Aluminium International Today Sept Oct 2017

PRIMARY

PRODUCTION

CASTHOUSE TECHNOLOGY

USA FOCUS

www.aluminiumtoday.com September/October 2017—Vol.30 No.5

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

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CONTENTS 1

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LEADER

2

NEWS

2 MINUTES WITH...

6 Svein Richard Brandtzæg

UPDATES 8 CHINESE: Chinese cuts create an

Volume 30 No. 5 – September/October 2017 Editorial Editor: Nadine Bloxsome Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855115 nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com

COVER PRIMARY

PRODUCTION

CASTHOUSE TECHNOLOGY

USA FOCUS

Production Editor: Annie Baker

www.aluminiumtoday.com September/October 2017—Vol.30 No.5

THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

Sales Manager: Anne Considine anneconsidine@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855139

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RUSSIA: Russia and Gulf states plan to end

monopoly of China in global market

COMPANY PROFILE 12 Vedanta Ltd

PRODUCTS & PROJECTS PRIMARY 17 A balancing act 21 Carbon diffusion in cathode collector bars 14

Sales Director: Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117

Advertisement Production Production Executive: Martin Lawrence Managing Director: Steve Diprose Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael

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Circulation/subscriptions Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034­ email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Annual subscription: UK £235, all other countries £255. For two year subscription: UK £420, all other countries £455. Airmail prices on request.

Single copies £43

opportunity for aluminium

Consulting Editor: Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM

Sales

in the Hall-Héroult cell Processing technology for the carbon

industry Cover picture courtesy of Granco Clark

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Supporters of Aluminium International Today

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China supply shortages hit consumers as

new sources emerge

CASTHOUSE 32 Molten metal cleanliness when casting

aluminium slabs - the basics!

FOCUS ON VALUE-ADDED 34 Attention turns to value-added

14

26

EXTRUSION 36 The resurgence of water based press tool

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Aluminium International Today

Contents Template.indd 1

The Aluminium Association Extrusion:

North American extrusions market

engineering for the automotive industry

46 Aluminum USA exhibitor profiles AUTOMOTIVE 48 Conference preview: Advanced aluminium

© Quartz Business Media Ltd 2017

ISSN1475-455X

USA FOCUS 38 Association update:

SUSTAINABILITY Q&A Towards sustainable solutions

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September/October 2017

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2 COMMENT

Karmøy Technology Pilot inaugurated The price is nearly right The aluminium industry has been buzzing lately with the news that the price of aluminium rose to over $2,000 a tonne for the first time in three years in August.

It was reported that this increase is a result of the Chinese authorities cutting production as part of an environmental crackdown. Officials in Shandong province have ordered 3.21 million tonnes of smelting capacity to be shut down, which is more than was anticipated. Time will tell how these closures will continue to impact the market price and hopefully, the only way will be up.

This issue of Aluminium International Today includes a dedicated feature on primary production. An interesting article by Geoff Matthews from Energia Potior takes a look at why renewable energy grids need modulating aluminium smelters (page 17), while there is also a focus on carbon diffusion in cathode collector bars (page 21) and processing technology within the carbon industry (page 24).

Other features include casthouse technology, value-added production, extrusion and there is also an event preview for the ALUMINUM USA exhibition, taking place in Nashville.

It’s a busy time of the year as ARABAL is also just around the corner...maybe you have even picked up this issue at one of these events!

Enjoy! nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com September/October 2017

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Thousands of Karmøy residents gathered in Kopervik to see Prime Minister Erna Solberg inaugurate the technology pilot at Karmøy in western Norway on 24th August.

“The technology pilot here at Karmøy is green, smart and innovative,” said the Prime Minister.

“I think it’s fantastic that we are getting the world’s greenest aluminium production here at Karmøy,” says Astrid Margrete

Lie. She is one of the many who were present.

The technology pilot at Karmøy is an industrial-scale test plant, and Hydro’s ambition with the pilot is to verify the world’s most climate- and energy-efficient technology for aluminium electrolysis.

The ambition is to reduce energy consumption by around 15 percent per kilogram of alumin-

ium produced in relation to the international average, and with the lowest CO2 emissions in the world. Production is expected to start during the fourth quarter of 2017.

A total of NOK 4.3 billion has been invested in the project, including NOK 1.6 billion in support from the government energy conservation agency ENOVA.

GARMCO expansion project Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill (GARMCO), the Bahrain-based international aluminium rolling mill and one of the largest downstream aluminium facilities in the Middle East, has announced that the first aluminium was cast successfully at GARMCO’s expansion project on Thursday 3rd August 2017.

The new $55 million recycling and cast house facility is designed to develop GARMCO’s metal recycling capability, which will increase GARMCO’s production capacity by

150% to 200,000 tonnes of aluminium slabs per annum.

Till date, the expansion team has recorded 1,417,305 manhours without any lost time injury.

This achievement demonstrates GARMCO’s high commitment to safety.

This expansion comes as part of a three-year programme aimed at growing the company on a regional and international level. It is designed to enable GARMCO to consolidate and expand in its key strategic sales markets with higher

recycled content aluminium alloys.

GARMCO’s Acting CEO, Mr. Mohamed Essa commented: “We take this opportunity to thank all team members and partners who have contributed to achieving first metal at the expansion project.

This project will further develop the Kingdom’s downstream aluminium industry; the facility will increase GARMCO’s production capacity by 150%. We now look forward to a safe and successful ramp-up to full production capacity by November 17’.”

ASI: Path to Launch Testing and trials are proceeding with active member participation; and improvements based on feedback have already been implemented. The pilot phase began in July to provide each ASI member and invited participants with an opportunity to carry out one or more self assessments against ASI’s draft Standards via ASI’s

new online assurance platform, elementAl. Over 65 users have been actively working with elementAl to create test self assessments and learn about the many features this new platform has to offer. Constructive feedback has been plentiful and has already led to improvements to the self assessment maturity

ratings, as well as numerous other pages and functionalities.

The Secretariat has also been busy preparing support materials to ease the learning curve for new users. To this end, the platform’s Help Desk and FAQ have been active, and the first two of a regular series of elementAl webinars have been produced: one to address how to define the certification scope and a second to explain the maturity rating self assessment procedure. The pilot phase will run through to late September/ early October.

Aluminium International Today

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INDUSTRY NEWS 3

Rio Tinto’s Pacific operations According to reports, US-based Century Aluminum and Glencore are eyeing Rio Tinto’s Pacific Aluminium business, which is up for sale through Deutsche Bank at an estimated cost of $US1 billion ($1.3bn).

The Pacific division owns the Bell Bay Aluminium smelter in Tasma-

nia and the Boyne smelter 20km south of Gladstone on the central Queensland coast in Australia.

It also owns the Tomago Aluminium smelter and a majority stake in New Zealand’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in Southland.

Century Aluminum has primary aluminium facilities in the US and

Iceland and has been running under capacity due to lower aluminium prices in last two years.

Deutsche Bank is currently working on Rio’s aluminium assets sale. The process is expected to start in October.

Alufoil Trophy 2018 The hunt for the very best products using aluminium foil, or aluminium closures, is underway once again, with the announcement that entries for the Alufoil Trophy 2018 are now open for submission, until 24 November 2017.

Organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), the competition is seen as the most influential competition in the industry. It is widely recognised as identifying the most original ideas and developments currently on the market. Past Trophy winners are seen as trendsetters who have helped to shape the future direction of aluminium foil.

Entries are accepted from packaging designers, brand owners,

foil rollers, foil converters, foil container manufacturers, closure manufacturers, household foil

manufacturers, retailers, industrial solution providers, as well as interested consumers and consumer groups or associations It offers

them the chance to demonstrate their very latest ideas and products. It is also possible to combine entries from any of these disciplines.

EAFA’s Executive Director Guido Aufdemkamp announced the start of the 2018 contest; “The hunt for the best applications and products is always an exciting one for us. Members of the alufoil and closures industry always surprise us with their ingenuity and creativity. We are sure this year will be no exception and we look forward to a strong set of entries.”

Entries will be accepted until the deadline of 24 November 2017. More details and applications forms are available on www.alufoil.org.

EGA research project Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) will work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on six new practical research projects at EGA later this year.

MIT is the leading research university in the United States.

The new projects extend EGA’s partnership with MIT’s David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, a programme through which post-graduate students apply their academic knowledge and expertise by suggesting ‘out of the box’ solutions for industrial problems.

Dr. Alan Hatton, the director of the school, and Dr Brian Stutts, who runs the school’s projects with industrial companies, visited EGA to finalise the new projects.

EGA has worked with the MIT programme since 2015. The programme has a history stretching Aluminium International Today

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back over 100 years and EGA was the first Middle East company to participate.

Previous MIT research projects at EGA have led to technical and operational improvements at EGA that have saved over US$2 million as well as giving EGA technical ex-

perts and MIT students opportunities to learn from each other.

The 2017 projects range from improving maintenance pro-

NEWS IN BRIEF Alumina Ltd appointment Alumina Limited has announced that Mr Peter Day (pictured) has been appointed to the new position of Deputy Chairman of Alumina Limited effective immediately. Mr Day has been an independent non-executive Director of the Company since January 2014 and is Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and a member of the Company’s Compensation Committee and the Nominations Committee.

Transportation Group The Aluminum Association’s Aluminum Transportation Group (ATG) has announced the addition of two new member companies - Alcoa Corporation and Tri-Arrows.

These additions bring total membership in the ATG to 11 companies. Both companies are leaders in producing aluminum alloys for automotive applications.

Alba safety campaign

grammes to reducing emissions.

Abdulla Al Zarouni, Vice President Technology Development and Transfer at EGA, said: “We work closely with local and international universities to combine the latest academic thinking with EGA’s decades of experience in aluminium smelting in order to find solutions to the industry’s technological challenges. We look forward to making new breakthroughs with MIT’s engineers later this year.”

Dr Hatton said: “Our six projects at EGA this year are challenging, but they each have the potential to advance chemical engineering as well as deliver tangible improvements at EGA. We work with innovative industrial companies in the United States and all over the world, and we are glad that the Middle East’s leading aluminium producer is among them.”

In line with its commitment to Safety Tomorrowland, Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) launched a new safety awareness campaign “My Health ... My Responsibility” on Monday July 10th 2017 targeting Line 6 Contractors at the Alba Oasis Hall.

Gulf Extrusions: New CEO Gulf Extrusions is pleased to welcome Christian Witsch as the new Chief Executive Officer, responsible for all the Metals initiatives within the Al Ghurair Group.

Christian brings 30 years of extensive business management experience to Gulf Extrusions of which 25 years have been dedicated to the Global Aluminium Extrusion Industry with leading producers such as SAPA and Hydro Aluminium Extrusions.

September/October 2017

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4 INDUSTRY NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF Sohar resumes operation On August 4, Sohar Aluminium announced an accident at its plant in Sohar, which interrupted normal operations and resulted in no injuries. The accident halted production for six-and-a-half hours. According to the company statement, the accident will have no long-term implications on the operations of Sohar Aluminium.

Chief Executive Said Al Masoudi said in a statement, “The company has put together a team of industry experts to assess how quickly metal production can be restarted and a return to full production levels be restored as early as possible.”

Combilift expansion

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High-strength automotive alloys Constellium N.V. has introduced a new generation of high-strength 6000-series alloys, Constellium HSA6TM, to help automakers meet growing demand for lighter weight vehicles.

Constellium HSA6TM is in production for several 2017 and 2018 model year vehicles, including the MINI Countryman.

According to a new study by Ducker Worldwide, aluminium extrusions are expected to increase 65% for Crash Management Systems and 100% for Body-in-White components between 2015 and 2020, with continued growth through 2028.

“It is an honour for Constellium to be celebrated as a leader in technology that helps reduce

vehicle weight,” said Paul Warton, President of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry business unit.

“As automakers continue to make vehicles lighter and electric vehicles become more prevalent, Constellium is uniquely positioned to offer superior materials, as well as the design, simulation, testing, prototyping and production expertise to bring advanced solutions to market.”

In addition to its existing extrusion plants in Europe, Constellium created a new joint venture, Astrex, in Ontario, Canada, to produce its proprietary alloy for components supplied from Constellium’s Automotive Structures plants in North America.

Arconic awarded Combilift, the manufacturer of 4-way forklifts and other handling solutions, is set to double its output in the next few years as its new factory nears completion. €40 million has been invested in the new 46,000m² factory on a 40 hectare site, which will be the largest single manufacturing plant under one roof in Ireland. The expansion will also create around 200 new jobs, mainly for skilled technicians and design engineers.

EGA: Waste management Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), has shipped around 5,000 tonnes of spent pot lining, a by-product from its industrial process, to Befesa, a company in the United Kingdom that specialises in waste management and recycling.

EGA aims to recycle all its spent pot lining over the longer term and the shipment to Befesa, which is EGA’s first internationally, accelerates this process.

September/October 2017

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2017 DIARY September 25-27 32nd International Aluminium Conference* Bringing the global aluminium industry together for 32 years.

Held in Bahrain. www.metalbulletin.com/events

October 02-05 ICSOBA 2017* Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Industry in Europe and New Global Developments. Held in Hamburg, Germany. www.icsoba.org/icsoba-2017

05-07 Aluexpo 2017* Hannover Messe Ankiros Fuarcılılk A.S brings together all suppliers producers and buyers of the aluminium sector. Held in Istanbul, Turkey. www.aluexpo.com

25-26 ALUMINUM USA* With ALUMINUM USA, Reed Exhibitions expands its world leading brand ALUMINIUM to one of the most important markets for the global aluminum industry. Held in Nashville, Tennessee. www.aluminum-us.com

November 06-09 ARABAL* The Arab International Aluminium Conference will be hosted by Sohar Aluminium in Oman.

www.arabal.com Arconic has announced that it has received two 2017 Values Partner awards from Spirit AeroSystems for superior performance.

Spirit recognised Arconic’s Global Rolled Products (GRP) and Arconic Fastening Systems and Rings (AFSR) businesses at the Spirit AeroSystems Suppliers Awards Dinner in Wichita, Kansas, on August 31.

“Spirit cannot be successful without world-class partners,” said Tom Gentile, Spirit president and chief executive officer. “We are proud to recognise these suppliers for sharing our passion in delivering high-quality products

on time. We look forward to collaborating with them in the future as we continue to meet our customers’ delivery needs and rate requirements.”

For decades, Arconic has supplied Spirit AeroSystems with highly engineered aluminium fuselage sheet and high-tech, multi-material fastening systems and installation tools, which Spirit uses to build aircraft components. Spirit AeroSystems designs and builds aerostructures for both commercial and defence customers including fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components.

13-17 Rolling Technology Course* The Aluminium Rolling Technology Course covers all the key aspects of hot and cold rolling of aluminium flat products. www.innovaltec.com

*Pick up a free copy of Aluminium International Today at this event For a full listing visit www. aluminiumtoday.com and click on Events Diary Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:06:52

ALUMINIUM Materials handling andɅliftingɅsystems

Storage systems

Centrifugal blowers

Ship loaders/unloaders

Bath and carbon recycling plant systems

Dense/solid phase and other conveyingǾsystems Potfeed e.g. HyperDense Phase SystemsǾ(HDPSTM) Dosing devices

PNT4549-ReelAlesa_Ad_Aluminium_Times_A4-MAJ.indd 1

Pot process control systems Electrolysis handling equipment Carbon: rodding and anode handlingǾsystems; baking furnace liftingǾsolutions

2017-08-01 10:03 AM

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2 mins with…

Svein Richard Brandtzæg* 1. What is one of the most memorable moments of your career so far?

I am very excited about finalising this autumn a 75,000 ktpy technology pilot for the world’s most climate and energy-efficient primary aluminium production, challenging the limits of natural laws, optimising between the targets of maximum output with a minimum of resource and energy input and external effects.

It was actually inaugurated on 24th August 2017 by the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, and I can’t wait for the first metal to flow in just a couple of months. I’m almost certain that aluminium experts will visit us on Karmøy, Norway, to see the innovative technology in action – and then go back home to their labs to check if the results are also achievable in theory!

I am also very much looking forward to welcoming 22,500 new colleagues from Sapa to the Hydro family within the next few months, when our acquisition is formally approved by all pending authorities.

2. What do you enjoy the most about working with aluminium?

The versatility of this formable, lightweight metal. By “manipulating” aluminium on the atom level, you can develop very different alloys and properties, tailor-making aluminium parts for very specific purposes. This gives infinite opportunities and infinite solutions. Add infinite recyclability, and these are the main reasons why aluminium is currently the fastest growing metal in the world.

3. Something we don’t know about you?

My passion over the years, other than aluminium, is orienteering – exercising and challenging body and mind at the same time.

It’s a wonderful sport in the tranquility and roughness of nature, and a great way to concentrate on something completely different than everyday trivialities and problems. A few weeks ago, I took part in the Norwegian orienteering championship – for veterans, I must admit.

4. If you could have a super power, what would it be?

It would be lovely to be a super juggler – in the sense of being able to oversee every detail and every step of progress of many more projects and work-streams at the same time. On the other hand, that’s what teamwork is for, isn’t it? I am working every day with a wonderful team of talented and dedicated individuals, so I’ve already got the privilege of having sort of a super power, don’t I? 5. What was the last gift you gave someone?

It’s funny that you ask, because the last gift I gave was the book “Aluminiumville” by Andrew Perchard about the British Aluminium Company. Perfect for aluminium nerds, but also very fascinating about the local and global significance and impact of industry on society and history in the making. � *President and Chief Executive Officer, Norsk Hydro September/October 2017

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CHINESE UPDATE

Chinese cuts create an opportunity for aluminium The anticipated 30% cuts to Chinese aluminium remain the main driver of investor optimism for the sector, according to a report published by Berenberg, an investment bank, on 20 July 2017.

The industry report, entitled ‘Aluminium industry outlook: All eyes on China’, outlines the investment outlook for the aluminium and alumina markets, supported by Berenberg’s breakdown of the key macro- and micro-economic indicators for the industry.

Overall, Berenberg analysts remain ‘modestly bullish’ on the global aluminium and certain alumina markets, continuing to see ‘sizeable upside’. This stance is largely supported by the anticipated cuts in Chinese production and capacities over Q4 2017 – Q1 2018, which are set to increase prices for the metal and result in stable growth for the sector.

A tale of two quarters The Berenberg team’s analysis of H1 2017 was split firmly down the middle, with Q1 and Q2 providing two different narratives for the sector.

The first three months of 2017 saw a continuation of strong aluminium market recovery that started in 2016. All three September/October 2017

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aluminium stocks (Alcoa, Rusal and Norsk Hydro) outperformed the LME aluminium, the sector indices (FTSE 350 Metals & Mining Index, MSCI Metals & Mining Index) as well as the market in general (S&P 500 Index).

Meanwhile, Q2 delivered a different performance for the majority of sector assets, with aluminium pricing performing marginally negatively at -2% and aluminium equities posting a -5% return.

However, the Berenberg team expect the aluminium sector to demonstrate a stable-to-positive performance over the next 12 months, driven by price/margin stability, global and Chinese supply/ demand balance and the anticipated optimisation of Chinese smelting and refining capacities.

Change in China Around 2-3 million tonnes of operating aluminium capacity is expected to be closed by the end of 2017 by the Chinese government, in addition to the 3.8 million

tonnes of that have reportedly been closed already this year in the country.

Ecological concerns were purported to be the main reason for Chinese government’s recent initiatives to cut alumina and aluminium output in 28 cities in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan. The initiative, originated by the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Building on that motive, Berenberg expect that “old, high-cost smelting facilities” will be closed and be replaced by new, more energy-efficient smelters – this could globally create an opportunity for aluminium producers who are first to adopt eco-friendly technologies and processes in their production chain.

This tightening of aluminium supply, combined with the increase in demand from the automotive industry, has led to a significant increase in the price of Aluminium International Today

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aluminium: as of 3 August 2017, the LME aluminium price has increased to USD 1891/ tonne from USD 1701/tonne on 1 January 2017.

Driving the aluminium growth opportunity Another key reason for aluminium investors to remain bullish on the sector is the growing importance of the metal in the automotive industry.

The use of aluminium in the automotive industry has been increasing since the 1970s, to the extent that it is the secondmost used metal in the sector after steel. Aluminium’s use in the automotive industry is set to increase even more in the years to come, as automobile manufactures seek to capitalise further on its advantages over steel, including environmental, safety and performance.

In 2014, the global automotive industry (excluding China) used 2.87 million tonnes of aluminium. This figure is expected to rise to 4.49 million by 2020. In 2014, the first all-aluminium body vehicle was built, a Ford 150 truck, which was 315kg lighter than the previous model. Subsequent all-aluminium vehicles include the Jaguar XJ; the Jaguar F-Type; and the Tesla Model S.

Materials handling solutions for your industry

Environmental angle A recurring theme in the metals industry is the transition to ecofriendly practices, and the interest of the automotive industry towards aluminium is a prime example.

Aluminium is significantly lighter than steel, which increases cars’ fuel efficiency, meaning CO2 emissions are significantly lower in cars with a high proportion of aluminium.

Indeed, an aluminium-intensive vehicle can achieve up to a 20% reduction in total life cycle energy consumption and up to a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions. This is important globally, but especially in the US, where vehicles are required to travel 54 miles/gallon by 2025.

Moreover, nearly 90% of aluminium is recycled at the end of a vehicle’s life, often into new cars. This saves more than 90% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with primary aluminium production, and requires only 8% of the energy.

How can aluminium investors capitalise?

The Berenberg analysts believe the best way to play the alumina shortage in China is by investing in companies with ‘significant exposure to alumina’, in particularly Alcoa, Norsk Hydro and Rusal (owned by En+ Group, which has reportedly been considering listing on the LSE in 2H 2017).

Alcoa is Berenberg’s stock of choice, presenting a suitable opportunity for conservative investors and pension funds with a long-term investment horizon. Meanwhile, the analysts note that Rusal offers a balanced high risk/high reward investment case, given the company’s above-the-sector average FCF yield (14-20%) and high dividend yield of 2.9%.

Meanwhile, Berenberg’s approval of Norsk Hydro was underpinned by the company’s announcement of its acquisition of the remaining 50% of aluminium-extruding business Sapa, which Berenberg believe will add long-term stability to the company, heightening the appeal for long-term investors and pension funds (a guaranteed 2017-18 dividend yield of 2.5% is implied).

Andrey Petrushinin, Corporate Affairs director at Central European Aluminium Company, said: ““The aluminium sector continues to demonstrate positive trends, particularly in terms of pricing, which is forecasted by many industry analysts and players to strengthen further by the proposed cuts to Chinese output. Wider trends, including the growth in demand for aluminium from the automotive industry, will also strengthen the metal’s global positioning.” �

• Improved storage utilisation • Safer product handling • Increased productivity • Indoor / Outdoor

September/October 2017

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10 RUSSIA UPDATE

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Russia and Gulf states plan to end monopoly of China in global market

By Eugene Gerden* Russia, together with Persian Gulf states, plans to become more competitive in the global aluminium market. This will take place through the beginning of a coordination of their activities and implementation of joint initiatives in the field of aluminium.

As part of this, the partners plan to create conditions for the maintaining of global aluminium prices on the current, high level. This is expected to take place through the establishment of a public association, which will regulate aluminium production in both Russia and the Gulf regions and coordinate activities of leading local producers.

It is planned that the establishment of such a structure will help to solve a problem of overproduction in the global aluminium market, as well as prevent the decline of prices for the metal, which recently reached record highs since 2014.

The recent increase of prices is mainly due to the decision of China, the world’s leading aluminium producer, to reduce domestic production by at least 9% in the coming years because of environmental issues.

On July 24, China announced the closure of 3.21 million tons of aluminium capacities in 2017. This should reduce the country’s annual production to 26-27 million tonnes.

The Chinese government’s plans to cut aluminium production during winter is aimed at reducing electricity consumption, which accounts for up to a third in the cost of 1 ton of aluminium produced by coal-fired power plants that pollute the atmosphere.

A spokesman for Russia’s Prime-Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the establishment of the association will help both Russia and Gulf states to better compete with China, which continues to dominate in the global market, accounting for 60% of global production.

These plans have already been confirmed by the Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Sergei Tsyb, according to which the new association will be known as the Association of Aluminium Producers of Russia and Gulf states» and will lobby

the interests of leading Russian and Gulf aluminium producers.

Sergei Tsyb comments: “Amid the current situation in the global aluminium market, there is a need for a multilateral coordination among the world’s leading producers of primary aluminium. As part of these plans, a new Association will be established that will become an effective dialogue platform among its members, with the aim of the development of the global aluminium industry.

According to Tsyb, to date, the Russian government has already started talks with the government of Bahrain, UAE and Qatar, regarding with the new association, which should be officially established already by October-November of the current year.

Tsyb has also added that during the next stage of the project the association could be expanded by the accession of India and other Asian countries, while preliminary negotiations with their governments, regarding this, are already underway.

According to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the establishment of the association should solve the problem of excessive aluminium capacities in the Russian and Gulf region already in the short-term.

In the meantime, Denis Manturov, the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade said the current aluminium stocks in the Shanghai Futures Exchange remain at the maximum level for four years, so the surplus is likely to continue, despite the plans of Chinese to reduce their production. In this regard, the initiative of both Russia and Gulf states will be very useful for the global aluminium market.

Sergei Tsyb said that Russia currently exports 3.2 million tonnes of aluminium per year, while in the case of the countries of the Persian Gulf, this figure is estimated at 3 million tonnes.

The plans to simultaneously reduce these figures will be achieved through the standardisation of production and the reduction of excessive capacities, mainly inefficient.

According to plans of the partners, in addition to harmonisation of production, the establishment of the association will

create conditions for the rise of the quality of produced aluminium and further growth of global aluminium prices Implementation of these plans will be personally controlled by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s Prime Minister, according to which, Russia is interested in long-term stability in the global aluminium market.

According to Medvedev, the establishment of the new association should help to solve the problem of structural imbalance and overproduction in the global aluminium industry.

Medvedev also added that over the past 15 years, global consumption of aluminium has increased by 2.5 times and currently continues to grow. Medvedev believes this is mainly due to new requirements for energy efficiency and resource saving policy, which are implemented by the governments of many world countries in the field of energy, transport and other sectors of industrial production.

In the meantime, leading Russian aluminium producers are currently unable to assess the effect of the new initiative.

According to Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of Rusal, Russia’s leading producer of primary aluminium, global aluminium consumption will continue to grow by 6-7% per year, while Russian producers need to be prepared for new challenges.

According to producers, planned reduction of production may pose a threat of the reduction of their share in the global market, that could be taken by major rivals and in particular by China, which can easily increase its production capacities even in a short-term.

In the case of Rusal, the Russian aluminium monopoly has reduced its production by 2.3% since 2014, to 3.6 million tonnes. Production in the first half of the current year was 1.8 million tonnes.

Currently the company completes building of the Boguchansky aluminium plant – a new facility that will have the capacity to produce 296,000 tonnes of the metal at the initial stage. In addition, as part of the company’s plans is finishing building of the Taishet plant during the next several years. Total capacity of the plant will be 750,000 tonnes per year. �

*Russian correspondent September/October 2017

update - Russia.indd 1

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:18:36

Introducing an aluminum mill de-drossing solution that’s versatile, easy to use and reliable Gradall is introducing an XL 4210 V maintenance machine that is the proven solution to efficiently skim dross and maintain the walls and bottoms in aluminum furnaces. With a 49-foot (14.9 m) boom reach and mobile crawler undercarriage, this unique Gradall can quickly and accurately skim the molten surfaces in one or more furnaces while minimizing door opening times.

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12 COMPANY PROFILE: VEDANTA

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Ramp up plans for future demand Vedanta is the largest integrated aluminium producer in India. While current capacity stands at 1.6mtpa, the company has grand plans to reach 2.3mtpa in the near future. Once ramped up, Vedanta will be one of the top 10 aluminium producers globally.

The company has strategically located its large-scale assets with integrated power from captive power plants in Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, where there are abundant bauxite & coal deposits.

Smelter sites are well connected to road, rail and port infrastructure.

Due to advantages and economics of aluminium over other metals, demand for aluminium is increasing, which is majorly boosted by increased investment in transportation, construction, and electrical segment.

In India, various government initiatives such as the ‘Make in India’, Smart cities, and ‘Electricity and Housing’ for all and infrastructure development are predicted to drive demand for aluminium. This will create opportunities for the downstream industry in India to develop value added products, including alloys for defence and automobile applications and hence we have a strong domestic demand.

We also have a strong presence in the rest of the world other than India through our robust local distribution partnerships September/October 2017

company profile vedanta.indd 1

in large markets to ensure reliable supplies from the local ports.

Products Vedanta’s product portfolio is focused more on value added products and is available to cater the demand for rods, billets, primary foundry alloys and rolled products. The demand for all these products is likely to increase substantially in the near future.

Aluminium billets The billet casting line comprises of a Wagstaff Air Slip casting unit with all associated in-line metal treatment facilities consisting of a dual rod grain refiner, degassing and metal filtration unit.

Air slip casting technology together with installed in-line treatment facilities ensures that all products cast through the line meet all internal and surface quality requirements. Electrically heated tilting type furnaces feed the casting unit.

The in-house laboratory is equipped with optical emission spectrometers to

ensure that products meet the specified chemical composition. Cast billets are homogenized (using continuous or batch homogenizers) and 100% ultrasound inspected before they are cut to the required lengths and packed at the sawing facility.

Aluminium wire rod Vedanta is one of the world’s largest wire rod manufacturer with a Continuous Properzi & South wire Mills facilities, committed to manufacture products meeting world-class quality standards.

The mills are fully equipped with inline degassing and filtration systems to ensure internal metal quality and cleanliness.

Primary foundry alloy With a consistent focus towards value addition, Vedanta supplies primary alloys to various industrial segments. The casting facility is fully equipped with associated in-line metal treatment facilities.

The in-house laboratory is equipped with spectrometers and other allied inspecting Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:23:11

COMPANY PROFILE: VEDANTA 13 5

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facilities to ensure that all products meet the specified chemical, physical, surface and static quality requirements.

Rolled product Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd (BALCO) has a rolled products setup comprising casting stations, a continuous caster, hot rolled mills, cold rolled mills, designed to cater complete customer requirement.

Balco is fully committed and equipped to deliver high quality rolled products in segments with application in automobiles, insulations, bus bars, power projects, electrical, packaging etc.

In line with the opportunity in this segment, Vedanta is evaluating options to expand its current capacity by around 3x in the near to medium term.

Sustainable working As a group, Vedanta is committed to energy conservation. With roll out of various quality circle, process improvement and technological

initiatives, Vedanta’s aluminium business has saved more than 40,000 GJ of energy.

The group companies are specifically focusing on exploring innovative and technology oriented solutions, which will lead to conservation of 1.5 mln GJ energy by next year.

Vedanta Ltd. is a signatory to the India Business and Biodiversity Initiative, a national platform for business and its stakeholders around mainstreaming sustainable management of biological diversity into business strategy.

Vedanta has also come up with a greenbelt development program by planting hundreds of thousands of trees with 40,000 different species within the plant complex and periphery, where an orchard has also been cultivated.

A sustainable future is one in which growth and development is environmentally sustainable, human rights are protected, and benefits of progress are shared equitably amongst all the stakeholders. As custodians of the natural resource sector, the company remains committed to the principle of Zero Harm to people and planet and works to ensure that it leaves behind a positive legacy for generations to come. �

GLAMA Maschinenbau GmbH Hornstraße 19

D- 45964 Gladbeck / Germany

phone + 49 (0) 2043 9738 0 fax + 49 (0) 2043 9738 50 email: info@glama.de Aluminium International Today

company profile vedanta.indd 2

web: www.glama.de September/October 2017

12/09/2017 10:23:21

14 PROJECTS & PRODUCTS

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New Hencon AGV is next step in mobile solutions The aluminium industry is constantly embarking on new projects and developing new products. In this regular feature, Aluminium International Today presents the latest announcements in these areas. If you’d like the opportunity to be considered for publication, please contact: nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com

New product PRIMO is the first in a new family of instruments from Innerspec that provides the ability to run EMAT, UT, and EC applications using different stackable modules. The high-performance PRIMO comes with a suite of ready-made EMAT, UT and EC applications from Innerspec built on NDT-Web™, an industry-first web user interface that can be accessible from any browser on a tablet or PC via wireless, ethernet, or HDMI connection. An optional NDT-Web™ API permits developers to create custom NDT applications on rich web interfaces using HTML and JavaScript technologies.

Siemens to equip Chinese aluminium factories with drive technology Siemens is to equip several Chinese aluminium factories with medium and low voltage drives.

The value of the order is in the low tens of millions of euros.

Commissioning will be completed in several stages between November 2018 and April 2019.

The objective is to safeguard the productivity in the rolling mills with powerful, reliable drive systems.

In the light metal production industry, with its 24/7 continuity of operation, there is a constant challenge to further improve the safe working environment.

The Hencon engineers have developed a fully autonomous computer controlled electrical vehicle for this purpose.

The Hencon AGV can run 24/7 between all positions within the complete area that has been programmed. Along the route mounted positioning tags ensure that the AGV will follow the right route at all times. The machine operates with a maximum deviation of only 15mm and will remain accurate even if the positioning tags are blocked.

Industry 4.0: A Made-in-Italy Project for Metal 3D Printing A “widespread” factory for the development of metal 3D printing technology: this is the objective of the project Metal AdditivE for LOmbardy (MADE4LO), which will start in the upcoming autumn under the leadership of Tenova, international company specialised in the development of innovative solutions for the mining and metal industry.

The ultimate goal of this pilot project is to cover the entire value chain – from equipment supply to the finished product – creating a new model of factory based on 3D manufacturing, network infrastructure and digital processes accessible to several partners, and intensive training activities of the technical staff involved.

The Hencon AGV features a number of safety measures in order to avoid any collision with people or objects. Several sensors assure that the AGV reduces speed and stops in time in order to avoid any collision.

Aluminium die casting manufacturer expands operation

MRT Castings, a manufacturer of high quality die-castings in aluminium alloys in the UK and Europe, is expanding its manufacturing operations in Andover, Hampshire. For this, the company acquired a warehouse from DHL at Walworth Business Park in South Way, Andover.

Phil Rawnson, Managing Director at MRT Castings, said: “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition from DHL with the support of Lambert Smith Hampton.”

Light Weighting Automotive Suspension Component Manufacturer Expands Production Can-Eng Furnaces International Limited was recently awarded a contract from a leading North American manufacturer of forged aluminum suspension components. The furnace system will be integrated into a completely automated forging cell expansion, with a sophisticated controls & part tracking system, for heating aluminium billets prior to forging of automotive suspension components.

Can-Eng’s patented rotary hearth furnace technology was utilised in this application as it provided optimal part handling and temperature profile parameter flexibility within the smallest manufacturing floor space.

Aluminium International Today

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12/09/2017 10:24:22

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A balancing act Why renewable energy grids need modulating aluminium smelters, by Geoff Matthews* Since the first power station was commissioned in 1882, a simple industrialage mechanical device, the steam valve, has been used to keep our energy grids in balance without the need for storage.

The rules were simple. Exactly the same amount of active power must be generated as is being consumed – a balanced system.

By opening and closing steam valves, and spinning turbines faster or slower, thermal power stations have been able to supply exactly the right amount of power as was being consumed at any given time, thus providing reasonably stable energy grids to forge ahead and build a modern world.

Our modern world has come at a cost It doesn’t matter if you believe that manmade climate change is real or not, the point is enough people believe it’s real to seek a low emissions future, and to drive real change. For most countries, reducing CO2 emissions is reliant on clean renewably sourced energy.

We have all heard the catch-cry that renewable energy sources are disrupting our energy systems, but do we really understand what this means? More importantly, what does it mean for us, both as people of the earth, and as people involved with primary aluminium production?

The balance of power has changed With renewable energy sources (particularly solar and wind), there is no steam valve in the process. Electricity generated from these sources flows directly into the grid, making it more difficult for power generators, and the lines companies, to control the process.

Dr. Abhisek Ukil, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, and an expert in disturbance analysis in power systems, sums it up succinctly when he says, “you can’t control nature”.

The rules have been broken, and in the future it is going to be up to us, the consumers of energy, to help fix the problem and maintain balance in the system.

Two years ago, I was one of a number of people interviewed for a think piece entitled ‘Power to the People’1, the think piece sums up by saying, “we

Disruption The disruption to our energy systems we hear and read about is mostly related to the existing business models of power generators and transmission lines companies, and what will happen to their stock values. This bit is not that interesting, or difficult to predict; they will have to reinvent themselves and become consumer focused, or they risk going bust.

The interesting bit is what was discussed in ‘Power to the People’; if we are to have a low emissions future, then energy consumers will be required to adopt new technologies and change their behaviours, so that they become an integral part of the stability of the grid.

This leads to the really interesting bit for those of us in the primary aluminium business; how much will the power companies pay us to balance the grid for them? They even have a name for this, the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM).

energy systems over the next 20 years.

From the remotest villages to the shining glass towers of our most modern cities, when it comes to energy, all of us will be subject to the forces of three converging economic and technical paradigms, all being driven by the desire for a low emissions future. They are: � Moores-Law, and how it applies to renewable energy generation � The Duck Chart, which are the net load curves caused by the lack of a steam valve � and Demand Response, which is how consumers respond to changes in generation.

I refer to this convergence as ‘Duckonomics’.

Looking at the next 20 years, when it comes to energy systems, it’s hard to see how ‘Duckonomics’ won’t dominate our discussions, policy decisions, energy systems investment, and our adoption of new technologies. It’s worth taking a little bit of time to better understand how these paradigms will affect our lives.

What change looks like It’s possible that no one on the planet will be unaffected by the changes to our

Moore’s Law Moore’s law is the observation made by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, in a

must fundamentally change the way we consume power.”

A LOW EMISSIONS FUTURE

MOORE’S LAW

DUCK CHART Variable renewable generation creates net load curves in the shape of a duck

A driving force of technological and social change

Currently we are building capacity, to compound a problem, that we haven’t yet got solutions to.

DEMAND RESPONSE How consumers of electricity respond to changes in generation

CONVERGENCE

DUCKONOMICS

Fundamentally changing the way we consume energy

*PG Dip Mark, FCIM (UK), Vice President, Energia Potior Limited Aluminium International Today

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1965 paper2 that observed the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

Moore’s law has since become far more than just an observation about microchip performance however, it is now described as, “a driving force of technological and social change, productivity, and economic growth.”3 Moore’s law has been applied to renewable energy technology, with evidence to suggest solar PV capacity per installed cost doubling every 22 months, with wind power not being too far behind, or even possibly in front. This is prompting the prediction that we will be able to generate 100% of the planet’s needs from renewables in the next 20-30 years.

Whatever the true rate of doubling, it is sufficiently fast enough to confidently predict that we need to seriously deal with the net load curves created with solar PV. The Duck Chart Net load is the difference between forecasted load and expected electricity production from variable generation resources. At certain times of the year, these 24 hour net load curves produce a ‘belly’ appearance in the mid-afternoon that quickly ramps up to produce an ‘arch,’ similar to the neck of a duck-hence the industry moniker of ‘The Duck Chart.’4 These conditions provide a headache for the electricity generator as short steep ramps mean they must bring on, or shut down, generation resources to meet an increasing or decreasing electricity demand quickly, to maintain grid reliability.

Demand response Flattening the duck curve will drive technology such as household batteries, smart homes, and a host of other storage technologies and devices. Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, predicts it will also lead to a two-tier electricity network, where you buy your cheap, variable power from one or more electricity providers when it is available, to store in batteries, water heaters, your electric vehicle, or underfloor heating et al, and your more expensive, dispatchable power from yet another provider when you need it.5 Technologically short To compound the problem of the duck chart, is the fact is that no matter where we look, we are currently ‘technologically short’ across the board when it comes to technologies that can help with demand response.

Grid level batteries and storage systems, and virtual mega grids, are not with us yet. Neither are household batteries, nor the really smart systems to monitor and September/October 2017

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top up our homes. A two-tier electricity market also seems a long way off.

Furthermore, transmission pricing in most countries is either 35 or 135 years out of date, depending on who you talk to.

Liebriech also worries that renewable generation will quickly saturate the market for variable power (low hanging fruit), and that deeper penetration of renewables will stall because it can’t replace the harder-to-obtain and guaranteed dispatchable power. Currently, if you take a dispassionate look at it you could sum it up like this; we are building capacity, to compound a problem, that we haven’t yet got solutions to.

How modulating the energy use of an aluminium smelters helps 1. We are technologically ready, with proven modulating technology for primary aluminium smelting that allows smelters to vary energy consumption (and therefore production) by + or – 30%.

2. Size matters. Even a medium sized aluminium smelter modulating up and down 30%, can free up, or soak up 150MW or more, enough electricity to power a small city. That’s a lot of house batteries or BEVs. Having one large customer who can, at the turn of a dial, soak up excess generation, or shed load, allows an electricity generator to maintain price stability in the rest of the market, as well as grid security.

3. Deeper penetration of the market by renewables will be dependent on industries and technologies that can ‘convert’, or use, variable power as if it were dispatchable power. Modulation technology allows a smelter to convert large amounts of variable power into usable power, after all when it comes to the Hall-Herault process, it all makes aluminium.

4. Smelters are also ideal partners to help smooth out frequency issues and to provide reliance and stability to grids.

Some smelters already participate in the Primary Electricity Market (frequency response), on a second by second basis.

Such power variations don’t affect the process or quality of final product, and because these power fluctuations are short-term in nature, smelters don’t even require modulation technology.

A productive grid-level battery The first significant installation of EnPot Shell Heat Exchanger modulating technology was at TRIMET Aluminium’s Essen smelter in 2014. CEO of TRIMET, Dr Martin Iffert, referred to the EnPot Shell Heat Exchanger system as a “virtual battery” for the grid. The term was questioned by some in online forums, especially when one article described the virtual battery as storing energy in “lakes of molten aluminium”.

Therefore, I posed the question to Dr. Abhisek Ukil; “yes, an aluminium smelter fitted with modulation technology can be regarded as a grid level battery, or virtual power plant (VVP),” he says.

“The purpose of any grid-level battery is to store energy so it can be fed back into the grid when generation is low or demand high.

An aluminium smelter fitted with EnPot is essentially doing the same job as a gridlevel battery. When generation is low and/ or demand is high, the heat exchangers insulate the cells and maintain the heat balance of the pot, so a portion of the usual power required can be returned to the grid.

“In essence, you are just storing energy in the form of heat, rather than in a battery”, Dr. Ukil says.

DISRUPTION TO OUR ENERGY SYSTEMS MEANS END-CONSUMERS WILL NEED TO PLAY A GREATER ROLE IN HELPING BALANCE THE GRID DISPATCHABLE POWER (harder to obtain) $$$$

DISPATCHABLE POWER 60% VARIABLE POWER 40%

100% USEABLE POWER

$$

RENEWABLE VARIABLE POWER (low hanging fruit)

ENPOT ENABLED ALUMINIUM SMELTER

Modulation of +/- 30% means large amounts of cheaper variable power becomes usable power for the aluminium smelter as well as helps balance the grid.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy Technology Perspectives 2017 Report, identifies TRIMET Aluminium’s use of the Virtual Battery system as a transformative technology in providing flexibility to the energy grid through demand response.

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Aluminium – the beautiful metal Dr. Mark Dorreen, Director of the Light Metals Research Centre and Vice President of Energia Potior Ltd, points out that because heat exchangers maintain the heat in the pots, they perform better than a grid level battery because the smelter doesn’t require recharging.

“When full power becomes available again, the pots don’t require energy input to get back up to temperature,” he says.

“Batteries are also non-productive, that is they don’t perform any other function than storing and discharging energy. Once a battery is charged, it is full, it doesn’t do anything else. An aluminium smelter on the other hand, keeps on producing aluminium, taking the energy generated today and transforming it into metal to be stored for reuse by future generations,” he says. “As we go forward over the next 2-3 decades, the appeal and desirability of taking todays renewable energy and transforming it into a metal that we can use, recycle and then reuse, over-and-over again for generations to come, will resonate with consumers,” Dr. Dorreen says.

Both Dr. Ukil and Dr. Dorreen are of course referring to Einstein’s law that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only transformed from one form to another. Aluminium in its metallic form is not just an inert metal, it is storing energy for the future.

The return of aluminium smelting to the west Over the last 20 years we have seen the migration of aluminium smelting essentially away from centres of population, and towards either isolated, or cheap sources of power.

The need for demand response over the next 20 years to stabilise the energy grids of our most populated areas may however, see expansion of aluminium smelting again in western countries. Professor Basil Sharp, Chair in Energy Economics the University of Auckland, says the proposition of aluminium smelters integrating with energy grids, “arguably makes sense, especially as grids seek to increase the percentage of power generated from renewables.”

“Duckonomics is a real challenge for transmission lines companies, who see the value of their assets under threat. Essentially, by being able to modulate to such an extent you are turning variable power into dispatchable power,” he says.

“It will also be appealing for power generation and transmission lines companies to deal with one large partner, such as an aluminium smelter, to help maintain both price and grid stability to the domestic consumer base,” Professor Sharp says.

Dr. Dorreen also points out that the economics of smelting in the west may also changing. “Given the recent resurgence in the aluminium metal price, it is understandable that many idled western smelter operations are being considered for restart.

“The addition of modulating technology to these smelters would allow for new types of energy contracts between energy providers and the smelters, and should add to the attractiveness of the business case, in particular in regions such as mainland USA,” he says.

Change is with us We have to accept that we cannot change what we cannot control, but at the same time, we need to learn to change what we can.

We may not be able to control nature, or the forces driving a need for a low emissions future, but we now can control how our aluminium smelters consume energy. Maybe we can learn how to use duckanomics to work in our favour, and not against us. We live in interesting times. �

EnPot Patented Shell Heat Exchanger Technology Improves heat balance of pots, enables optimisation of ACD

Allows dynamic control of potline energy use up to +/30%

Flexibility of energy use = instant demand response = new energy pricing

Renewable Energy Grid friendly

Modulate hourly, daily, monthly or seasonally

New EnPot Modulation Simulation Programme instantly quantifies benefits, contact us for a demonstration.

Geoff Matthews E M A I L geoff@energiapotior.com OR

Dr Mark Dorreen mark@energiapotior.com

References 1. Power to the People, author, Dr. Linda Wright.

2. Cramming more components onto integrated circuits.

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law.

4. www.caiso.com, Flexible Resources Help Renewables Fast facts.

5. Six Design Principles for the Power Markets of the Future – A Personal View by Michael Liebreich, Chairman of the Advisory Board Bloomberg New Energy Finance Aluminium International Today

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www.energiapotior.com

September/October 2017

12/09/2017 10:25:58

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Fives experienced experts assist customers from the designing phase of the project to the equipment commissioning and throughout the equipment lifecycle.

With over 60 years of experience, the Aluminium teams have developed pioneering technologies and services to maximize the global performance of the smelter, to reduce its environmental impact and to enhance operators’ safety.

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Carbon diffusion in Cathode Collector Bars in the Hall-Héroult Cell The Hall-Héroult process is a proven method for aluminium production and the technology is well understood. This short technical note describes some of the basic metallurgy associated with the steel cathode collector bar and how it is possible to reengineer this basic steel component to reduce energy consumption and generate some significant cost savings for the aluminium smelter operation.

By Colin Mawdsley*

Alumina Anode Electrolyte Aluminium Graphite cathode Steel collector bar Refractory lining

Fig 1. Hall-Héroult Cell (schematic view)

Speed of carbon absorbtion

Low

Austenite 912°C

727°C

High Condumax at 800°C operates in α phase Other market offering (0.04% carbon max) cathode at 800°C operates in an α + phase

Ferrite α

Typical low carbon steel in contact with the graphite cathode at typical cell operating temperatures will, over time in operation, pick up carbon by diffusion from the graphite. This in turn causes a reduction in electrical efficiency of the collector bar, increasing energy costs and ultimately leading to its replacement. British Steel has developed a specific chemistry to minimise this issue and offers Condumax® to the market, taking advantage of the metallurgy to prolong the collector bar life in service and offering significant electricity savings during operation. To understand this phenomenon, let us have a more detailed look at the metallurgy of iron and carbon in the steel bar.

A schematic of the basic process is shown in Fig. 1. Aluminium oxide (alumina) is dissolved in molten cryolite, and electrolysis of the molten salt bath, typically in a purpose-built cell, produces aluminium metal. The Hall-Héroult process applied at industrial scale happens at 940–980°C and produces 99.5–99.8% pure aluminium. The electrodes in the cell are carbon and the circuit between cells is completed by a steel collector bar either with or without a copper insert (to equalise current density across the bar and reduce electrical short circuits).

For the iron carbon chemistry of a typical ultra-low carbon (ULC) cathode collector bar of around 0.06% max carbon, there are 2 distinct phases of the iron structure: Ferrite/Pearlite and Austenite.

Ferrite, is a body-centered cubic (BCC, alpha iron) form of iron. It is this crystalline structure which gives steel and cast iron magnetic properties, and is the classic example of a ferromagnetic material. It

Ferrite α + Pearlite

0.022% carbon - Lower resistivity

0.76% % carbon + Higher resistivity

Fig 2. Iron Carbon Phase diagram

has a base strength of 280 N/mm² and a hardness of approximately 80 Brinell.

Below 727°C, this body-centred cubic allotrope of pure iron is stable. Carbon in the microstructure is present usually as Pearlite, a two-phased, lamellar (or layered) structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite and cementite (Fe3C).

Above 912°C, the face-centred cubic allotrope of iron, austenite (gamma iron) is stable. At operating temperatures within the cell and at the standard chemistry levels of commercially available ULC collector bars of 0.06% carbon, both phases can exist as seen in the phase diagram below. Further inspection of this diagram highlights a region below 0.022% carbon where ferrite remains the stable phase at cell operating temperatures.

The relative affinity for carbon displayed by the ferrite phase compared to the typical austenite phase is the metallurgy that is of interest to us.

Only a very small amount of carbon can be dissolved in ferrite; the maximum solubility is approximately 0.02% by weight at 723°C. This is because carbon dissolves in iron interstitially (between the Fe atoms), with the carbon atoms being about twice the diameter of the interstitial "holes," so that each carbon atom is surrounded by a strong local strain field.

Above 760°C and 0.022% carbon, alpha iron undergoes a phase transition from body centre cubic (BCC) to the face centre cubic (FCC) configuration of gamma iron, or austenite - shown schematically in Fig 3. This phase is similarly soft and ductile but can dissolve considerably more carbon as much as 2.03% by mass.

More importantly, the austenite phase at

*Manager Customer Technical Services at British Steel Aluminium International Today

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Condumax vs ULC Steel

Relative bottom resistance (%)

120

ULC Steel

Condumax

110 100 90 80 70 60

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Pot age (days)

Fig 3. BCC Alpha iron and FCC Gamma iron

operating temperature of a typical steel ULC collector bar will readily accept carbon diffusion from the graphite cathode.

The metallurgy therefore suggests that producing a collector bar with a carbon content < 0.02% will significantly reduce this carbon pick up in service and thus prolong service life and efficiency.

For the steel manufacturer, such a low carbon content is not without its challenges. Carbon content this low for a steel remelt process will be problematic without some very careful scrap selection.

Fig 4. European smelter example

For the BOS producer, this can be achieved with an aggressive blowing of the vessel with oxygen to drive out the carbon but without careful control of the technology, refractory damage in the vessel is a real possibility.

British Steel has developed this technology and offers Condumax to the market, taking advantage of the metallurgy to prolong the collector bar life in-service and offering significant electricity savings during operation. The example in Fig. 4 shows data achieved by a European

smelter operation using Condumax over a 2-year period. The lower electrical resistance of the Condumax bar, coupled with its prolonged service life generates energy cost savings of up to 20% and significantly improves conductivity by up to 40%.

200 days = 0.12mW average difference, 500 days = 0.22mW average difference � Contact www.britishsteel.co.uk/condumax

SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN SAVE WITH CONDUMAX® Building close relationships and fully understanding our customers’ needs are key to ensuring success.

We’ve been providing high performance special profiles worldwide for 50 years to help build stronger futures for a wide range of industries.

We’re proud to help our customers succeed with our energy-saving cathode collector bar, Condumax®.

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Alumina & Aluminium Technik

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24 PRIMARY

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Processing technology for the carbon industry Carbon materials are used in many sectors of industry. Along with raw material selection, the production technology has a crucial influence on the properties of the carbon, which is embedded in a pitch or synthetic resin binder matrix. Mixing in the high-viscosity binder presents a major challenge.

The characteristics profile of the carbon materials, which are part of the ceramics industry, is largely determined by the microstructure and the properties of the individual constituents contained in the microstructure. In contrast to other ceramic materials, melting or sintering is not possible with carbon. An additional binder matrix is needed for microstructure bonding. Pitch or synthetic resin with a high carbon content are used for that purpose. Typical binders include coal tar pitch and to a lesser extent petroleum pitch and polymers such as phenolic resins. The solid raw materials are graphite, coke and carbon black. All of them have a graphitic crystalline structure, but the formation and size of the individual crystals differ.

Stringent demands are placed on material processing. High uniformity and maximum density are essential. This requires intensive, homogeneous mixing of the binders and solid raw materials.

Mixing takes place at temperatures up to 300°C. When producing large parts, the mixture is formed using extrusion or vibro compaction while the material is still hot.

With smaller parts, the mixture is ground again and formed to a green body on hydraulic or isostatic presses. Through tempering in the absence of oxygen at 600°C - 1200°C, the binder is converted to carbon. Volatiles are released, creating a coke matrix. This is followed by graphitization, a high-temperature treatment process which takes place at 1800°C - 3000°C. In volume terms, the most important products for the carbon materials industry are an-odes and cathodes for aluminium and graphite electrodes used in steel production. There are also a number of special applications, for example carbon blocks for blast furnaces. Relatively largegrain graphite materials are used for these applications and for electrodes. Special September/October 2017

Primary eirich.indd 1

fine-grain materials are needed for carbon brushes, bearing and sealing materials and for high-temperature applications.

The aluminium industry is the world’s largest consumer of electrodes. In the electrolytic extraction of aluminium, both electrodes are made of graphite. The function of the cath-ode is to lead current.

However due to the electrochemical processes which take place, the graphite in the anode is consumed and must be continuously renewed or replaced. Socalled Söderberg anodes are used at older plants. The unbaked electrode mass is filled into steel shells. The high temperature of the molten bath causes graphitization.

The second major application for carbon materials is the production of steel from scrap or sponge iron in electric arc furnaces. An arc is struck between the graphite electrodes and the charge, melting the metal. The electrodes are exposed to extreme temperature peaks and gradients. The reduction of oxides on the graphite, dissolution of carbon in the molten steel and oxidation of the graphite in contact with air results in continuous consumption of the electrodes in this application as well.

Around 40 years ago, the carbon materials industry discovered the advantages of EI-RICH processing technology, initially as a replacement for mixers running at low speeds and as mixercoolers installed downstream of kneaders.

The EMC© process (Eirich Mixing Cascade), with a hot-mixer and a remixer-cooler with throughput rates of 15 - 60 t/h backed up by 20 references worldwide, is available for anode fabrication. More than half of anode manufacturers worldwide use at least one EIRICH mixer, predominantly in continuous operating, for hot mixing as well as for subsequent cooling to pressing temperature which can be pre-selected with ± 3 K precision. Several hundred

machines are currently in operation at well-known producers around the world, which enabled them to substantially enhance the properties of the materials.

EIRICH has also simplified the production of cathodes for the aluminium industry.

As is the case for graphite electrodes, a special electrical heating technique is available which heats up the coke up to mixing temperature. Typical throughput rates for batch processing of graphite electrodes and cathodes are 4 -12 t/h.

Inductive mixers with capacities between 5 liters and 400 liters, which can be used to produce special products, have been available for several years. Due to the inherent system design, they are capable of handling any consistency including extremely viscoplastic consistencies.

Inductive heating of the mixing pan directly generates heat in the walls of the mixing pan. Fast heat transfer between the material, which is being intensively mixed and the rotating walls of the mixing pan produces a high surface specific energy transfer. Dynamic regulation inherent for inductive heating systems makes it possible to select the exact temperature with high reproducibility. The chemicalthermal reaction in the mixture, called defuming, can be started quickly and stopped at exactly the right time when the mass is dry enough for further processing or forming. Heating capacities of 5 kW - 250 kW make it possible to process mixtures containing materials with high melting points such as solid resins rather than resin solutions. Solid resins introduce less volatiles, reducing process times and lowering porosity. This provides a basis for development of new materials, and that includes other industries, which use synthetic resin bonding as well. � Contact

www.eirich.com

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:40:47

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26 PRIMARY - Fluorspar for AlF3

Fluorspar is a key ingredient in aluminium smelting, which uses AlF3 as a flux; this accounts for about 20% of the fluorspar market.

China supply shortages hit consumers as new sources emerge

By Mike O’Driscoll* Despite a decline in world fluorspar demand in 2016, the outlook remains strong for fluorine in the aluminium, steel, and fluoropolymer markets as prices firm during 2017.

Acid grade fluorspar, or acidspar as it is termed commercially, is the primary raw material used to manufacture aluminium fluoride (AlF3), which is essential as a flux used in aluminium smelting.

The aluminium market accounts for some 20% of global fluorspar consumption, and as such all aluminium producers do well to track fluorspar supply sources, availability, and price trends since it is a major cost factor in the metal’s production.

In spite of continued sluggish world growth, fluorspar demand and prices have increased in 2017 owing to lower overhanging stocks and production and supply in better balance. Although allimportant Chinese supply is tightening, new sources offer potential alternatives to consumers.

There remain some environmental concerns for fluorine products derived

from acidspar in the chemical sector, through the restricted use of certain fluorine compounds (hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs) owing to their global warming potential.

Certain fluorine-based alternatives are being evaluated.

This does not affect the aluminium or steel consumers, other than if certain chemical markets close to acidspar suppliers, it may enhance availability of raw material for AlF3 production.

Fluorspar basics Fluorspar (CaF2) is the dominant source of fluorine, which is a key ingredient in the manufacturing of a wide range of industrial and domestic products from steel, aluminium, cement, and glass to Teflon™ coatings, toothpaste, solar cells, and Li-ion batteries.

Found in a range of geological environments from hydrothermal to sedimentary, most fluorspar requires upgrading through beneficiation suited to the source and end markets.

Mined by open pit and underground

methods, the mineral is prepared by sorting, crushing, grinding and sieving, while acidspar also requires separation from impurities by flotation.

There are three main grades based on CaF2 content: • Acid grade (acidspar), min.97% CaF2; used to make hydrofluoric acid, the important precursor to a wide range of fluorochemicals, including AlF3 essential to aluminium production, and fluoropolymers • Metallurgical grade (metspar), 6082% CaF2; used as a flux in steel and cement manufacture • Ceramic grade, 94–96% CaF2; used in various glasses, enamels, welding rods The primary markets for fluorspar are for the production of hydrofluoric acid (HF; 40%), aluminium fluoride (AlF3) and synthetic cryolite, both used as a flux in aluminium smelting (20%); and in steelmaking (35%).

The major end use for HF is in the manufacture of fluorocarbons used

*Director and co-founder of IMFORMED Industrial Mineral Forums & Research Ltd and has 30 years experience in the industrial minerals business; mike@imformed.com; www.imformed.com September/October 2017

FLUORIDE ALF3.indd 1

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:50:13

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28 PRIMARY - Fluorspar for AlF3

Other 5%

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Metspar & ceramic 39%

Acidspar 61%

Steelmaking 32%

Hydrofluoric acid 36%

Aluminium fluoride 27%

World fluorspar demand 5.73m tonnes

Fluorspar world consumption

Vi

ROW 42%

China 15%

oli

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%

ROW 10%

3%

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South Africa 16%

3%

Mexico 15%

China 66%

Ira USAn 1% Keny 2% a 2% Spain 2%

Mexico 12% Mongolia 8%

Reserves total 260m tonnes

Production total 6.4m tonnes

World fluorspar reserves & production and consumption

predominantly as refrigerants and as foam-blowing agents, in the production of fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers, chemical derivatives, stainless steel pickling, and in other diverse uses.

HF overall demand remained relatively flat in 2016 despite increased higher consumption by Japan since 2014.

Production continued to increase as a result of the new Gulf Fluor facility in the UAE. China accounted for some 40% of world HF output, with an increasing domestic market and important export trade.

Worldwide demand for AlF3, which follows the performance of aluminium production, was unchanged in 2016 at 1.2m tonnes. AlF3 consumption increased again in China, and also in India, Europe and Malaysia but reduced in the USA. Supply trends Despite its widespread requirement in key industries, there are relatively few commercially developed fluorspar sources September/October 2017

FLUORIDE ALF3.indd 2

worldwide.

China dominates production and consumption; recent newcomers include Vietnam and Thailand; while potential new sources are in Canada, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and the USA. Fluorspar is classified as a “Critical Raw Material” in the EU, and as a “Strategic Mineral” in USA. During 2016, fluorspar prices fell owing to overcapacity exacerbated by the new acidspar output since late 2014 from Vietnam (2016 year-end Chinese fluorspar was at US$260-270/tonne, which has since risen sharply, and, according to some reports by 30-40%).

Elsewhere, last year saw mine closures in Bulgaria and Kenya, while others reduced output, notably Mexico and Mongolia down to around 50% of more recent output rates this year.

2016 saw world production output drop to 5.68m tonnes in total. The new by-product output from the Masan Nui Phao tungsten operation in Vietnam

remained close to the design output of 200,000 tpa.

Reduced output from Mexico and Mongolia amounted to more than 500,000 tonnes, and from China around 300,000 tonnes. There were some increases from South Africa, and also some smaller output from new producers in Germany and Spain.

Mongolia’s output remained low at 300,000 tonnes much of which was exported to Russia where UC Rusal’s 120,000 tpa Yaroslavsk operation remained closed.

Fluorsid Spa, Italy, purchased Boliden’s 40,000 tpa Noralf AlF3 plant in Odda, Norway in December 2016. This adds to the company’s portfolio of 60,000 tpa AlF3 and 10,000 tpa HF plants in Italy, and the 60,000 tpa British Fluorspar mine in the UK. The USA remained reliant on fluorspar imports mainly from Mexico and China, as Hastie Mining and Trucking Co. continued limited fluorspar production from its mine in Kentucky, although intends to eventually produce both acidspar and metspar grades.

Regarding potential new supply sources, Canada Fluorspar Inc., which received government approval and funding mid2016 to develop its new 200,000 tpa acidspar mine and plant project in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, was officially opened in early August 2017 and aims to be in production by year-end.

Meanwhile, somewhat of a fluorspar renaissance is rallying in South Africa with SepFluor Ltd subsidiary Nokeng Fluorspar Mine (RF) (Pty) Ltd commencing construction of its new fluorspar mine and plant, expected on stream by 2019 (180,000 tpa acidspar, 30,000 tpa metspar). SepFluor is also planning another mine, and HF and AlF3 plants.

Hard on the heels of SepFluor is SA Fluorite (Pty) Ltd with its development of the Doornhoek fluorspar deposit in North West province, expecting to secure mining rights by the end of 2018.

At present, while hosting the largest reserves of fluorspar in the world, South Africa has just one mine active and two others closed.

In early 2017, the Chinese government imposed and enforced on its mining sector strict anti-pollution control measures , as well as a restriction on the provision of dynamite.

The upshot has been widespread mine and plant closures (until they meet government environmental standards), and reduced mining, prompting a shortage of raw materials including fluorspar, and a consequent sharp rise in prices. This is significant, since China is the main world source of fluorspar.

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:50:15

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30 PRIMARY - Fluorspar for AlF3

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Extracting fluorspar ore at the the largest source in the world, the underground Las Cuevas mine of Mexichem in San Luis Potosi; also hosting a visit for Fluorine Forum 2017

The reduction in acidspar supply was compounded by a rise in domestic demand for refrigerant and hydrofluoric acid ahead of summer impacting acidspar availability.

Recovery in production by the Chinese steel industry also pushed up demand for

metallurgical grades.

The effect has been that Chinese prices for both grades have risen to levels not seen since 2014. Outside China, prices have not risen to the same extent since producers are locked into annual contract terms negotiated in late 2016. Acidspar

97% CaF2 prices were reported stable at US$250-270/t CIF US or European ports. New 2018 contracts are due to be renegotiated in September/October 2017.

At best, it is thought that the mineral supply situation in China may ease following the mid-October 19th National Congress, but at worst, it may stretch on to March 2018.

The problem here is that even the best case scenario translates to maybe only a maximum two-month period of mine drilling and blasting before the seasonal closure of mining operations during the winter period of December to March.

This is just as much a headache for Chinese mineral traders and consumers as it is a golden opportunity for mineral producers and developers, outside China, such as in Canada and South Africa.

These latest supply developments and their significance in the context of the evolving global fluorine market will be addressed at IMFORMED’s Fluorine Forum 2017, 30 Oct-2 Nov., Hilton San Luis Potosi where the leading players in supply and demand will gather for two days of networking and discussion. Also included is an exclusive visit to the world’s largest fluorspar mine of Mexichem. All details at www.imformed.com/get-imformed/ forums/fluorine-forum-2017/ �

ALUMINIUM STRIP CONTINUOUS CASTING LINES Bruno Presezzi SpA supplies complete continous casting lines for aluminium and zinc strip from engineering to construction. Today featuring new developments: - automatic system for reliable start up - improved shell material for enhanced performance

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is now in a position to provide parting agent features which set us apart from competition: - prevent sticking of aluminium strip to shell - suitable for all alloys - higher concentration for improved realising action - reduced consumption - less sedimentation than competition, accept lower storage temperatures, although not recommended - self-cleaning additive to clean spray circuit (less material waste due to clogging guns) - suggested dilution ratio: from 1% to 1.5%, in accordance to industry standards - container size: lt.1 - lt.2 - lt.5 (gal.0,26 - gal 0,52 - gal 1,32); other on demand

BRUNO PRESEZZI SpA’s PATENTED CASTER ROLLS

Cores with flat surface and shells with grooved ID for: - improved productivity - better temperature uniformity - reduced fatigue - very short working time for cores reconditioning - rolls assembly completely interchangeable with existing casting lines - transformation of your existing standard rolls in Bruno Presezzi’s Patent Rolls also available.

www.brunopresezzi.com - aluminium.dept@brunopresezzi.com September/October 2017

FLUORIDE ALF3.indd 3

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:50:16

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32 CASTHOUSE

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Molten metal cleanliness when casting aluminium slabs – the basics!

Molten metal cleanliness is one of the key challenges for most casthouses. They must produce a slab with a sufficiently low level of hydrogen, alkali metals (mainly sodium) and inclusions to make the finished product suitable for its final end use. This is particularly important where the slab will be rolled into sheet for the manufacture of beverage cans or foil.

Molten metal cleanliness needs to be correctly managed, through a combination of having the right equipment and ensuring that it is correctly operated.

Initial molten metal cleanliness It is important to start by ensuring that the melting and holding practices employed prior to casting are as close to best practice as possible. The higher the molten metal cleanliness is prior to the degassing/ filtration operation, the cleaner it is likely to be after treatment. Some key areas that typically require careful management are: � The purchase of primary metal, hardener materials and scrap from proven/ qualified sources � The addition of alloying elements at the correct temperature (particularly magnesium) � Thorough skimming and regular cleaning of the furnace � Employing the settling practices as appropriate � Minimising metal turbulence, particularly in the transfer launders.

Degassing Depending upon the product, the next critical operation is likely to be that of the degasser. There are many different types of degasser, but most rely upon a subsurface spinning rotor.

The rotor injects a chemically active reactant (either chlorine gas or a solid salt flux) mixed with a carrier gas (such as argon or nitrogen) as fine bubbles into the molten metal. The key to operating such devices for optimum efficiency is to use a rotor design and practices that generate a small bubble size with a long bubble subsurface residence time.

A well operated degasser should be capable of reducing the incoming hydrogen concentration by at least 50%.

September/October 2017

Casthouse INNOVAL.indd 1

In addition, it should also reduce the alkali metal and inclusion levels. However, whilst a degasser will remove some inclusions, filtration achieves most inclusion removal.

Filtration For inclusion critical products, some casthouses use a deep bed filter. This normally involves filtering molten aluminium through a bed of varying size ceramic media. Whilst these are normally very efficient (typically 85% plus), they can be expensive to operate. This is due to the floor space required and the limited life of the filtration media. They typically require regular replacement and disposal.

Disturbances during filtration Whichever filters are used, care needs to be taken to ensure that the filters aren’t subject to excessive vibration or metal level changes. These “disturbances” can cause a release of inclusions which may end up in the finished product. Good process control downstream of the final filtration device is particularly important.

This should include careful launder preparation with special attention if any repairs are required. Additionally, casthouse operators should be careful to minimse turbulation in certain areas, such as around the metal distribution bags.

An input of very dirty metal will

Ceramic Foam Filters (photo www.drache-gmbh.de)

The final filtration step is generally a ceramic foam filter (CFF). This is a single use disposable filter made of a tough porous ceramic foam with tightly controlled pore sizes. These are often the sole filtration equipment in many casthouses due to their simple operation and good results for short runs. Three critical parameters for a CFF are: � The filter area – the larger the area, the larger the potential metal flow rate.

However, large tiles can be difficult to handle due to the risk of damage. � The pore size – the smaller the pore size the more efficient the filter. However, it’s more likely to block mid cast. � The thickness – the thicker the filter, the better the filtration efficiency.

However, it could be more difficult to initially prime it.

For some extremely critical applications, it’s common to use more expensive ceramic tube filters.

overwhelm even the best available filtration technology. Therefore, the importance of correctly conditioning the metal prior to filtration cannot be overstated. The cleaner the metal entering the filter, the finer the filters that can then be used, resulting in “even cleaner” metal exiting the filter.

Casthouse expertise To summarise, there is no “silver bullet” to achieving good molten metal cleanliness.

However, using the correct equipment in conjunction with a knowledgeable workforce who are capable of maintaining good process control is the best way to ensure success.

If you need further information or support to achieve good molten metal cleanliness, please do not hesitate to contact one of our Casthouse Experts. We can assist you to optimise your process to meet your metal quality requirements. � Contact Innoval Technology www.innovaltec.com

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:51:15

34 FOCUS ON: VALUE ADDED

Attention turns to value -a Rusal has a strong focus on innovation and value-added products (VAP). The company’s primary goal is to be the world’s most efficient and environmentally friendly producer, both in terms of cost and technology. In order to achieve this, it has continued to invest heavily in R&D, upgrading existing capacities and implementing new projects to increase the share of VAP across the overall aluminium sales portfolio.

In the second quarter of 2017, the share of VAP in RUSAL’s total sales grew to 493,000 or 49.2% compared to 436 thousand tonnes or 44.3% QoQ. The strong growth of VAP did not occur by chance, but due to productivity gain, development of new types of VAP products and improved quality of some existing products. We are looking to expand even further to reach our strategic goal of 70% VAP in total sales by 2021. In order to achieve this goal the following new or upgraded facilities will be put in place in 2017 RUSAL is commissioning a new casthouse project at Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter.

The new facility based on Wagstaff billet casting system technology will greatly increasing company’s billet production abilities. The capacity of the new casting line will be 120,000 tonnes of billet per year and it will focus on the production of a new size range of billet, including an option to produce large diameter billets of up to 460 mm. Before the project was implemented RUSAL has produced homogenized billets with a diameter of up to 200 mm. Large diameter billets are in particular demand in the automotive industry. To provide high-quality products to this market Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter was certified with ISO/TS 16949 (quality management standard for automotive industry).

In order to expand VAP production RUSAL also invested into new casting facility at Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter.

The Properzi horizontal continuous casting machine will increase the annual capacity of the smelter in terms of foundry alloys by 120,000 tonnes. The pilot operation of the line is being carried out with the participation of Properzi’s experts in order to achieve the specified capacity with the required quality of products.

The new casting line is equipped with advanced systems of control, degassing and filtration of metal. The equipment September/October 2017

focus rusal and refrachtenik.indd 1

will allow producing alloys in the form of 10-kg ingots. The main customer of the products will be automotive industry, in particular production of cast wheel disks.

RUSAL production in Sayanogorsk comply with ISO/TS 16949 requirements.

At Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter the company is upgrading the Befesa-2 line to increase the quality of produced small ingots of alloy 356.2 weighing 7/10 kg. RUSAL’s engineers together with Befesa Aluminio experts are conducting pilot operation of the line. As part of upgrading, major units and production processes were modified, additional process and laboratory equipment has been purchased. As the result plant’s productivity will be improved and better quality of ingots will be achieved to meet highest customers’ expectations Upon achieving the required quality indicators of products at the Befesa-2 line, the following stage, upgrading of the Befesa-1 line, is planned in 2018.

As part of the general strategy of increase in production level of valueadded products, a Properzi rolling mill and furnaces were launched into operation at Kandalaksha Aluminium Smelter in 2017. The new mill allows the smelter to produce wire rods of 7 typical sizes which are a new aspect for KAZ; these are of the diameters of 9.5, 12, 14, 15, 19, 23 and 25 mm. Prior to that, the smelter supplied only one size, of 9mm diameter.

The furnaces allow to increase the production level of wire rods of alloy 6101-T4 up to 6,800 tonnes per year and to improve competitive advantages of the products. The line is equipped with four upto-date convection quenching furnaces, manufactured by SECO/WARWICK, with a capacity of 3.2 tonnes per load each.

The main consumers of quenched wire rods produced at Kandalaksha Aluminium Smelter are cable manufacturing plants operating in Russia and abroad.

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 10:52:04

35 5

ue -added Establishment of Technological Valles in Russia RUSAL also expects Technological Valleys projects to create good opportunities for company and its partners to develop VAP and downstream projects in Russia.

RUSAL already has announced Technological Valleys in Krasnoyarsk, in Republic of Khakassia, and in Volgograd Region.

The concept of Technological Valleys is the creation of new processing plants in the immediate vicinity of the aluminium smelters with the possibility of direct supply of molten metal.

RUSAL expect downstream businesses and producers of end-user products for multiple industries (aviation, ship building, other transport, cable and electrical industry, construction, additive technologies and more) to become residents of the Valleys.

Technological Valleys will operate in special economic zones that offer attractive conditions of reduced taxes and payments for investors. Developed energy infrastructure based on renewable energy of hydroplanes located near RUSAL smelters stands among other important advantages which provide effective development of residents’ businesses.

Today RUSAL sources around 95% of its smelters’ electricity needs from hydro power plants. Using renewable and environmentally friendly hydro generated electricity, RUSAL is committed to having the best CO2 footprint in the industry.

Residents of Technological Valleys will gain the same advantage.

Potential investors will also experience significant operational cost savings due to industrial cooperation within the Valleys.

In particular, the Krasnoyarsk Technological Valley will create all the conditions for launching enterprises for the production of rolled products for aviation and shipbuilding, components for the automotive industry, products for the cable industry and construction, packaging, consumer goods, including sports goods.

The Valleys will also increase the economic and investment potential of the regions where company operates.

In Krasnoyarsk so far more than 17 new investment projects are in the development stages with more than USD 430 mln in declared investments and the potential to create over 1200 new jobs. �

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12/09/2017 10:52:05 28.06.17 15:20

36 EXTRUSION

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The resurgence of water based press tool lubricants

By James Dyla* Water based organic polymers, for use in press tool lubrication, have been used in aluminium extrusion since the 1980’s.

These products were originally introduced as a supplement in combination with the acetylene soot for use on fixed dummy blocks. With a conventional long stroke press, the retrofit of a tie rod mounted moving assembly to spray the fixed dummy block was relatively easy. Spray systems were crude by today’s standards, but met the needs of the time. The use of waterbased liquids was later developed for use in automatically spraying billets, butt shears, log shears, and other extrusion press tools. Spray wands have also been integrated to manually apply lubrication where automation was not feasible or warranted.

The introduction of Boron Nitride (BN) powders quickly took the extrusion industry by storm and became the standard for many years. When used correctly and properly maintained, electrostatic dispensing of BN powder to the back of the billet is still an excellent option. For many, issues with the use of BN that cannot be resolved and this has caused a recent trend back to the use of water based liquid lubricants for use in aluminium extrusion. Some of the issues that have tainted BN powder use include: � The initial investment and ongoing parts for electrostatic powder equipment are expensive. � BN powder is costly, especially with overuse. � Electrostatic equipment is a “blackbox” and often hard to troubleshoot. � BN powder is light and can be extremely difficult to contain thus floating randomly throughout the area. � Too often, the powder hopper cannot be located near the spray gun which causes inconsistent spray. � There are safety concerns with the high voltage equipment and Boron containing powders.

� Dry air to operate electrostatic spray equipment is a requirement and often not available.

Water based organic polymers, combined with updated equipment designs, resolve many of the issues typically associated with the use of BN powders. Spray systems are generally more economical to purchase and relatively easy to maintain/troubleshoot. The liquid spray head can be remotely mounted from the reservoir and controls. The lubricants are low cost per gallon and with the proper

volumes of liquid; a well-established usage volume for an 8” billet is one gallon of liquid concentrate per 1000 billets.

Stainless steel is included with many components for reliability and longevity.

System controls include a long list of features for ease of maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting.

Most extrusion presses built today include some form of lubrication for most of the tool steel components that come into contact with hot aluminium.

It should go without saying that a high-

More modern designs include a rotating spray head for billets and blocks

dispensing apparatus offer a lower cost per billet. Another significant advantage is that a single lubricant can be used to lubricate the billet, dummy block, butt shear, and the pressure rings. Most importantly, the overspray is much more localised when compared to BN powders.

The spray equipment has evolved over the years to improve performance and reliability. Rotating spray heads are used to spray billets and dummy blocks to ensure lube is evenly applied and positioned accurately. System controls have been upgraded to dispense extremely precise

speed automated extrusion press with state-of-the-art handling equipment merits accurate and reliable lubrication.

Unfortunately, the spray systems typically installed on many new extrusion presses do not include important design features that should be a requirement for this hot industrial work environment. Important design characteristics for spray equipment include the following: 1.

Strategically locate spray tips for complete coverage of the billet or press tool.

*President, AMCOL Corporation www.amcolcorp.com September/October 2017

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2.

Include a blow out of spray tips to prevent clogging.

3. Strategically locate air pressure gauges for system troubleshooting.

4. Filter liquid to avoid system clogging and output inconsistency.

5.

Lube free diaphragm pumps are preferred in place of out-dated pressure vessels.

6. Air and liquid hoses should be made from fire and tear resistant wound rubber.

7.

Liquid output should be finetuned for low volume output.

8.

Air and liquid mixing at the spray point must be engineered to create the smallest possible droplet size.

9. Spray extensions for remote access to spray point must be designed for consistent location of spray patterns.

10. Include a manual override for system testing.

11. Incorporate an integral lock and tag system for system maintenance and

repair.

As we all know, the best design is then benefited with on-site implementation of best practices.

The following is a starting-point punch list: � Use a clean, reliable air source. � Insure high quality water to dilute lubricant concentrates and insure proper dilution is maintained. � Handle liquids to avoid any cross contamination of dirt and other liquids in the work area. � Locate controls and reservoir for ease of access/viewing during normal press operation. � Safeguard spray nozzles from damage. � Establish lube dispensing and transfer procedures. � Implement preventative/predictive maintenance. � Maintain basic repair inventory.

� Enclose and contain overspray. � Clean up overspray on a regular basis. � Train area personnel in the proper use and function of equipment.

In conclusion, water based liquid lubricants are seeing a resurgence in use for aluminium extrusion press tool lubrication. These products are tried and proven alternatives to Boron Nitride powders and offer many advantages.

The equipment is often less costly, more reliable, and easier to troubleshoot. The liquids can be used in most applications that require lubrication, which allows for consolidation to one fluid for all purposes.

Still, equipment design and installation is key to maximising system performance and uptime. Implementation of best practices can further enhance productivity. Be sure to specify high quality spray equipment with proven design characteristics with your next press line or upgrade. �

Lubrication Systems for Extrusion, Sawing and Fabrication

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ASSOCIATION

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USA FOCUS

Association Update: The Aluminum Association A big year for aluminium The New Year brought with it new leadership and a new direction for Washington, D.C. and the entire country.

Nearly nine months after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the American people continue to adapt to his agenda and policy-making style. For aluminium, the transition has increased the national spotlight on our industry as our issues, particularly in the area of global trade, move to the top of the national policy agenda. Media outlets ranging from The Washington Post to The Economist to The New York Times all ran extensive profile stories of the aluminium sector this year.

The Trump administration holds a strong position on securing and growing American jobs, especially in manufacturing, while taking a hard line enforcing global trade laws. Executive actions since the inauguration have worked to end “the theft of American prosperity” caused by Chinese overcapacity and other challenges. Just around the time of his “100 Days” benchmark in the Oval Office, President Trump signed successive Section 232 executive orders to investigate whether imported steel and aluminium poses a threat to national security. This was the first step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to crack down on unfairly imported metal that has decimated some portions of the nation’s manufacturing base – and potentially our military readiness. This followed the firstever antidumping/countervailing duty case filed in the Aluminum Association’s 85-year history on behalf of the U.S. aluminium foil market.

The industry is also working through the association’s Aluminum Transportation Group to promote aluminium as a critical material for carmakers to meet customer demands for increased safety, performance and fuel economy. We also continue to grow our advocacy footprint by building our political action committee and increasing membership in the Congressional Aluminum Caucus on Capitol Hill. This summer, our bestselling publication – Aluminum Standards & Data – released a fully updated edition for 2017. And our sustainability research September/October 2017

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Trade at the forefront In August, the Department of Commerce released a preliminary determination finding in favour of the association’s argument that the vast majority of U.S. imports of aluminium foil from China are benefiting from unfair government subsidies. As a result, the Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Patrol will require U.S. importers of foil from China to deposit countervailing duties ranging from 17 to 81 percent at the time this foil enters the United States.

are enforced. The situation in the foil market today is symptomatic of this larger issue of Chinese aluminium overcapacity.

Eight U.S. aluminium smelters have either closed or curtailed since 2014 leaving only two still operating at full capacity here in the states. And we’re seeing similar pressure on our producers further downstream – hindering our ability to grow. Our hope is that Chinese and U.S. governments will tackle the overcapacity challenge together. Regardless, the Aluminum Association will continue to defend itself when other countries violate global trade rules.

The action followed a separate announcement in April when the president

Aluminium foil production in the United States supports more than 20,000 jobs and $6.8 billion in economic activity. However, companies have been forced to cut back production and close U.S. factories in recent years thanks to artificially lowpriced aluminium foil from China flooding the market in recent years. Imports of Chinese foil increased by nearly 40 percent between 2014 and 2016. Fluctuations like this do not just happen due to market forces; they happen because of market intervention by China. The Department of Commerce is now investigating 26 different subsidy programs maintained by the Chinese government to support aluminium foil producers in China.

This action was needed both to address the acute challenge facing aluminium foil producers in the United States and also to signal the industry’s continued commitment to ensuring that trade laws

signed an executive memorandum initiating an investigation exploring the implications of foreign imports of aluminium on U.S. national security. The action is allowable under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Representatives from the Aluminum Association and others in the domestic aluminium industry as well as several members of the Congressional Aluminum Caucus joined the president for the signing ceremony.

At the time of this writing, the Section 232 investigation is ongoing and the final outcome remains unclear. The association’s membership has developed the following key policy principles to help guide the administration to a positive outcome for the industry. These principles include: 1. Aluminium production and products support U.S. national security 2. Any final remedy provide a solution

and reporting continues, with all new key performance indicators for the aluminium beverage can.

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to the true underlying problem of Chinese aluminium overcapacity 3. Exempt Canadian imports and other foreign producers from any possible remedy 4. Consider the effects on both primary and downstream producers along the value chain There’s a growing bipartisan consensus that Chinese overcapacity is a significant problem impacting a number of industries, especially in manufacturing. These concerns were echoed in a formal report issued this July by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) after a yearlong study.

The commission found that global oversupply has negatively affected the U.S. primary aluminium industry, principally because of China’s increased capacity, production and Chinese government policies. The U.S. unwrought secondary and wrought aluminium industries are

at increased risk of losing market share as China rapidly expands into those segments.

In the words of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, “Chinese overproduction has long distorted global markets, putting downward pressure on global prices, and impairing U.S. producers’ competitiveness not only in the United States but around the world.”

The good news is that it is clear we have a partner in the new administration working to address these persistent challenges. Maintaining and growing a robust U.S. manufacturing base and enforcing international trade rules and law are among the top priorities of the Trump White House.

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Auto growth continues While the U.S. aluminium industry faces clear challenges on the supply side, demand for the metal continues to grow as businesses turn to lightweight, strong, sustainable aluminium to meet their manufacturing needs.

Demand has grown each of the past seven years and is up some 40 percent since the trough of the recession in 2009.

We are now approaching record-setting shipment levels last seen in the mid-2000s.

This demand growth has driven investment – since 2013, U.S. aluminium companies have invested or committed to invest more than $2.3 billion in domestic manufacturing facilities, adding well north of 1,000 permanent jobs.

The key driver for demand growth today is the automotive sector. A recent survey of automakers found that total aluminium content in the average vehicle sold in the U.S. is expected to grow from 397 pounds per vehicle (PPV) in 2015 to 565 PPV by

2028, representing 16 percent of total vehicle weight.

This is the steepest growth trajectory in the industry’s history and caps of nearly 50 years of sustained aluminium penetration increases in the auto sector.

The association, through its Aluminum Transportation Group, is also engaging with policymakers and other stakeholders on the recently reopened midterm review of vehicle fuel economy regulations for model year 2022 - 2025.

The ATG is calling for a fact-based process that spurs innovation and continues to support mass reduction without downsizing the vehicle. A final determination on the vehicle fuel economy rule is expected by April of next year.

In other news …

With the recent additions of Congressmen Tom Marino (R-PA) and Lou Barletta (RPA), the Congressional Aluminum Caucus has reached 50 members, a target goal since the caucus’ launch in 2013. The caucus has proven an invaluable resource for the industry over the past several years growing our voice inside and outside the Beltway – sending letters on key issues, hosting briefings for members, and amplifying our messages on Capitol Hill.

The association also continues to embrace its mission promoting aluminum as the sustainable material of choice in today’s marketplace. This summer, we released our fourth Key Performance Indicator (KPI) report showing the sustainability advantages of the aluminum beverage can. The KPIs provide direct comparisons between aluminum cans and glass and plastic bottles in areas like recycling rates, recycled content and material usage. You can learn more about the 2017 KPI report at www.aluminum. org/CanAdvantage.

Meanwhile, the association recently released the latest version of its longestrunning and most popular publication, Aluminum Standards and Data 2017. The book, which was last updated in 2013, is a guide for those that use and produce aluminium including comprehensive information on all commonly available alloys and mill products – an essential reference for anyone who works with aluminium. In addition to this book release, the website bookstore for members and non-members is update to accommodate all bookstore visitors.

The association has had a busy year in all areas; we look forward to hosting our annual member meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 2-4. � Contact www.aluminum.org

September/October 2017

12/09/2017 11:01:49

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North American extrusions market

By Myra Pinkham* The North American extrusions market, which has been seeing slow but steady growth for the past eight years, seems as if it will continue on a similar trajectory at least for the next year or so despite all of the political uncertainties that could potentially affect it.

Year over year growth for U.S. and Canadian aluminium extruded products demand has been relatively flat. According to the latest data from the Aluminum Association, reported first quarter direct mill shipments were up 1.7 percent from the first three months of 2016, which was identical to the rate of growth for full year 2016.

This flattish growth, however, is good news to extruders, according to Matt Aboud, president of Baltimore-based Hydro Aluminum Metals USA LLC, who notes that the level of North American extrusions production in 2016 was equivalent to that of 2006, which was the last peak year. “Also, going forward there are still some nice tailwinds helping some important extrusion end markets.”

Aboud says that while the industry is now entering its ninth recovery year and that such a long expansion is almost unheard of, he believes there continues to be potential for growth. He explains, “It’s been a slow growth recovery and some sectors still haven’t regained all of their losses. Also the individual companies are stronger today than they had been during the last peak.”

He notes that first of all the industry went through a rationalisation period following the financial crisis that has resulted in the surviving extruders running at higher press utilisation rates.

At the same time, they have less competition from imported extrusions with the anti-dumping and countervailing duties implemented in 2011 resulting in far less Chinese extrusions being shipped into the United States. “Also extruders’ balance sheets are healthier vs. Ten years ago with much of the opportunistic private equity money leaving and with companies finding more permanent capital,” he points out.

Recently Hydro announced its intention to acquire the 50 percent share of Sapa AS that it doesn’t already own from Orkla, ASA, in a transaction that is expected to close later this year. It is uncertain what impact this merger will have. John Mothersole, director of research for the pricing and purchasing service of IHS Markit, notes that while it fills out Hydro’s portfolio, it won’t necessarily reduce competition. It is also still unknown if Hydro will be required to divest some of Sapa’s operations to get the deal through.

On the trade front, in July, the U.S. extrusions market was handed another victory with the U.S. Department of Commerce, in its final determination in a circumvention case against China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd. and other exporters, ruled that regardless of producer, exporter or importer, heattreated 5050 grade aluminium was now covered by the duties imposed against Chinese extrusions.

“It was believed that Chinese companies were getting creative, finding new ways to move extrusions,” says Charlie Straface, business area president for Sapa Extrusion North America, including shipping extrusions disguised as pallets to get around the duties.

Jeffrey Henderson, president of the Aluminum Extruders Council, says that he is happy with the way that this trade case ultimately unfolded with these “fake pallets” or “fake semis” being covered by the 2011 trade case even though 5050 aluminium was originally excluded from such duties as there is no domestic demand for 5050 alloy. “The Aluminum Association doesn’t even have a classification for it in their aluminium specifications.

The biggest upcoming threat, according to Jason Bachman, plant manager at Alexandria Industries, is the increase in imports from Vietnam, Malaysia and elsewhere in the Pacific Rim. “The big question is whether they are transshipments using Chinese material,” he says. “It is something that the industry will have to watch very carefully.”

“Another thing that the industry is

watching carefully is the aluminium Section 232 investigation, which we are regarding as somewhat of a Trojan horse,” Mothersole says. He notes that so much is still unknown about what the ultimate impact will be either on the aluminium industry as a whole or the extrusions market with much depending on whether the Trump administration ultimately takes a narrow or broad approach both to their definition of national security and the solutions it imposes. The fact that the Commerce Department’s Section 232 continues to be delayed, and now might not be put onto the president’s desk until late this year, adds to the uncertainty, which was already very great given how much carte blanche President Trump has as far as the solutions he could put in place.

“I don’t believe that the remedies available to President Trump will be effective in addressing the true underlying issue, which is overcapacity in the primary aluminium industry,” declares Aboud, who testified to that effect during the June aluminium Section 232 Commerce Department hearing about the issue.

This was in sync with what others in the industry have stated. “We agree that we need to ensure that the United States has a strong aluminium industry, that doing so is necessary for our national security,” Henderson says. Nevertheless in his testimony he told the Commerce Department that the AEC does not support the imposition of tariffs or other restrictions on imports on primary aluminium.

“That is because the problem in the aluminium industry is China and China doesn’t export primary aluminium,” Henderson says, adding that in a view that is aligned with that of the Aluminum Association the AEC believes that such tariffs would end up having an adverse impact upon extrusion producers and their customers. “Instead any action should be aimed at the aluminium content of finished goods with that content subject to strong duties,” he says. “That would impact China head on.”

*US Correspondent Aluminium International Today

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Heidi Brock, president and chief executive officer of the Aluminum Association, has been emphatic that China, and not countries such as Canada and the European Union, who have been trading aluminium fairly, should be the target of any Section 232 action.

“In our view it is Chinese overcapacity that is the fundamental issue impacting the industry today,” she says, maintaining that Chinese efforts to address its overcapacity have been limited and ineffective to date and that absent reduction of overcapacity in China, growth and investment in the United States and elsewhere in the world will continue to suffer despite continued healthy demand.

She says that hopes that any action taken relating to the Section 232 will bring the industry closer to its ultimate goal of achieving a negotiated government to government capacity reduction agreement with China. “Section 232 is an important tool. We hope that it will incent China to come to the negotiation table.”

It is more likely that any Section 232 will be aimed more at either primary aluminium or billets, notes Sandra Buchanan, an analysts with Metal Bulletin Research, as current extrusion imports after the 2011 trade case are somewhat negligible.

Currently there is plenty of billet availability, according to Mark Mantooth, Pennex Aluminum’s president, but that could possibly tighten under the Section 232. Hydro’s Aboud says that the domestic billet supply base has been eroding and that only four U.S. smelters are currently September/October 2017

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producing billets – Century Aluminum in Mount Holly, and Sebree, and Alcoa Corp. in Massena, and Ferndale.

He says that even when you add in the Canadian smelters, North American primary producers have less than a 25 percent share of the market. “Because of that, we have become quite dependent on overseas imports, the majority of which comes from the Middle East and Russia.”

Right now, however, billet supply and demand remains fairly well in balance, Buchanan maintains.

On the demand side of the equation, the largest extrusions end market is building and construction, which, according to Mothersole isn’t doing badly, but it isn’t nearly as strong as had been expected.

He says a lot of that is tied to the fact that expectations for an aggressive infrastructure spending plan is yet to materialise making even the possibility of additional infrastructure investment in fiscal 2018 somewhat remote. Henderson also points out that some expected projects had been delayed due to the tight availability of construction laborers.

The Aluminum Association reports that extrusion shipments were up 1.5 percent year on year in the first quarter, down from a 4.0 percent growth rate for the full year of 2016.

The housing market has, however, been growing incrementally this year, rising 8.3 percent month on month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, which, while below previous peak levels – which many argue were artificially inflated

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by the sub-prime mortgage industry – continue to grow gradually in line with industry forecasts, according to Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders.

“Additionally the commercial/nonresidential construction market has been quite good and is a nice balance to the residential side,” Aboud says, although it is also still recovering from the downturn.

“Unlike residential construction, nonresidential projects aren’t as volatile, they are longer in nature and have more visible pipelines.”

While it ebbs and flows, Sapa’s Straface says that non-residential construction is currently seeing slow to moderate growth in the 3 to 5 percent range. While the Dodge Momentum Index, leading nonresidential building indicator, bell 3.3 percent month on month in July it remains 6.9 percent higher than a year earlier, indicating that there could be further moderate gains in construction activity throughout the year.

Pennex’s Mantooth says that the extrusions end market that has been showing the greatest increase is automotive. While North American build rates for passenger cars and light trucks are expected to edge down slightly to somewhere between 16.8-17.1 million this year from a record 17.7 million vehicles last year, the impact upon extrusion consumption is being countered by a combination of the fact that 60-plus percent of those vehicles are light trucks, which use more extrusions than passenger Aluminium International Today

13/09/2017 15:52:35

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44 EXTRUSION

cars due to their larger size, and that each vehicle are increasingly containing more extrusions as the auto OEMs seek to lighten the weight of their vehicles to increase fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

According to a new Ducker Worldwide survey on the aluminium content of North American light vehicles that was commissioned by the Aluminum Association’s Aluminum Transportation Group, from 2015 to 2020 total extruded product content per average light vehicle, including extruded shapes, tube, rod and bar, will increase 36 percent to 49 pounds per vehicle with aluminium extrusions for cash management parts expected to increase by six pounds per vehicle, up 65 percent, and extruded body in white components to double to 4.4 pounds per vehicle. Bumper beam penetration is expected to increase form 33 percent in 2015 to 54 percent in 2020.

Extrusion use is expected to increase even further from 2020 to 2028 although the amount is still uncertain depending upon the results of the mid-term review.

Should automakers look to reduce vehicle weight another 4.5 percent then extrusions will likely account for 10 percent of its aluminium content in 2028,

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but if they seek to reduce its weight by 7 percent extrusions could account for 22 percent of the aluminium content.

Bachman says that no matter what happens with federal fuel efficiency standards there is good opportunity for extrusions growth in the automotive sector as more engineers are learn about the advantages to using more extrusions in cars.

Another factor that is expected to affect future use of extrusions in the auto sector is gains being made in electric vehicles. For example, Volvo recently announced that it was phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles with all car models launched after 2019 being either an electric vehicle or hybrid.

Straface observes that to compensate for the weight of the battery electric vehicles tend to be more aluminium intensive than other autos and not only use extrusions in crash systems, the instrument panel and anti-lock brake systems, but also in the battery frame and the thermal monitoring systems that keep the battery cool.

He says that about 10-15 presses have been added in North America, most of which are geared toward the automotive market. Even with this capacity being added there continues to be nice utilisation

rates – about 70 percent or so.

The largest end market for aluminium, including aluminium extrusions, in the transportation sector, however, is for truck trailers, which tends to be a very volatile market. Aboud says that while it has been weak in the last few years, it appears as if it has bottomed out and will improve going forward.

Straface says that extrusions use for solar energy, both for massive solar fields and for panels for buildings hasn’t been very strong, especially with today’s low natural gas prices and issues relating to energy storage. “If there was more storage solar would become a more viable choice.”

Political uncertainty also hasn’t helped, according to MBR’s Buchanan, is it is unknown if the Trump administration will keep the current investment tax credits in place. “Right now while on-going projects are continuing to go ahead, not a lot of new contracts are being signed,” she says.

“I expect that 2017 will be another good year for aluminium extrusions, but a lot depends on what happens politically both in the United States and elsewhere in the world,” Buchanan says.

“We expect that next year will be similar to this year but that depends on a lot of yet unknown factors.” �

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These three fundamentals have created a tradition throughout the company’s design, manufacturing, and project delivery teams- assuring highly innovative, quality conscious, and wallet friendly casthouse solutions.

Learn more by visiting www.almexusa.com or email us at info@almexusa.com

Almex USA is the leading supplier of aerospace and commercial aluminium billet and slab casthouse technology and equipment. The company specialises in complete turnkey “Furnace to Finish™” casthouse engineering and equipment supply coupled with its comprehensive technology and know-how training program. The well-rounded product line includes melting furnaces, degassing systems, D.C. casting machines, billet and slab casting systems, automated process control, plant management SCADA systems, and homogenization furnace systems. Almex is engaged in equipment and processes involving green technology for efficient recycling of aluminum alloys with a minimal environmental footprint. Almex’s process technology and equipment, in use at more than 30 plants around the world, are based on the principles of equipment and process Safety, Performance, and Simplicity.

Aluminium International Today

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48 AUTOMOTIVE

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Conference Preview: Advanced Aluminium Engineering fo The use of aluminium is increasing for many applications, but it is in the automotive sector that recent growth is most remarkable. A combination of legislative, environmental and competitive pressures have made this sector a hotbed of innovation for what is still a relatively new material. And while JLR’s aluminiumbodied vehicles have understandably received much attention, the universal need for lightweighting means aluminium is penetrating ‘multi-material’ vehicles, and spreading from luxury vehicles down through all model ranges.

The UK’s resurgent automotive supply chain is often at the forefront of technical developments in aluminium. This trend is likely to continue, and will be boosted with the coming of electric and autonomous vehicles.

As a result, the Aluminium Federation (‘ALFED’) is looking to highlight technical September/October 2017

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excellence and forthcoming developments in automotive aluminium with a focused conference in November.

“One of our key activities is acting as a catalyst for innovative aluminium products and processes,” says Jan Lukaszewski, ALFED technical manager. “Since joining the aluminium sector two years ago I have been amazed by the pace of technical progress of companies working with aluminium, and more often than not this has automotive applications.”

The two-day conference is being held on 21 and 22 November 2017, at the Millennium Point complex in central Birmingham. The Conference will be opened by Professor David Bailey of Aston University, a well-known media commentator on all matters automotive.

David will speak on reshoring and other opportunities for the UK automotive industry – doubtless covering the impact

of ‘Brexit’ along the way.

Day one continues with a look at alloy development by Constellium’s Martin Jarrett and Geoff Scamans of Innoval and also more recently BCAST – the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology. Recycling is fundamental to the aluminium industry, and speakers from Novelis, Milver Metals and others will highlight recent efficiency advances in recycling for automotive applications.

Aluminium’s relatively low weight means that it has played a key role in aerospace since the days of the Wright brothers, and Mike Bond of Aeromet will consider the potential for the application of aerospace casting techniques in the automotive field. There has traditionally been a clear separation between forging and casting.

But could squeeze casting offer the best of all worlds? Peter Radcliffe of CastAlum will be addressing this important question Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 11:07:32

AUTOMOTIVE 49 5

www.aluminiumtoday.com

w: g for the Automotive Industry in the casting session. The forging session, which concludes day one, will be framed

by AFRC’s John McBain outlining the principles of advanced aluminium forging.

This will be followed by real life experiences of working with aluminium, from Stokes Forging, AHT and SDF Automotive.

Day two begins with an examination of forming automotive aluminium sheeting.

Of particular interest will be presentations on superforming 7XXX series alloy and the Heat Quench Forming (HFQ) process, by Superform and Impression Technologies respectively. Ensuring the durability of aluminium products is important in many applications, especially in the harsh environments in which motor vehicles operate.

Speakers in this session will cover developments in pre-treatment, including anodising, and Alan Cooper of Westmoreland will highlight the benefits Aluminium International Today

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and techniques available for the lifetime testing of components.

In the United States, Ford and General Motors have followed different paths regarding aluminium, but both now use significant quantities – Ford with its F-150 range and GM with the multi-metal Cadillac CT6. Rio Tinto Automotive’s Jim Dickson will provide a transatlantic perspective.

These vehicles feature established uses of aluminium extrusions, but Sapa’s Jonas Buhr will preview some new applications, such as in electric vehicles.

With the advent of the ‘multi-material’ car, interest in techniques for joining aluminium to itself, to steel and to other materials, including plastics, is greater than ever. The final session of the Conference covers joining techniques – especially bonding and welding – with presentations on laser, thermal and pulse welding, plus a look at the challenges of

bonding aluminium.

“This Conference will showcase the best of the new in automotive aluminium, with a lot of material that hasn’t been presented before,” adds Jan Lukaszewski.

“The Conference is also a great networking opportunity for engineering professionals, especially as we will have an optional Conference dinner in Birmingham on 21 November.

“While Advanced Aluminium Engineering for the Automotive Industry is organised by the Aluminium Federation, everyone, including non-members and international executives is welcome to attend this pioneering event.” �

Full details of Advanced Aluminium Engineering for the Automotive Industry are available at: www.alfed.org.uk

September/October 2017

12/09/2017 11:07:35

50 SUSTAINABILITY

www.aluminiumtoday.com

Towards sustainable solutions Nadine Bloxsome* spoke to Catherine Athènes** about Constellium’s progress towards the company’s 2020 sustainability targets.

The recent Sustainability report from Constellium reported progress towards the 2020 sustainability targets - what are the main objectives that are aiding this progress?

Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. Constellium’s Sustainability Council defines and updates the company’s sustainability policies and ensures that we remain on track to meet our 2020 sustainability objectives, which include: Participating in increasing overall beverage can recycling; further improving our safety record; engaging our people and strengthening the communities in which we operate; reducing production waste sent to landfills and improving energy efficiency in our operations; helping to build a sustainability standard for aluminium; and ensuring sustainable purchasing. During 2016, we made significant progress on a number of these objectives through some innovative programs, such as our partnership with Nespresso to recycle and transform used coffee capsules into Victorinox knives and Zena peelers. Another highlight is the CARES initiative started by employees at our Ravenswood, WV plant that expanded across the US driven by our goal to strengthen our communities. Through the CARES program, our people serve their communities in various ways, whether through raising awareness for breast cancer and heart disease, hosting a food drive, or renovating a home.

Association. The overall US beverage can recycling rate remains a challenge and has actually decreased in 2016 due to a complex and varied regulatory environment and recycling practices.

Regarding our own recycling operations, Constellium made progress by installing a new furnace at Muscle Shoals, which has the capacity to recycle nearly a fifth of all cans sold in the US. While we remain in the top quartile of the industry in regards to safety results, our recordable case rate is not where we want it to be. Safety is our utmost priority and we are taking a number of steps to address this issue, including a hands free casting program, starting a new program to eliminate hand contact with suspended loads and encouraging a “Take 5” approach to remind employees to assess the risk of non-routine activities before starting them.

Are there any areas that require the most attention? If so, why?

Constellium’s Sustainability Council is tasked with ensuring that we remain on track to meet all of our objectives and that sustainability is fully integrated into everything we do. One key area that remains a priority is minimising the impact of our operations with the goal of reducing production waste sent to landfills

and improving our energy efficiency. The past year, increased focus on production waste enabled us to identify different waste streams we weren’t aware of before. Moving forward, we will be paying particular attention to the data we gather in that regard to make sure it is accurate.

We will continue placing emphasis on sorting and recycling waste in each of our plants, and most importantly will work to clearly identify all waste and work with our research partners to identify the best way to recycle those forms of waste which cannot be recycled in traditional ways.

In 2016, our energy efficiency was impacted due to a ramp up in equipment and production at various sites. We invested in new equipment at several plants due to the success of our business units and increased demand in the auto sector, but this unavoidably increased energy consumption during those rampup periods. We have already installed new furnaces at a handful of our plants, which will start to deliver results in the next year to decrease energy consumption and new instalments such as LED lighting and other new energy efficient equipment will also help. As with all our sustainability targets, we will continue working to identify and launch new programs and ensure best practices across all sites to aid in reaching our goals.

Where will more attention be focused to help reach these targets?

We will remain focused on progress in achieving all of our targets, with renewed attention on ensuring that certain targets, such as participating in increasing overall aluminium beverage can recycling in Europe and in the US, further improving our safety record, reducing production waste sent to landfills and improving energy efficiency get back on track to reach our 2020 targets.

Beverage can recycling in Europe is on track to hit the 80% mark with a positive contribution by the European Aluminium * Editorial Aluminium International Today **Catherine Athènes, Head of Sustainability, Constellium September/October 2017

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Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 11:10:54

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52 SUSTAINABILITY

Is Constellium planning to invest in any specific areas to help achieve these targets?

To reduce cost and improve energy efficiency we are upgrading our casting units, installing LED lighting and delivering new energy efficient equipment to our plants.

What, if any, technology will play a part in working towards these achievements?

Technology is already playing a role in improving energy efficiency. At our plant in Neuf-Brisach, we have invested in furnaces based on a new oxy-fuel technology developed with Linde. This allows a significant reduction of energy usage.

Another area where technology plays a role is in the development of new lightweighting solutions. Constellium HSA6TM allows designers to optimise extrusion shapes and reduce wall thickness to achieve weight savings of 15-30% compared to conventional aluminium alloys. With our automotive body sheet Ultralex®, we can help reduce weight against the ultra-high strength steel solutions for structural parts such as the B Pillar.

September/October 2017

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Are there any areas that will benefit from R&D projects?

Our operations continue to benefit from R&D projects as we research new ways to recycle specific production waste as I mentioned earlier. For example, we are continuing our partnership with Strasbourg University in France to find ways to process flue-gas dust. And of course all our product developments aiming at lightweighting and reducing carbon footprint are benefiting from our R&D activities.

How do these developments fit with the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, which Constellium is a member of?

We were an early member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and have always remained committed to material stewardship and sustainability throughout the aluminium value chain.

Last year we were elected to the Standards Committee to help with the development of the standard’s certification process which is expected to fully launch by the end of 2017. One of our sustainability targets for 2020 is to have at least one of our sites certified by the ASI, so all of our developments towards the responsible

production and recycling of aluminium tie into this.

We view the ASI standard not as a new goal for us, but as an extension and certification of our own sustainability efforts.

What do you see the next big sustainability success being for Constellium?

We are working on defining a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target. We have long tracked our GHG emissions to inform our environmental initiatives but are now working hard to determine a specific, ambitious yet realistic target for us to reach.

To do so we are considering the full life cycle of our products. The aluminium body sheet we provide for the automotive sector plays a role in reducing emissions from cars due to lighter weight, and our increasing recycling capabilities reduce the need for primary aluminium, which also significantly reduces GHG emissions.

In order to take all of this into account we have developed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model to be verified by a third party and then used to help us reach a tangible goal. �

Aluminium International Today

12/09/2017 11:11:08

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CONNECTING THE INTERNATIONAL ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY

Aluminium International Today magazine Aluminium International Today is the key publication for the aluminium market, dedicated to the production and processing of aluminium.

Features include:

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technical

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company profiles

case studies

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country profiles

conference reports

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AN

OMOTING TH PR E

YEARS

FOR MORE T RY H ST

INIUM IND UM U AL

EDITORIAL FEATURES

EDITORIAL FEATURES LIST FOR 2018

EVENT DISTRIBUTION

Jan/Feb

Primary: Aluminium production technology; anode manufacture and rodding; power supply; pot room equipment; metal transfer.

Extrusion: Billet heating; low saws; extrusion presses; die production and maintenance; handling extruded products; cutting; value-added products.

Spanish Supplement

TMS, USA (11 - 15 March 2018)

March/April

Furnaces/heat treatment: Homogenising furnaces; slab heating furnaces; ageing ovens; Future Aluminium Forum, Milan annealing furnaces; solution heat treatment furnaces; die heaters; log and billet heaters (Date TBC) and associated handling equipment; refractories; heat measurement technology.

Analysis & Testing: Mechanical testing; spectrometry; measurement; software.

Rolling: Hot and cold rolling technology; annealing; alloys; strip casting; twin-roll casting; twin-belt casting; rolled products.

Italian Supplement

May/June

Secondary: Aluminium scrap processing; metal recovery; contaminated scrap; dross recovery; metal filtration.

Transport & handling: Tyred vehicles, rail vehicles, pot room vehicles; cranes; bundling and strapping; wrapping.

Special Focus: The Future of Aluminium Manufacturing

July/August

Casthouse technology: Aluminium transfer and casting; degassing; treatment; sawing.

Mining and refining: Bauxite mining and alumina refining technology; developments; R&D projects; community conservation.

Value-Added Supplement

September/ October

Primary: Aluminium production technology; anode manufacture and rodding; power supply; pot room equipment; metal transfer.

Rolling: Hot and cold rolling technology; annealing; alloys; strip casting; twin-roll casting; twin-belt casting; rolled products.

Special Focus: Aluminium in Automotive

ALUMINIUM 2018, Germany (9 - 11 October 2018)

November/ December

Secondary: Aluminium scrap processing; metal recovery; contaminated scrap; dross recovery; metal filtration.

Extrusion: Billet heating; low saws; extrusion presses; die production and maintenance; handling extruded products; cutting; value-added products.

Sustainability Supplement

ARABAL (Date and venue TBC)

Aluminium China, Shanghai (18 - 20 July 2018)

Foreign Language Issues Regular foreign issues enable advertisers to reach different markets around the world. If required translation services are available on request.

ISSUE

LANGUAGE

MONTH

Russian

July

China

June

ADVERTISING COPY DEADLINE Metal Expo, Date TBC

KEY EVENTS FOR DISTRIBUTION Aluminium Siberia, Krasnoyarsk, Date TBC

Aluminium China, 18 - 20 July 2018

Aluminium International Today contains a digest of global news, events, and statistics, as well as more detailed technical articles, company and country profiles, conference reports and regular regional economic briefings.

In order to keep the journal up-to-date with changing markets and innovation, a select number of features have been omitted from the list and will instead be included on a regular basis. These are: • Automotive • Aerospace • Packaging • Environment/Sustainability • Value-added products • Pricing & Warehousing Any companies wishing to supply articles on these topics can contact Nadine Bloxsome, Editor on nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com. Tel: +44 1737 855115

WWW.ALUMINIUMTODAY.COM

+44 1737 855139

U MI N AL

UM

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60 5 DIRECTORY

www.aluminiumtoday.com

ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY As a leading resource for the aluminium production and processing industries, the Directory reaches the most senior buyers and suppliers in the business. Distributed HANDLING & STORAGE

CLAUDIUS PETERS PROJECTS GMBH Schanzenstraße 40 DE-21614 Buxtehude, Germany T: +49 4161 706-0 F: +49 4161 706-270 E: info@claudiuspeters.com W: www.claudiuspeters.com Claudius Peters stockyards, pneumatic conveyors, silos, clinker coolers, grinding mills, and packing systems can be found in Cement, Coal, Alumina, and Gypsum plants across the globe. The group’s other principal Division, Aerospace, manufactures aircraft parts for Airbus.

PRIMARY REDUCTION/SMELTER PRIMARY

ALUMINIUM BAHRAIN B.S.C. (ALBA) Building 150, King Hamad Highway Askar 951, Bahrain T: +973 1783 0000 F: +973 1783 0083 E: alba@alba.com.bh W: www.albasmelter.com Aluminium Bahrain has been consistently ranked as one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world and is known for its technological strength and high quality aluminium.

FURNACE

HERTWICH ENGINEERING GMBH Weinbergerstr. 6, Braunau, Upper Austria, 5280, Austria T: +43 7722 806-0 F: +43 7722 806-122 E: info@hertwich.com W: www.hertwich.com Hertwich Engineering, a company of the SMS group, is active worldwide with design, supply, construction and commissioning of speciality equipment for the aluminium industry, in particular for aluminium casthouses.

to more than 50 countries and read by thousands of industry contacts, it contains a comprehensive alphabetical listing of company and contact details.

SLITTING

DANIELI FRÖHLING Scherl 12, D-58540, Meinerzhagen, Germany T: +49 2354 7082 0 F: +49 2354 7082 200 E: info@danieli-froehling.de W: www.danieli-froehling.de Danieli Fröhling is synonymous for innovative tailor-made solutions for the aluminium industry.

Fröhling customers trust in nearly 70 years’ experience in manufacturing of rolling mills and cutting lines.

CARBON ELECTRODES

R&D CARBON PO Box 361, Sierre 3960, Switzerland T: +41 27 459 29 29 F: +41 27 459 29 25 E: rdc@rd-carbon.com W: www.rd-carbon.com R&D Carbon provides expertise for the worldwide metal, oil and coal industry through R&D studies,onsite audits and process optimisation, carbon test equipment, quality control, certification and training courses.

SHEET CASTING CONSUMABLES

ZIRCAR CERAMICS INC 100 N. Main St Florida, NY USA T: +1 845 651 6600 E: sales@zircarceramics.com W: zircarceramics.com ZIRCAR Ceramics, Inc. is a US based manufacturer and international marketer of castertips, graphite release agent, boron nitride coating, vacuum formed, and pre-cast refractory products for use on all makes of continuous aluminum sheet twin roll, belt and block casters.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the listings that will appear in the 2017 Aluminium International Directory.

QUALITY TESTING & MEASUREMENT

POLYTEC GMBH Polytec Platz 1-7, D-76337, Waldbronn, Germany T: +49 7243 604-0 F: +49 7243 69944 E: info@polytec.de W: www.polytec.de Polytec is the market leader for non-contact, laser based vibration and velocity measurement instrumentation. Our innovative solutions allow our customers to maintain their own technical leadership across many fields.

SAFETY

AJ CHARNAUD & COMPANY (PTY) LTD Tel: RSA +27 11 794 6040 T: +27 11 794 6040 EU: +44 (0) 1133 507651 E: aj@charnaud.co.za W: www.charnaud.net Over 40 years of experience in protective clothing AJ Charnaud & Company (Pty) Ltd. has, since its foundation, been at the forefront of the development and manufacturing of specialized personal protective clothing. With a complete head-tofoot range of certified products, supported with advanced professional and technical assistance, Charnaud is regarded as a leading global supplier of personal protective clothing for protection against flames, fire, radiant heat, molten metal splash, acid and the thermal effects of electric arc flash.

It is free to list your company, get in touch today to find out more:

Anne Considine Sales Manager Tel: +44(0)1737855139 Email: anneconsidine@quartzltd.com

September/October 2017

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PREMIUM ALUMINIUM IN THE INTERIOR OF A MASS MARKET CAR? Contemporary car makers are confronted with never-ending demands for personalisation by their customers.

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That’s why Aludium launched our ‘direct from the mill’ concept two years ago. Since then our R&D team have been developing two completely new product families with unique finishes: Decorandum® and Texturandum™. They don’t require manual brushing or embossing which makes them extremely cost effective.

TEXTURANDUM™ AND DECORANDUM® ARE THE ANSWER! In addition to our full range of alloys and bright finishes we have two innovative product lines which can go direct from the mill to the automotive interior: Decorandum® - The premium look and feel of stainless steel without the cost. Can be utilised as the final layer in back-injection moulding, or as a structural decorative panel.

Texturandum™ The natural look of leather, elephant skin, or a tailor-made pattern. Ready to be anodised or lacquered to set your interior apart from the competition.

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