18/12/2015
Regain: A Resource Revolution
Aluminium smelter Spent Potlining (SPL) is a hazardous by-product that can be safely re-used by the cement industry, resulting in a closed “industrial ecosystem” where waste from one industry becomes food for another.
The global primary aluminium industry produces at least one million tonnes of SPL per year. Worldwide cement clinker production is more than 4 billion tonnes. A quarter of cement clinker plants can make good use of about 20kg of SPL-derived products for each tonne of clinker. Therefore some 20 million tonnes of SPL-derived products can be consumed by the cement industry, absorbing the generation of SPL by aluminium smelters many times over.
It took Regain to optimise this equation – by manufacturing products that maximise the benefits to cement makers of the valuable minerals in SPL. It has already proven to be a competitive advantage to progressive resource-hungry companies: a quarter of a million tonnes of SPL has already been processed and sold by Regain.
The Regain SPL solution is a model of what people are now calling the “Circular Economy”.
The mineral products derived from treated SPL are high in carbon, fluorides and sodium which are valuable in industries like cement where large energy inputs are required:
• Carbon provides an alternative fuel source, substituting for mined coal or natural gas.
• Fluorine and sodium in the right amounts allow cement and brick manufacturing to occur at lower temperatures with significantly lower energy consumption.
But first the SPL has to be properly treated to remove cyanide and stop generation of explosive gases. The Regain process transforms the SPL into products that can be safely transported for re-use as they are no longer classified as a hazardous waste. And the gases evolved are recycled to reduce energy input.
Regain has proven that there is a positive environmental benefit to re-use of SPL. Cement companies save more energy than the amount used in SPL transformation. Total greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. For aluminium companies, the toxic SPL is eliminated from landfills which removes this legacy issue and the potential for expensive clean-up.
The “resource revolution” is here, demanding material stewardship of industry to reduce our reliance on natural resources. Regain’s treatment of SPL for re-use provides a safe, sustainable solution that mimics the ecosystem approach, is an economical alternative to landfill and has a net environmental benefit.
For more information, see www.regainmaterials.com
Regain eliminates the hazards in aluminium smelter by-products and creates products that deliver energy cost savings and CO2 emission reduction for cement and clay brick manufactures.
