of the sustainability performance of individual buildings, communities and infrastructure projects.

ASI is now a recognised Responsible Sourcing Certification Scheme (RSCS) under the BREEAM scheme.

Second, The London Metal Exchange (LME) and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) have developed a Memorandum of Understanding to underpin collaboration on responsible aluminium value chains. Key areas of focus

Fig 1. ASI Certifications along the aluminium value chain up to June 2020

Fig 2. ASI on-product logo “Responsible Aluminium Sourcing”

5. Capacity building program improvements Through an analysis of the over 80 certification audit reports submitted to date, ASI has gained a significant amount of insight into the areas where auditors could benefit from additional instruction and information to increase the efficiency and speed of the audit oversight process.

The most common reporting issues that were identified are now being addressed

20 ASI UPDATE

www.aluminiumtoday.com

with the roll-out of new mandatory auditor training modules via our online training portal, educationAl. 6. ASI’s COVID-19 response With many members looking to continue their ASI plans as much as possible despite the constantly evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the ASI Board has adopted an interim policy to guide ASI Members and accredited auditors on actions that may be taken, if required, for appropriate risk management. The policy continues to be updated with additional information and instruction as the situation evolves, for example, including details on the process for carrying out remote auditing, followed by later on-site auditing when circumstances allow, and other changes to ASI’s online assurance platform to take current on-site audit limitations into account.

Impacts established by ISEAL, the global membership organisation for credible sustainability standards. Having demonstrated its compliance with the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice, ASI has successfully achieved Full ISEAL Member status.

In its announcement of ASI’s full membership in December 2019, the ISEAL Board recognised ASI’s commitment to developing effective and credible systems in line with ISEAL’s requirements and acknowledged the value and insights that ASI has brought through its ongoing and active participation in the ISEAL community.

7. Demonstrated credibility through full ISEAL membership ASI strives to continuously improve its systems and approaches in line with the three Codes of Good Practice for Standards Setting, Assurance and

8. Looking ahead to 2020-2021 and beyond During 2020-2021, ASI is conducting a Standards Revision to review all of the 6 ASI Documents - Performance Standard and Guidance, Chain of Custody Standard

and Guidance, Assurance Manual and Claims Guide. The revision will include multiple rounds of consultation, with opportunities for all members and stakeholders to have input. A kick-off webinar was held to provide details on the process and is available for review, in addition to other relevant documentation, on a new dedicated section of our website.

ASI and its members continue to work hard to support the overall process and make progress in discussions on key issues that have been logged since the ASI Standards’ launch in December 2018. So far in 2020, 22 Standards Committee and Working Group teleconferences involving around 150 individuals from ASI Members and stakeholders have been convened.

These calls lay the essential groundwork for the revision process, bringing forward key stakeholder perspectives that inform consensus building for revised document drafts.

The aim is that these draft revisions will be ready in Q1 2021 for further input from stakeholders, as we work to address the lessons learned to date, and the challenges that still lie ahead of us to create a sustainable aluminium value chain. �

Fig 3. ASI Standards Revision process schedule and opportunities for stakeholder involvement

ASI’S VISION IS TO MAXIMISE THE CONTRIBUTION OF ALUMINIUM TO A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY. WE INVITE ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO JOIN US ON THIS JOURNEY. HOW TO GET INVOLVED Interested readers are invited to: � Find out more about ASI Certification: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ASI-Certification-

Overview-Feb2018.pdf � Download the ASI standards and guidance: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/asi-standards/ � Consult educationAl for more in-depth information: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/educational-asi-learning-centre/ � Consider joining ASI as a member: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/join-asi/ � Sign up to the newsletter: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/mailing-list/ � Follow ASI on Twitter: @Aluminium_S_I � Participate in the revision process: https://aluminium-stewardship.org/asi-standards-revision/ Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

SAVE THE DATE

8-9 DECEMBER 2020 Centre des congrès de Québec, Québec City, Canada

The Future Aluminium Forum will return on 8-9 December 2020!

Now in its third year, the Forum has established itself as the key event to show case studies, discuss optimisation through machine learning and examine robotics, automation and augmented reality across the value chain.

Join us to hear from experts on:

The intelligent casthouse Data capturing and handling Cyber-security: Prevention and cure Implementation & challenges

Industry 4.0 maintenance

Additive manufacturing

www.FutureAluminiumForum.com

FROM PILOT TO EVERYDAY If you want to know what’s happening in the world of digitalisation then look no further than the only aluminium conference in the world dedicated to Industry 4.0 and how it – and its related technologies – can aid and optimise the aluminium manufacturing process.

To find out more and be part of the future, contact: Nadine Bloxsome Conference Director nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com +44 1737 855115 Nathan Jupp Sales Manager nathanjupp@quartzltd.com +44 1737 855027

www.FutureAluminiumForum.com

FAF_2020_A4_Ad_PRINT.indd 1

@Alu_Forum

19/03/2020 14:29

22 CIRCULAR ALUMINIUM

www.aluminiumtoday.com

The Circular Aluminium Action Plan: Our strategy for achieving aluminium’s full potential for a circular economy in Europe by 2030

By Gerd Götz* The current COVID-19 crisis highlights the need to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in global value chains instead of relying on other regions for the supply of critical raw materials. Increasing aluminium’s circularity potential provides an excellent opportunity to reduce Europe’s dependence on carbon-intensive aluminium imports while lowering emissions. That’s why we recently launched our Circular Aluminium Action Plan, a strategy for achieving aluminium’s

full potential for a circular economy by 2030. The Action Plan presents a set of measures to ensure that all end-of-life aluminium products are collected and recycled efficiently in Europe and provides policy recommendations to support the sector in achieving full circularity.

The Circular Aluminium Action Plan forecasts available aluminium scrap between 2030 and 2050 and CO2 emissions savings based on a high recycling scenario compared to a business as usual

scenario. According to the forecasts in our Action Plan, the amount of post-consumer aluminium available for recycling will more than double by 2050, reaching 8.6 million tonnes by 2050. Furthermore, in a high recycling scenario, aluminium recycling could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 39 million tonnes per year by 2050, which corresponds to a reduction of 46 percent of CO2 per year in 2050. This is achieved mostly by replacing carbonintensive primary aluminium imports

Director General at European Aluminium Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

CIRCULAR ALUMINIUM 23 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

with recycled domestic post-consumer aluminium. As a consequence, the volume of imported aluminium sold in Europe would also decrease, reducing Europe’s import dependence while generating €6 billion per year for the European economy.

However, significant research efforts and investments are needed to unlock the full potential of aluminium recycling. The aluminium industry is willing to make the necessary investments but there must be a fair market and predictable regulatory framework. Today, carbon intensive imported aluminium comes at a cost to both the environment and to a fair aluminium market. Global competition, especially from China, will ramp-up fiercely in the post-COVID19 world. Competition is fine, as long as it’s fair. In China, however, distortive government support

and excess capacity are destroying fair competition and depressing prices in the aluminium sector. These artificially cheap imports can render European investments in recycling uneconomic, meaning Europe currently loses many of the advantages that increased recycling could bring.

Addressing this challenge will require collaboration along the whole recycling value chain and strong support from policy makers. The European Commission should create the right incentives to promote circular material handling along the entire value chain, stimulate investment in collection and sorting and foster innovation of production processes. At the same time, the European Commission should reinforce its trade defence instruments to secure fair price levels and implement a more globally focused EU

competition policy with tools to prevent carbon and investment leakage.

History has shown us that a global crisis can seriously harm our industry: in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008, Europe lost one-third of its aluminium smelting capacity. That is why our industry, a key player in Europe’s transition to a carbon-neutral and circular economy, will use the momentum to leverage the support from policy makers in helping us strengthen our resilience and realise our full potential for circularity in the next decade. The good news is that incentivising circular business models is likely to be an important component of Europe’s COVID-19 recovery plan as many policy makers believe environmental sustainability should be at the core of this plan. �

Download the full Circular Aluminium Action Plan: https://european-aluminium.eu/media/2929/2020-05-13-european-aluminium_circular-aluminium-action-plan.pdf

International Aluminium 2020 21st – 23rd September | Virtual Event Covering the full supply chain from raw materials through to end use • Matchmaking feature allowing you to connect with the right people at the right time • Exclusive content from high level industry experts • Host and join virtual roundtables • Unlimited virtual meeting rooms for you to conduct your business • Meet new and existing clients in a secure virtual setting

REGISTER YOUR PLACE

metalbulletin.com/events/alum

Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

24 CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Closing the loop to a perfectly inďŹ nite circular economy

Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

CIRCULAR ECONOMY 25 5

Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro, discusses the UK’s record-breaking 2019 aluminium packaging recycling rate and explains how wellexecuted regulatory changes could prove pivotal to increasing this figure further.

Aluminium International Today

According to recently-released data from the Environment Agency, the UK’s aluminium packaging recycling rate hit 56% in 2019 – its highest ever level. While 207,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging were sold (8% more than 2018), 116,670 tonnes were collected for recycling, including 76% of all aluminium beverage cans.

Consumer collected aluminium packaging rocketed by 20% (from 74,595 in 2018 to 89,543 in 2019), while the UK’s business recycling rate increased by 3% (to 63%). Of the total tonnage of aluminium packaging collected for recycling, 88% (102,944) was recycled into high quality new products within Europe, with only 14,000 tonnes exported for reprocessing internationally.

Such impressive figures not only demonstrate increasing public awareness about the widespread benefits of recycling, but also reflect the aluminium sector’s continued investment into ensuring that the packaging it produces is effectively recycled. Compared to 2010, 15% more aluminium packaging is now recycled every year – a truly remarkable statistic.

However, while achieving the highestever aluminium packaging recycling rate on record is reason enough for celebration, there is additional opportunity on the horizon. Indeed, the introduction of eagerly-anticipated new regulation could prove pivotal to increasing these figures further.

From the development and adoption of a high-functioning national deposit return scheme (DRS); to the long-awaited reform of the packaging recovery note (PRN) system, there is widespread opportunity.

Our challenge is to position aluminium at the centre of these changes – to celebrate its circularity, promote it as the packaging material of choice and harness regulatory changes to drive measurable impact.

Harnessing regulation to further drive recycling rates The recycling landscape is changing rapidly. In May, the Scottish Government approved plans for the introduction of a national DRS and aims to have the scheme running within the next 24 months. While England is still some way behind, DEFRA is currently undergoing consultations into the shape and design of a similar scheme, which is expected to be introduced in 2023.

If correctly executed, the impact of a DRS to the UK’s aluminium recycling rate would prove significant. Alongside reducing litter and increasing recycling rates, an incentivised solution to encourage consumers to return their recyclable packaging would dramatically increase recyclate quality.

Digital Edition - June 2020

26 CIRCULAR ECONOMY

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Alupro is an industry funded, not-for-profit organisation with over 30 years experience representing the UK’s aluminium packaging industry. The organisation works to fulfil the industry’s obligation to meet, and exceed, recycling targets for aluminium packaging.

Alupro acts as the voice of the industry on issues of government policy and legislative development.

Elsewhere, consultations are well underway to consider long-awaited reforms to the UK’s PRN system – a scheme developed to improve packaging circularity by legislating producers to pay the full net cost of disposing of their products. An overhaul of the system would aim to improve transparency, improve simplicity and ensure design is aligned to more ambitious recycling targets. A new regime could be introduced from 2023, covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The culmination of these regulatory changes has the influence to drive even higher aluminium packaging recycling rates. However, while a considerable opportunity, good design is key to deliver the best possible outcome. A key criticism Digital Edition - June 2020

of Scotland’s DRS, for example, is its failure to implement a variable deposit fee. This impacts the functionality of the scheme greatly and could prove hugely negative to the recycling rate of certain materials in the future.

At Alupro, our ambition is to achieve close to 100% aluminium packaging recycling nationwide. We understand the intricate relationship between education, behavioural change and incentivisation, as well as the regulation required to drive widespread action.

Our priority is to promote the circularity of aluminium packaging and to act as the voice of the aluminium industry to ensure regulation helps to further recycling rates – not work against them.

Aluminium packaging is a true circular

success story and one that we are proud to champion. After all, aluminium drinks cans are the most widely recycled packaging in the world; aluminium is capable of delivering an infinite circular economy and is the only packaging material that saves around 95% of the energy used in primary production when recycled.

With additional capacity within Europe to recycle all of the aluminium packaging sold in the UK every year, further increasing aluminium recycling rates is absolutely achievable. What’s more, regulation will prove key to achieving this. However, it’s imperative that the circularity of aluminium is carefully considered in consultation activities. This will ensure a level playing field for all packaging materials and help to work towards a closed loop economy. � Aluminium International Today

Aluminium Today International A4 Digital Issue June Ad Liz.pdf 1 27/05/2019 15:27:10

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

SAFETY | STORAGE | EFFICIENCY Combining the heft of a counterbalanced forklift with the convenience of a side loader and the finesse of an aisle truck, Combilift’s multi-tasking technology delivers a fresh and exceptionally safe approach to handling the long, heavy and sometimes hazardous loads encountered by metals manufacturers. Working seamlessly from indoors to outside, Combilift reduces overall handling, increases storage density and streamlines the handling process for superior cost-efficiency.

+353 47 80500

combilift.com

28 SUSTAINABILITY

www.aluminiumtoday.com

SAS Denaby production

Keeping sustainability in view As one of the most abundant metals on Earth and renowned for being endlessly recyclable, it’s easy to see why aluminium has become a popular choice of building material. Mark Wadsworth, managing director of leading fenestration systems manufacturer Senior Architectural Systems, explains why aluminium is opening up new opportunities in the window and door market by offering a sustainable solution from start to finish.

Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

SUSTAINABILITY 29 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Aluminium has long been celebrated as one of the most versatile building materials available and the range of environmental benefits it offers has made it a firm favourite with architects, main contractors and end-users alike. A key characteristic is that unlike many other materials, aluminium can be repeatedly recycled whilst retaining its quality and strength. It also offers exceptional durability and is widely preferred for its sleek and stylish appearance. In today’s world where there is an urgent need to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects, aluminium is a common feature of new and refurbished buildings, from roofs to curtain wall systems, doors and windows.

Fuelled by the innate qualities of this marvellous metal, aluminium-based building products continue to evolve and in the fenestration market in particular, sustainability is a key driver.

Aluminium in the frame Aluminium windows provide a welcome alternative to both domestic customers and commercial specifiers alike. Not only do they offer exceptional durability which outperforms traditional timber windows but as well as strength and robustness, they provide a sleeker, more aesthetically pleasing finish than uPVC. However, as aluminium is a good conductor of heat and a poor insulator, on its own it offers little protection from heat loss and solar gain.

The development of thermally broken window systems provided an innovative solution but even so, the earliest examples were not without their issues.

The use of polyurethane as an insulator to prevent heat loss between the inner and outer frame offered only limited thermal performance and was prone to shrink over time and create leaks in the frame. The next generation of aluminium framed windows used a much stronger polyamide to create a thermal break and

New walk development in Leicester

Aluminium International Today

provide increased protection against heat loss. However, the ever-changing building regulations and requirement for even lower U-values, has created a need for aluminium windows to offer even greater levels of thermal performance.

One pioneering innovation is Senior’s patented PURe® aluminium window and door system, which is the first on the UK market to incorporate a thermal barrier made from expanded polyurethane foam; a material that is more commonly used in insulation and cladding products and that has long been recognised for its excellent thermal properties.

Designs for life As all properties can lose heat through doors and windows, thermal performance is a key deciding factor when choosing a system but so too is aesthetic appeal. With this in mind, modern aluminium windows have evolved to ensure that even the most demanding design briefs can be met.

Offering exceptionally slim sightlines, aluminium frames have the strength to accommodate larger expanses of glass which not only dramatically improve the look of the window but also maximise the flow of natural light.

As a welcome antidote to today’s ‘throwaway’ consumerism, aluminium doors and windows also represent long term value for money. Its unrivalled durability and low-maintenance properties make aluminium the ideal material for windows and doors in high-traffic environments including the education and healthcare sectors.

A sustainable supply chain As well as helping to cut the operational carbon emissions of a building, specifiers must also look at how they can reduce the amount of embodied carbon and it is vital that product manufacturers evaluate their own processes and the energy used in the manufacture, transportation, assembly and deconstruction of materials.

Llandudno school

Digital Edition - June 2020

30 SUSTAINABILITY

Increasingly specifiers want to gain a full understanding of the total environmental impact of building products, from sourcing to disposal, and manufacturers should be ready to clarify these processes.

Senior’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing has seen us introduce a number of initiatives to provide our customers, and theirs, with clear visibility of the full supply process. Most recently, Senior received accreditation to BRE Global’s BES 6001 standard in recognition

www.aluminiumtoday.com

for the responsible and sustainable sourcing of all our aluminium extrusions.

Investments in our manufacturing facility, in particular the installation of our stateof-the-art powder coating facility which reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill, is also helping to ensure that our work is done as responsibly and as efficiently as possible. By upgrading to a new fleet of eco-friendly vehicles, we have also been able to further

PURe inline thumb

Ali fold, Derbyshire

Turtle Bay Sheffield

Sigma Park

Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

SUSTAINABILITY 31 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

reduce carbon emissions whilst making our deliveries across the UK. Worth its mettle When it comes to reducing the overall carbon footprint of a project, the need to develop solutions that work in practice as well as in theory is essential and with

sustainability playing such a vital role in everything from procurement to project delivery and even corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is essential that suppliers are able to bring tangible benefits to a contract.

Just as all buildings need a strong foundation, so too do the glazing

systems and the strength of aluminium makes it the perfect choice for façades that combine slim sightlines with a wide range of benefits. As the performance and qualities of aluminium curtain wall, windows and doors continues to evolve, the potential for this market certainly makes it one to watch. �

For more information about Senior, visit www.seniorarchitectural.co.uk or search for Senior Architectural Systems on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Senior factory

Powder coating

Senior factory

Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

32 INNOVAL

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Entering the age of sustainable aluminium

By Dr Mike Clinch

There has never been a more important time to be in Materials Science and Engineering. Since our very early days at school, we are taught how the major advances in civilisation have been driven by materials; as we journeyed from the stone age through to bronze and then iron ages.

Societies and communities grew as we learned how to make and use tools to build structures and dwellings. Centuries later, it is impossible to imagine a world without engineering materials as the fundamental building blocks of everything around us.

Where would we be without wood, glass, steel and concrete? Functional materials such as semiconductors, smart coatings and sensors bring immense power to our fingertips, both at home and in our working lives, on a daily basis. We are truly in a material-rich age. Aluminium is still a relatively young material, but nevertheless it has grown to become one that touches the lives of many of us every single day. And the growth story is continuing, with aluminium’s remarkable combination of properties and functionality leading to increased demand in many important sectors including transportation, packaging, construction, electrical and power components and consumer goods. Public awareness of materials is also at an all-time high, as people strive to contribute towards the global battle against climate change.

Aluminium can play an important role in solving many of society’s grand challenges and is increasingly being turned to as a material of choice, boosted by its inherent recyclability. However, it is important to recognise that not all aluminium is equal.

This article will review some of the major innovations that have taken place over the history of the industry and showcase some new technology developments that have the potential to dramatically reduce the environmental impact as demand for aluminium grows. We are entering the age of sustainable aluminium…

Full metal circulation vision

Today, aluminium is a widely used and versatile material that touches our lives in so many ways on a daily basis, whether that be packaging our food and drinks, transporting us between cities and countries, or encasing the technology we use to communicate with one another. It is perhaps easy to forget that commercial scale use of this wonder material was only really made possible just over a century ago, with the introduction of the HallHeroult process in 1886. In fact, in the late 19th century, aluminium was still viewed as a precious metal – perhaps due to its highly reflective, shiny surface qualities – and was often deployed as a symbol of wealth or opulence. Famous examples are the banqueting cutlery used by Napoleon III for his most prestigious of guests (those deemed less worthy had to make do with gold), the decorative cap on the top of the Washington Memorial in the US, and the

statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, London.

The 20th century saw the birth of many industries but one of the most striking is the establishment of commercial aviation as we know it today. This is a genuine story of innovation that highlights how technological developments in the aluminium industry can drive growth in other important sectors. The journey began in 1903 when the Wright Brothers made their first successful flight. There were actually several unsuccessful attempts prior to that historic achievement on December 17, but the major breakthrough came after switching out the original iron engine block for a cast aluminium one to save weight. Just 16 years later, the Junkers F13 became the world’s first allmetal transport plane with its extensive use of aluminium. Moving on another 16 years to 1935, the Douglas DC-3 was providing non-stop flights across North

Senior Consultant & Materials Development Group Leader Innoval Technology Ltd. Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

INNOVAL 33 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

America for the first time. This was a major breakthrough as, for the first time, people realised that there was money to be made from commercial aviation. 1967 saw the maiden flight of the Boeing 747, the first wide-bodied aircraft for mass passenger and cargo transport. This transformed the industry and made non-stop long haul flights a reality for many millions of people. It is no exaggeration to say that this would not have happened without aluminium – quite an achievement for a material that was still a previous metal that could be produced a few grams at a time

substitution of steel in applications where ‘lightweighting’ provides economic or performance benefits, such as passenger vehicles.

If the essence of the 20th century can be captured by “harder, better, faster, stronger,” then the world certainly feels like a different place as we approach the quarter-point in the 21st century.

The impact of climate change is being felt all across the planet and people – especially the younger generations – are more aware than ever of the need to take action in order to restrict global average

responsibly, and using them sustainably which means keeping them in service for as long as it is safe and practical to do so.

Re-use and re-manufacturing are to be encouraged to keep valuable materials in circulation for as long as possible, with recycling as a further option. Aluminium is an excellent candidate material for the circular economy as it has a vital role to play in strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from the transportation sector.

Simply put, lighter vehicles require less energy to move and are therefore more fuel efficient – leading to lower fleet

in the years before the Wright Brothers!

The growth of aviation was enabled by the development of new high performance alloys based on the principles of age (or precipitation) hardening. This followed the work of Alfred Wilm, metallurgist at the Neubabelsberg Scientific and Technical Analysis Centre close to Berlin, who, in around 1906, discovered that the aluminium samples he had prepared on a Friday afternoon were much harder when he returned to his lab after a long weekend of sailing. Wilm had inadvertently produced the first Al-Cu alloy ageing curve, and his work became the precursor to the 2xxx and 7xxx series alloys that are still used in aerospace and other demanding applications today. Other major developments in the 20th century were the establishment of aluminium as a preferred material for hygienic food and beverage packaging, the growth of extrusions in construction and other structural applications and a trend towards

temperatures to less than 2°C above ‘preindustrial’ levels. This is the main objective of the December 2015 Paris Agreement and has been brought to centre-stage by the works of David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, among others. Natural resources and materials are becoming increasingly scarce, and industries are under the microscope as they seek to demonstrate social and corporate responsibility. Consumers care more than ever where their products come from and want to know that they are not damaging the environment in the process of being manufactured. To achieve this requires a commitment to reducing and eventually eliminating CO2 emissions; often referred to as ‘decarbonisation’ or the transition to ‘net zero’ (CO2 output). Increasingly, there is an ambition to move away from conventional ‘linear’ supply chains to a so-called circular economy. Essentially this involves using the right materials for the right applications, sourcing those materials

emissions. Of course, as we have already established, aluminium also benefits from being recyclable. However, it is not enough to simply say that because a product or component is made from aluminium, it will be ‘green’. The reality is that primary aluminium production is extremely energy – and therefore CO2 – intensive.

The picture is further complicated by the fact that smelters in different parts of the world use different energy sources and, as a result, aluminium can have vastly differing amounts of ‘embodied’ CO2 depending on where it is sourced. To put this in context, as a global average across the industry, it takes around 17.0 tonnes of CO2 to produce one tonne of primary aluminium [source: European Aluminium ‘Circular Aluminium Action Plan’ executive summary published April 2020]. However, aluminium produced from coal-fired power is estimated to contain 20.0 tonnes of CO2 per tonne. The average figure for aluminium in Europe, where the energy

Aluminium International Today

Digital Edition - June 2020

34 INNOVAL

mix is much cleaner, is estimated at 6.7 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of production.

The major breakthrough comes when using recycled rather than virgin metal, since this is generally acknowledged as requiring 95% less energy than primary production. The world’s aluminium producers have started to take this onboard and many have launched new product lines and branding to highlight their ‘green’ or low carbon aluminium.

Examples include Hydro’s ‘CIRCAL’ and ‘REDUXA’, Rio Tinto’s ‘RenewAL’ and Rusal’s ‘ALLOW’ products. At the end of 2019, Apple announced that they had taken delivery of the first batch of ‘ELYSIS’ material, a joint venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto which claims to offer ‘carbonfree’ aluminium via new electrolysis technology. In parallel, schemes such as the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) are driving improved levels of sustainability performance and standardisation across the industry.

Innoval Technology has been at the forefront of recycled aluminium technology development for much of the past decade. A number of successful collaborative R&D projects have been undertaken with industrial partners and financial support from UK and European government agencies. Examples are ‘REALCAR’ (REcycled ALuminium CAR), which aimed to develop lower

www.aluminiumtoday.com

cost, sustainable aluminium sheet for automotive structures; ‘CAAHS’ (Carbon Aluminium Automotive Hybrid Structures), which aimed to deliver a significant reduction in vehicle cost and CO2 emissions using an advanced aluminium-carbon fibre monocoque; ‘REALITY’ (REcycled ALuminium through Innovative TechnologY), incorporating sensor-based scrap sorting, remelting and full-scale coil production; ‘RACEForm’ (Rapid Aluminium Cost-Effective Forming), based on validating and scaling up HFQ® Hot Form Quench technology for mass production and establishing it as a global standard for lightweighting; and ‘LIBERATE’ (Lightweight Innovative Battery Enclosures using Recycled Aluminium TEchnologies), aiming to develop and demonstrate sustainable aluminium intensive battery enclosures for integration into electric vehicles.

Industrial collaborators on these projects have included Axion Recycling, Bentley Motors, BMW, Constellium, Gestamp, Gordon Murray Design, Grainger & Worrall, Impression Technologies Ltd, Jaguar Land Rover, Norton Aluminium, Novelis, Stadco, Volvo and Zyomax.

Academic partner institutions include Brunel University, Imperial College London and Warwick Manufacturing Group. Further information on these and other recent projects is available

OUR VISION: SUSTAINABLE ALUMINIUM AT THE HEART OF A STRONGER AND BRIGHTER TOMORROW

online at https://www.innovaltec.com/ about-innoval-technology-aluminiumconsultants/cutting-edge-knowledge/.

In additional to providing metallurgical input and knowledge of industrial process technology input to collaborative projects, Innoval also creates integrated process-energy-cost models that enable manufacturers to have full visibility of operational, economic and environmental aspects prior to commercialisation. In addition to the listed projects, Innoval has also established strategic alliances with other leading universities in the UK such as Loughborough, Manchester and Southampton. Utilising an extended partner network in this way provides clients with flexible access to a diverse range of expertise and state-of-the-art facilities for technology development.

The world of aluminium is responding to the climate challenge. There is a shift towards cleaner primary production together with increased levels of high performance, high recycled content alloys.

A new ‘secondary aluminium’ industry is emerging, which is projected to be of the scale of 40 million tonnes per annum by 2025. To put that in context, in five years’ time, the demand for recycled metal will be greater than the total output of the global aluminium industry at the turn of the 21st century. As we continue our journey towards net zero CO2 emissions, aluminium looks certain to enjoy further success as a strategic material of choice for the circular economy. Lightweight low emission vehicles, smart food and drink packaging and energy efficient buildings are expected to provide major growth opportunities for some time to come.

However, it is important to remember that not all aluminium is equal. The age of sustainable aluminium is now! � Innoval Document references Report Number Title Date issued Recipient IP19-048 Growth and Sustainability in the Global Aluminium Industry Sept-2019 International Aluminium 2019 Conference, Athens

About the author: Dr Mike Clinch has over 25 years of experience in technology & innovation, strategic product development and business leadership positions in and around the global aluminium industry. He has a BEng in Materials Technology and completed a PhD in Thermomechanical Processing of Aluminium Alloys at the University of Nottingham, UK, after being awarded an Industrial Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Mike joined Innoval in January 2018 as Senior Consultant and Materials Development Group Leader. He has responsibility for overseeing the company’s collaborative R&D projects as well as development work with existing clients. He also takes an active role in creating new business. Mike is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and is Chair of their Technology Communities Board, having chaired the Light Metals Division since 2013. Over the years he has built up an influential network of global contacts and holds advisory board positions at several universities in the UK and US. Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today

.. . g in il f o r P l a ic t Op nace! r u f r u o y u r h t ….the eye

PhoenixTM Optic System ´Thru-process` Optical Profiling Capture a high resolution video of what your product sees through the entire furnace during a live production run

Benefits

• Discover furnace structural damage • Spot product transfer / belt problems • Locate faulty furnace equipment • Detect obstacles - build up of debris • Identify need for furnace clean down

Flux build-up in a CAB furnace

Faulty heater in a vacuum furnace

Value

• No Line Stoppages • No Lost Production • No lengthy Cool Down Delays • No need to Dismantle Furnace • No heavy labour costs

The ideal set-up and maintenance tool for your Aluminum CAB & Vacuum Brazing line!

New Innovative Technology from PhoenixTM complimenting it`s range of thru-process temperature profiling systems.

Discover so much more - Combine Optical and Temperature Profiling.

6-8.Oct. 20 Düsseldorf

www.phoenixtm.com

Hall10 BOOTH D25

PhoenixTM Ltd UK sales@phoenixtm.com

PhoenixTM GmbH Germany info@phoenixtm.de

PhoenixTM LLC USA info@phoenixtm.com

36 SORTING

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Sorting non-ferrous metals and creating top qualities - right down to a 5mm grain size

Customers deploy the STEINERT CHUTEC chute sorter to sort heavy metals right down to a grain size of 5 mm

The new STEINERT CHUTEC chute sorter rounds off the portfolio of sensor-based sorting equipment for non-ferrous metals and allows heavy metals right down to a size of 5 mm to be sorted. This makes STEINERT the only provider to offer its customers both eddy current separators and high-resolution X-ray sorters for the highest possible level of recovery and cleaning from one source.

Recover fine non-ferrous metals The recovery of non-ferrous metals using the STEINERT EddyC and the sorting of light and heavy metals in small grain sizes using the STEINERT XSS-T is nothing new. But what is new is the option of using X-ray fluorescence to economically separate ultra-pure products down to a fine grain of 5 mm and recover zinc, brass and copper in their purest form at this grain size. After separation, the qualities are pure enough to be ready to smelt.

Developed for the operators of ASR and

Purest zinc (5 mm) sorted using the STEINERT CHUTEC

IBA plants The operators of plants for sorting heavy non-ferrous metals (ZEBRA) from incineration bottom ash (IBA) or automotive shredder residues (ASR) will welcome this innovation. The objective of sorting remains the same, namely to separate and upgrade non-ferrous heavy metals into metal types such as aluminium, copper, zinc, brass or stainless steel. But now the fine-grain fraction can be processed too.

X-ray fluorescence delivers purity In metal analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis (RFA) is a standard method for determining the elemental composition.

With STEINERT CHUTEC, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is also used as a technology in sorting of metals. The chute sorting system combines the signals from the XRF unit with 3D information in order to achieve a precise level of classification and separation. For larger and heterogeneous

The STEINERT KSS | XF belt machine (on the left) is an option for sorting larger and heterogeneous heavy metals

material, the option of sorting with the STEINERT KSS | XF belt-based machine has proven its reliability in practice.

The sorting produces concentrates of different types of metal, which display a quality suitable for immediate use in reprocessing smelting plants. This refinement level thus makes an important contribution to returning metals to the raw material cycle.

With STEINERT, customers are able to procure sorting solutions, including nonferrous metal separators and X-ray sorting equipment, from one source. Business owners very much appreciate minimising coordination work to free up more time for developing metal recycling concepts.

“My production staff have complete confidence in STEINERT. The plants are easy to operate and all technical components are easy to understand and simple to use,” is how one opinion leader in the recycling industry puts it. �

For more details: https://steinertglobal.com/metal-recycling/non-ferrous-metal-recycling/ Digital Edition - June 2020

Aluminium International Today