Aluminum giant Rio Tinto Alcan, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, has announced that it has begun development of new smelting technology that could reduce energy consumption by 20%.
“In a world increasingly concerned with climate change and the environmental impact of industrial growth, this new technology promises a potential breakthrough,” said Jacynthe Ct, president of primary metal, Rio Tinto Alcan. “The development of a greener, more energy efficient production process, combined with aluminum’s well-established attributes such as light weight and recyclability, makes for a winning combination.”
The technology, called AP-Xe, is a new generation of the company’s AP technology series and would reduce environmental impact of smelting while improving economic efficiency.
The company plans to develop the APXe in phases, including further development of drained cathode cells, which are already being tested on an industrial level. The next phase would be testing a 10-cell AP30 at Rio Tinto Alcan’s site in St-Jean-de- Maurienne, France.
Rio Tinto has been focusing its research and development network on the AP-Xe technology in the hope of developing an AP50 pilot plant in Quebec.
“With the first metal from the AP50 pilot plant project expected in Quebec in 2010, we are also looking beyond this to the first AP-Xe proof-of-concept cells to be built at our centre in St-Jean-de- Maurienne, where initial work is already under way,” said Don Macmillan, vice-president of technology and operational excellence for Rio Tinto Alcan, in a statement.
The new technology will help advance the company’s industrial processes in a more eco-friendly direction.
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