Aluminium World Journal 2016

ALUMINIUM
WORLD
JOURNAL
GMC
Global Media Communication Ltd.
2015 | 2016 Edition 1

ALUMINIUM WORLD JOURNAL
2015 | 2016 Edition 1
Global Media Communication Ltd.GMC
Welcome to Aluminium World Journal 2015 | 2016, Edition 1.
This edition is divided by industry sector sections to provide
ease of navigation. Within each section you will find editorials,
case studies and product reviews.
This edition focuses on advancements in technology used in
both Primary Smelting and processes and Anode plants. The
Global Issues section produced by RIO TINTO contains edito-
rials focused on the Rio Tinto development of the AP60 and
APXe pot technology and the MESAL manufacturing excellence
system that is now providing continuous improvement in the
primary aluminium production sector. The Special Feature
for this edition, produced by ABB, delves into the importance
of producers choosing efficient power conversion systems to
achieve cost reduction without compromising efficiency.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the participating
companies and authors for providing editorials, case studies
and corporate sponsorship.
Aluminium World Journal 2016 is available for you to read
online and available in pdf download and print formats.
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gmcsubscriptions@gmx.com.
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content or companies featured in this edition or what you
would like us to cover in future editions, do not hesitate to
contact us via email at: gmcproduction@gmx.com.
Hope you enjoy the read!
Managing Director,
Christopher F. Harris
Managing Director
Christopher Fitcher-Harris
Production Manager
Sofia Henriksson
Sales Manager
Peter Jones
Production Design
db design
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Email: gmcproduction@gmx.com
Cover photograph: Fives
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FOREWORD | AWJ 2016 3

INDEX | AWJ 2016 5
INDEX
higherpe
ÖLLER®
Alumina
ndlingsystem
ABB’shistoryofpoweringprimaryaluminiumplantsstarted45yearsago.Since
then,wehavesuppliedcompleteelectrificationsolutionsandsubstationstomore
than60aluminiumsmeltersworldwide.Themodernizationofanexistingplanttothe
Keepingyourproductionrunningdayan
Special Feature _______ 7-14
Global Issues _______ 15-28
Primary Smelting and Processes _______ 29-52
Let Siwertell amaze you _______ 53-58
Anode Plant Technology _______ 59-68

Rolling Mills _______ 75-82
Furnaces _______ 83-88
STAS Company Profile _______ 89-93
Advertisers and Web Index _______ 94
GMC

ABB’s history of powering primary aluminium plants started 45 years ago. Ever since,
we have been supplying complete electrification solutions and substations to more than
60 aluminium smelters worldwide. Demands for improved environmental performance
and increased energy efficiency, price fluctuations and intense competition are the
major challenges aluminium producers face today. ABB meets these challenges by
providing state-of-the-art electrification, automation and process optimization solutions –
always with the objective to increase your productivity and maximize your return on
investment. For more information, visit us at www.abb.com/aluminium
Maximize your return on investment?
Absolutely.
Global Competence Center Aluminium
5405 Baden 5 Dättwil, Switzerland
aluminium@ch.abb.com

SPECIAL FEATURE
ABB SWITZERLAND
Highly Efficient Power Conversion Systems
with the Latest Safety Design for Aluminium Smelters _______ 8-13
SPECIAL FEATURE | AWJ 2016 7

HIGHLY EFFICIENT POWER CONVERSION SYSTEMS
WITH THE LATEST SAFETY DESIGN FOR ALUMINI-
UM SMELTERS
For a typical aluminium smelter,
electric power accounts for up
to 35% of total metal production
costs. New, more efficient high-
current conversion units can
therefore save money by reducing
power costs. These high-current
conversion units can create high
arc power should there be internal
damage requiring new designs for
arc flash protection. The context
describes the new technology of
converter units rated for more
than 100 kA and their benefits for
the overall efficiency of a power
system, while ensuring optimal
safety levels. Modern ABB tech-
nology, which measures potline
direct currents, is also described.
Industrial plants can only improve
efficiency when they make use
of the latest available overall
system, designed to optimize
power quality.
Introduction
Primary aluminium is produced
in an electrolytic process via
use of DC electrical power of up
to 900MW/per single potline.
AC-to-DC power conversion units
(rectifiers) use diode or thyristor
semiconductors to produce the DC
current required for the process.
Smelter projects applying up to
650kA pot-current may soon be
built. With increased potline cur-
rents, the single conversion units
also need an increased rating to re-
main highly efficient.
Today, there are five plants in op-
eration with single-unit ratings of
more than 100kA.
With these increased ratings, the
plant can operate close-to-or at full
Power Conversion Station with 105kA/1800VDC Units at 230kV, primary voltage. Ras Al Khair, Ma’aden
Aluminium, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2012) - World’s highest rated aluminium conversion rectiformer.
8 AWJ 2016 | ABB

production in an N-2 operation
mode (N-2 is defined as three out
of five installed units operating at
a time).
Smelter Power System Rating
Efficiency demands show that po-
tline currents of 460kA and volt-
ages at 1800V will be commonly
used (i.e. 400 cell potlines) in the
future. The AC-DC conversion sub-
station for such plants need to be
very efficient, as electrical costs
alone, with a 1500MW smelter
(two pot-lines with 400 cells and
460kA) will result in losses in ex-
cess of $5M per annum.
Considering ratings of 460kA at
1800V, the most efficient arrange-
ment for a power conversion
system is a six-unit parallel con-
nection with the power factor
correction connected, either on
the tertiary side of the regulation
transformers or at the high volt-
age (HV) level.
Rectiformer Optimised Layout
Design
Higher primary voltages and
potline current system ratings
require in-depth technical review
to ensure the optimal technical
and commercial solution.
When engineers talk about a
back-to-back arrangement, they
are referring to a configuration
where the rectifier and regulation
transformers connect to each
other back-to-back.
Theadvantageofthisarrangement
isareductioninthespacerequired
for the bay.
However, with the increase in the
unit rating, the physical separation
of the regulation and the rectifier
transformer is advisable, as with-
out it, transportation and install-
ation can become a costly issue.
The picture below shows a back-to-back arrangement with a 132kV cable connected to the regulation
transformer.
100kA Conversion Unit with 132kV Primary, BHP Billiton, Hillside Smelter in South Africa
ABB | AWJ 2016 9

For higher primary voltages, the
side and front arrangement as
utilised at Sohar is preferred and
commonly used. Here again, the
technicalandpracticalaimsforthe
transformer design provide the
direction for the most suitable
arrangement.Inmostinstallations,
air is used as a recooling medium.
ABB designs their heat exchangers
in horizontal arrangements for
maximum efficiency and minimal
aging. When a conversion unit
bay is designed, it is necessary to
ensure free and unrestricted air
movement is factored in.
Rectiformer System Design
In order to manufacture a single
unit rectifier rated higher than
100kA, it used to be necessary to
improve on the semiconductor
arrangement as well as the semi-
conductor fuses. With previous
rectifier designs, semiconductor
fuses were only cooled on one
side. Today, ABB design fuses are
cooled on both sides, reducing
aging effects tremendously. In
addition to the semiconductor
arrangement and fuse improve-
ments, the rectifier’s mechanical
geometry needed improvement
in order to optimize the current-
sharing capacity.
Highest Safety Standards for
Rectifier Enclosure
Greenfield smelters make use of
rectifier substations where the
rectifiers are installed in alum-
inium enclosures. This “packaged”
designmakesitpossibletosimplify
the civil arrangement and reduce
installation time. The rectifier en-
closures are commonly recooled
withwater-to-airheatexchangers.
105kA Conversion unit with 220kV primary voltage. Sohar Smelter, Sultanate
of Oman.
Current Sharing Measurement for one Rectifier Branch
CURRENT SHARING FACTOR
One of the most important design
specifications of a rectifier is the
current-sharing factor (ks). The key
rectifier components, semicon-
ductor and fuse can only be rat-
ed correctly when the ks factor is
known. The current-sharing factor
is mainly defined by the rectifier’s
mechanicalconstruction.Duetothe
geometrical arrangement of fuse
and semiconductor, the imped-
ance variesfromsemiconductorpo-
sition on the commutation bar to
the next semiconductor location.
The rectifier enclosure, similar to LV and MV switchgear, needs to be designed for the latest
arc flash and arc force standards.
Latest experiences from arc flash events have been implemented in the new enclosure designs to meet highest
safety standards. The cooling units, along with the controls, can also be installed in the rectifier enclosure.
10 AWJ 2016 | ABB

110kA Diode Rectifier Enclosure
This impedance variation results in
a difference in current through the
parallel components. In addition,
the manufacturing tolerance of the
components must be considered.
The current-sharing factor rises with
the number of parallel elements.
Therefore with increased unit cur-
rents the additional required paral-
lel elements rises accordingly.
For a 110 kA / 1800 V diode rectifier
group, 14 parallel elements per
branch are now required. For this
quantity of paralleled elements, the
arrangement on one single heat-sink
is not possible. The so-called com-
mutation bus bars need to be in-
stalled to reduce the current-sharing
factor to an acceptable value. Fur-
thermore, the flexible AC connec-
tions between the fuses and semi-
conductors, as well as the distance
between the parallel elements, re-
quire detailed design to ensure the
impedance distribution has an op-
timal value. These measures in op-
timizing the current-sharing factor
become very important for rectifiers
especially with high current.
Rectifier Overload
The semiconductor mainly de-
fines the overload capability of
ahigh-currentrectifierunit.The
maximal junction temperature,
e.g. 150° C, is normally a strict
limit and must not be exceeded
under normal operating con-
ditions. Some semiconductor
suppliers allow exceeding the
limit for a short time, e.g. an
additional 50 °C, for one min-
ute. The overload factor has a
high value for brief overloading
and goes down to 1 p.u. after
approximately one minute.
For potlines operated with
diode rectifiers, an overload
capability of 50% for one min-
ute is required (duty class II
according to IEC Standards).
During potline switching op-
eration, the current regulation
with tap changers and saturat-
ed core reactors is not always
fast enough to prevent over-
load currents.
In the case of thyristor recti-
fiers, the regulation is faster
and the overload condition,
according to duty class II, is not
required.
Rectifier overload and Protection Curves
High DC Current Potline and
Rectiformer Measurements
ABB has developed a family
of high accuracy fibre-optic
current sensors based on the
magneto-optic effect (Faraday
Effect) in an optical fibre to
measure uni or bidirectional
DC currents up to 700 kA. The
sensors also recover AC current
components up to 4 kHz.
The sensors consist of an op-
tical fibre in a flexible, single
ended cable and an optoelec-
tronics module including the
light source, an optical detec-
tion circuit, and a digital signal
processor.
Oneloopoffibrecableismount-
ed around the current carrying
bus bar. The signal is indepen-
dent of the particular bus bar
arrangement and insensitive
to magnetic stray fields from
neighbouring bus bars.
Themagneticfieldofthecurrent
changes the velocity of left and
right circular light waves travel-
ling through the fibre and thus
alters their differential optical
phase. The waves are reflected
at the end of the fibre and then
retrace their optical path back
to the optoelectronics module
containing the light source, an
optical phase detection circuit,
and a digital signal processor.
ABB | AWJ 2016 11

The digital signal processor pro-
vides high accuracy and excellent
long-term stability. The closed-
loop detection circuit nulls the
current-induced optical phase
shift and thus produces a perfect
linear output over the full dynam-
ic range. The sensor measures a
closed loop independent of the
magnetic field. Therefore, the sig-
nal is immune to stray fields from
conductors outside of the loop.
Centring and placement of the
sensing head with respect to the
bus bars is not particularly critical.
Saturation due to local field en-
hancements does not occur.
Protection Concept
In case of different faults, e.g.
short circuit, overcurrent or over-
voltage, the converter unit has
to be protected fast and reliably.
Proper system protection can pre-
vent, depending on the fault, di-
sastrous damages!
A good protection concept assists
in locating the fault without dis-
assembly of system components.
A serious fault results in a single
group or a potline trip. In case
of a short circuit on the DC side
of a rectifier, all the parallel-con-
nected groups have to be tripped
(potline trip). The short circuit is
detected via the reverse current
relay logic or arc detection. In
case of a group internal fault, (e.g.
overcurrent or earth fault) only
the corresponding unit is tripped.
The protection concept also de-
fines what kind of faults have to
result in a trip and for which of
them an alarm message is suffi-
cient.
To realize as few system trips as
possible, one part of the protec-
tion study is the signalization and
redundancy concept (e.g. a sig-
nalization of raised cooling water
temperature) may prevent trip-
ping if recognized early enough;
or, the installation of one addi-
tional heat exchanger allows for
operating the rectifier group until
a planned outage.
Control Concept with New Safety
Standards
Development advances have not
only been realized in power con-
version technology. During the
last few years this has been par-
ticularly so on the control side
from the conversion units all the
way to the Enterprise Information
System (EIS). These developments
have made it possible to reduce
the number of required HW de-
vices and different programming
and control software products to
a large extent.
In addition, these developments
have made it possible to connect
a front-end device such as a semi-
conductor directly to the Enter-
prise Resource Planning (ERP) or
Enterprise Information System
(EIS).
Fiber-optic DC current sensor
12 AWJ 2016 | ABB

AC/DC Conversion unit: control, protection and regulation interface
THE HIGH VOLTAGE SUBSTATION AND AC/DC POWER CONVERTER SYSTEM CAN HAVE
THEIR OWN WORKSTATIONS AT THEIR OWN DEDICATED CONTROL ROOMS.
Summary
To accommodate both the requirements of higher power in smelters and lower electrical power
costs (reduced losses), individual conversion units will become larger - supplying higher current
levels, with the conversion stations being designed for N-1.5 to N-2 capability with certain overload
limitations.
The utilization of the latest control system and protection relays enable fault recording, which is
available within the protection relays and is directly connected to the control network or the sub-
station controller. This allows access to this data throughout the plant network, hence eliminating
the need for stand-alone disturbance recorders with their own I/O’s.
The substation controller, which collects all the data from the protection systems, also include SCA-
DA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), LMS (Load Management System) and EMS (Energy
Management System).
Author: Max Wiestner, Industry Manager,
Primary Aluminium Division, ABB Switzerland Ltd.
Global Competence Center Aluminium
5405 Baden 5 Dättwil, Switzerland
aluminium@ch.abb.com
Power and productivity
for a better world TM
ABB | AWJ 2016 13

GLOBAL ISSUES
Rio Tinto
The Rio Tinto Development of the AP60 and APXe Pot Technology _______ 17-21
Rio Tinto
MESAL™, The Manufacturing Excellence Solution
for the Aluminium World _______ 23-28
GLOBAL ISSUES | AWJ 2016 15

Metal tapping
at AP60 potline
AP60 and APXe: The new reference pots
for highest amperage and lowest energy
ever achieved
Rio Tinto
Arvida Aluminium smelter
AP TechnologyTM

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AP60 and APXe POT TECHNOLOGY
Introduction to AP60 and APXe
For the last two decades (1990 -
2010), cells less than fifteen me-
ters long and operating in the
range 300-400 kA have been the
standard. With the AP30 cell de-
sign installed in more than 25 po-
tlines worldwide, Rio Tinto has es-
tablished a reference cell. In order
to continue increasing the capacity
of AP30 brownfield smelters by
modifying existing pots rather
than installing new ones, more
productive versions of AP30 cells,
running at amperage between 400
and 450kA have been recently de-
veloped, or are presently in devel-
opment by Rio Tinto AP40, AP42
and AP44.
This development scheme based
on the continuous improvement
of the AP30 cell is particularly
adaptive in the case of “retrofit”
or “creeping” projects. Greenfield
projects, both for Rio Tinto’s own
project portfolio and from a market
perspective, have to be addressed
in a specific way with a search for
drastic breakthroughs in terms of
energy consumption, environmen-
tal footprint, capital and operating
costs.
In response to this need, Rio Tinto
has developed a strategy based on
the development of a cell technol-
ogy covering the range of amper-
age from 500-620 kA, with two
variants derived from a common
platform: the AP60 variant will be
able to deliver a high productivity
cell running in the amperage range
of 570-620 kA; while the APXe vari-
ant delivers a low energy cell run-
ning in the range 500-550 kA.
Table 1 : AP60 and APXe configuration
Development of AP60
The first prototype cells have been
tested and validated since 2010 at
the LRF (Laboratoire de Recherche
des Fabrications, Saint-Jean-de-Mau-
rienne, France). The development of
the AP60 technology reached new
significant milestones in 2013 and
2014 with the successful start-up
of the Pilot Plant of Arvida Aluminum
Smelter - AP60 Technological Center
(Quebec, Canada), followed by the
early operation of the Pilot Plant in
the first half of 2014, finally crowned
by the very successful performance
test achieved in August 2014 by
Rio Tinto teams. These outstanding
steps are presented in more details
in the following chapters.
Arvida Aluminum - AP60
Technological Center Start-up
Following extensive pre-operational
verification including high magnet-
ic field testing of the equipment,
the 38 AP60 cells were started.
R&D and operation people final-
ized the start-up methodology de-
velopment of the new technology.
As seen in Table 1, the two variants
have been developed and tested
in parallel, using the same opti-
mized framework (busbars, shell
and superstructure) and equipment
to operate the cells. Specific ele-
ments, such as cathodes, anodes,
and shell ventilation differentiate
the two cell designs in order to
operate at high amperage (AP60)
or low energy (APXe).
Figure 1 : Operating regions of new AP cell technologies
RIO TINTO | AWJ 2016 17

The first cells were started using
hot bath from the nearby Arvida
smelter. Then, cells were started us-
ing generated bath from new operat-
ing cells. Some of the 38 cells were
used to develop a new dry start-up
methodology. This approach is im-
portant as it provides a method for
starting the first cell of a Greenfield
smelter.
Specific measurements were taken
on each cell to validate the start-up
methodology performance. Some
cells were extensively equipped
with internal sensors to monitor
the temperature evolution in the
lining. The 38 cells were successfully
started, and no metal or bath infil-
tration was detected.
To validate the mechanical behav-
ior of the cell components, a number
of measurements were taken on
the cells during start-up and during
stabilized operation. The behav-
ior of the cell components (shell,
superstructure, and busbars) has
demonstrated a very satisfactory
performance over the start-up
period and the first months of op-
eration of the plant. Some minor
improvements opportunities have
been identified and included in the
design for future constructions. As
shown in Figure 2, the AP60 devel-
opment ultimately aims at a cell
operating at 600-620 kA with 13.0
kWh/kg of energy consumption,
while the APXe development tar-
gets a pot at around 500 kA with
energy consumption close to 12
kWh/kg.
AP60 Performance test
Following the plant start-up com-
pletion and the mechanical vali-
dation of the AP60 technology, the
amperage was raised to reach the
target of the first phase at 570 kA,
in June 2014, as shown in Figure 3.
During the 6-month period of
amperage increase, technological
validations were made at different
levels: equipment, alumina feed-
ing, thermal regulation, operation
practices, process and scrubbing
parameters. After the first month
of operation at 570 kA, some key
performance indicators were con-
firmed, especially pot stability,
bath temperature and anode effect
frequency.
Figure 2 : AP60 pot line at Jonquière
Figure 3 : Arvida smelter amperage increase
18 AWJ 2016 | RIO TINTO

As shown in Figure 4, the cell’s in-
stability (WRMI) was around 70 na-
no-Ohms after plant start-up com-
pletion. Through the amperage
increase and technological optimi-
zations, the WRMI decreased over
the months to reach a new techno-
logical level at 30 nano-Ohms, in
June 2014. This result confirms the
optimized MHD situation previous-
ly evaluated by modeling.
As for the anode effect frequency,
the results were very unsettled at
the beginning of the year, mostly
due to the transition phase from
the plant start-up mode to the op-
erational mode as well as to the
winter conditions in Arvida. How-
ever, as the process and operation
teams got used to the full-scale
mode and the technological valida-
tions made, the anode effect fre-
quency decreased from 0.4 ae/p/d
to 0.02 ae/p/d in August 2014, as
presented in Figure 5.
This result reaches a new bench-
mark for AP Technology and con-
firms the potential to realize a very
good stable cell performance.
Achieving outstanding environ-
mental performance was finally
one of the main design objectives
for the AP60 technology. The flu-
oride emissions actually achieved
at the Arvida Aluminum Smelt-
er-AP60 Technological Center were
at a very good level as shown on
the following graph, depicting the
pot line roof vent total fluoride
emission.
The performance of 0.19 kg Ft/t
Al was achieved over the last five
months after plant start-up and
operational stabilization. This was
obtained at the lowest possible
CAPEX, considering that the plant
is not equipped with over-suction
systems or anode butt boxes.
The final step to confirm the cell
performance after the plant start-
up and the full-scale operation
was to realize an industrial perfor-
mance test to assess the industrial
performance of the AP60 technol-
ogy. During this test, many process
and environmental key indicators
were strictly followed, as well as
the operation practices and the
metal production. In August 2014,
the test was managed during a pe-
riod of 30 days, and the results are
presented in Table 2. For all the
key indicators, the results were
outstanding and assessed very
well the industrial performance of
the AP60 technology.
Figure 4 : Arvida smelter instability
Figure 5: Arvida smelter anode effect frequency

The Next Steps of the AP60
Technology Development
The Arvida Aluminum Smelter-
AP60 Technological Center is also
the platform for technological de-
velopment up to and beyond 600
kA, as well as new environmental
technologies and operational auto-
mation.
Some cells are actually operating
in Arvida at 600 kA on a dedicated
development platform. These
AP60 cells have been raised up
to develop the next technological
step in industrial conditions. Some
work is also being done to prepare
the next generation AP60 lining
in order to lower the energy con-
sumption at this level of amperage
as well as to operate way beyond
600 kA.
Development of APXe
Starting in early 2011 several ver-
sions of the cell have been tested
at LRF. The initial target was to
achieve a potline SEC of 12.3 kWh/
kg.This figureincludes all theexter-
nal voltage drops, in particular the
voltage drops in the crossover and
in the process loop, which means
that the cell energy consumption
itself (calculated using cell voltage)
has to be below 12.0 kWh/kg.
Figure 7 shows the promising re-
sults achieved with the very first
cell, in which various different
technical concepts and solutions
were tested and validated.
Following the start-up of the new
Arvida smelter, the LRF facility has
been fully converted to the de-
velopment of the APXe cell, the
last AP60 cells being stopped by
the summer of 2014. They were
restarted with the APXe design in
order to validate operation in the
range of 500-520 kA and 12.000-
12.300 kWh/kg.
Table 2 : Jonquière AP60 performance test results
Figure 7: Potline specific energy consumption of the first APXe cell

Table 2 : Jonquière AP60 performance test results
Table 3: Technical results for the new APXe cell
Table 3 shows the results of a new
optimised version. These are very
encouraging with higher amper-
age, and current efficiency and re-
duced SEC.
After the two first months of
adjustment, the cell energy con-
sumption itself (calculated using
cell voltage) is below 12.0 kWh/kg.
The potline energy consumption
including all the external voltage
drops, in particular the voltage
drops in the crossover and in the
process loop, is at 12.2 kWh/kg. A
plan has been launched to reduce
external voltage drop and energy
consumption below 12.0 kWh/kg
at the potline level.
Conclusion
The 38 cells of the Arvida Alumi-
num Smelter-AP60 Technological
Center are in operation since the
end of 2013, and the AP60 technol-
ogy was fully validated at 570 kA
in August 2014. Industrial start-up
procedures were developed and
successfully demonstrated. Start-
up and operational equipment
capacity to operate safely in high
magnetic field was also demon-
strated, as well as mechanical be-
haviorofshells,superstructuresand
busbars. After the stabilization
phase, cell stability was demonstrat-
ed and very good operating and
environmental performance were
measured and confirmed following
a comprehensive and rigorous per-
formance test in August 2014.
In the meantime, at Saint Jean de
Maurienne, the LRF facility is now
fully dedicated to the development
of APXe and is pushing the limit of
the low energy cell version in or-
der to reach in the coming months
a specific energy consumption of
12.0 kWh/kg at 520 kA.
With the AP60 and APXe pot tech-
nology, Rio Tinto demonstrates its
leadership in the development of
efficient reduction cells for the ben-
efit of its own projects and its part-
ners and customers.
References
1. O. Martin, R.Gariepy, G.Girault “APXe the new reference for low energy cells” Australasian conference 2014.
2. Gariépy, René et Al. “Preparation and Start-up of Arvida Smelter, AP60 Technological Center”, Light
Metal 2014, 797-801.

42 million tonnes
of aluminium…
That’s how much primary aluminium customers on five continents
produced over the last 15 years using our industry-leading ALPSYS
pot control system.
ALPSYS consistently delivers an unsurpassed and flawless
technical performance. Supported by dedicated AP Technology™
experts, it enables you to optimize both the pot process and
potline productivity.
Join the ALPSYS Club and together let’s transform you reduction
plant into a model of efficiency.
Visit our web site :
www.ap-technology.com/SitePages/Products/alpsys.aspx
That’s how much primary aluminium customers on five continents
produced over the last 15 years using our industry-leading ALPSYS
pot control system
ALPSYS consistently delivers an unsurpassed and flawless
technical performance. Supported by dedicated AP TechnologyTM
experts, it enables you to optimize both the pot process and
potline productivity.
Join the ALPSYS Club and together let’s transform your reduction
plant into a model of efficiency.
Metal tapping
at AP60 potline
AP60 and APXe: The new reference pots
for highest amperage and lowest energy
ever achieved
Rio Tinto
Arvida Aluminium smelter
AP TechnologyTM

MESAL™, THE MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE SOLUTION FOR THE ALUMINIUM WORLD
Abstract
High capability information sys-
tems are now a mandatory enabler
to achieve Operational Excellence
in a modern smelter. Realising full
potential of new or existing assets,
by reducing operating costs and
increasing production capacity at
low capital cost, is supported by
the best practice use of a capable
Manufacturing Execution System.
In order to reach this goal, Rio
Tinto developed MESAL™, a Man-
ufacturing Excellence Solution for
Aluminium to enhance manage-
ment of all aspects of smelter op-
erations.
This platform developed with a
world leading IT company provides
framework and dashboards for
operation management, process
quality follow-up, measurement
and analysis of production perfor-
mance and optimized inventory
management.
This paper describes why Rio Tinto
has launched the global deploy-
ment of MESAL™ based on a strat-
egy that aims at standardising and
centralising expertise in compe-
tencies centres.
Introduction
In Rio Tinto, the search for en-
ablers to optimise our production
activities is a constant Business Im-
provement goal. We have always
tried to provide as much visibility
into manufacturing processes as
possible to help the production
teams to make better informed
decisions.
In the evolving lean manufacturing
environment, the dependence on
plant level information increases
drastically. Rio Tinto is no excep-
tion.
The need for effective decision
making becomes more critical at
all levels and across all the manu-
facturing processes.
The rapid response to changing
conditions, the focus on reducing
less productive activities and effec-
tively driving plant operations and
processes requires current and
accurate data to initiate, respond
to, and report on plant activities
as they occur. Rio Tinto has a MES
platform providing this critical in-
formation about production activ-
ities across the enterprise.
A MES measures, visualises, anal-
yses and manages production
operations, quality, inventories,
etc. and finally production perfor-
mance.
In the Information System of a
plant the MES is the third IT level,
unifying automation and supervi-
sion levels with the business man-
agement level by supplying data to
the Enterprise Resources Planning
(ERP) (Figure 1).
Under the name of MESAL™ Rio
Tinto has implemented a joint ap-
proach, combining an Information
System with a Lean Industrial Per-
formance culture.
The main objective of MESAL™ in
Rio Tinto plants is to reduce op-
erating costs by providing tools
to support Operational Excellence
and Lean Manufacturing deploy-
ment.
Figure 1 : MES location within Information system layers

MESAL™ provides production doc-
uments and is adapted to each part
of the plant; it allows operators to
avoid dedicating time to distribute
information, see in real-time the
evolution of indicators and react
when necessary with all the useful
information. With MESAL™, oper-
ators have a list of clear and up-
dated tasks, targets are followed
in real time, data entry time is re-
duced, gain a better knowledge of
the process and make better use of
their skills allowing them to master
their work.
MESAL™ gives the downtime by
cause for each equipment, alerts
of the drift and critical parameters,
informs on production and main-
tenance planning and allows man-
agement and scheduling of the
interventions of maintenance and
to work “hand-in-hand” with the
production. With MESAL™, main-
tenance has the analysis by cor-
relation of dysfunction (types of
products, temperature, etc.), the
follow-up of performance indica-
tors, the understanding of failures,
the support for the equipment
reliability, the planning of mainte-
nance tasks, and maintenance will
be able to prevent breakdowns
and downtimes and increase the
availability of production tools.
MESAL™ also informs about stock
levels, manages materials flows,
informs about quality controls for
raw materials and products and al-
lows an effective dialogue with the
purchasing management. The sup-
ply chain team has the real-time
levels of stock: quantity, material
movements (updated ERP) be-
tween storage and plant and anal-
ysis of results at all stages of man-
ufacture. The supply chain will be
able to do just in time orders and
avoid shortages while optimising
work in progress (inventory).
Operational Excellence to support
production cost cutting and creep-
ing projects
Due to the ever growing global
competition, all producers of pri-
mary aluminium have to face stron-
ger cost pressure. In this context,
optimising each smelter is vital.
On one hand, the lowest capital
cost lever used to increase the
metal production of a smelter is
basically current increase through
a creeping project. On the other
hand, production cost decrease is
achieved mainly through technol-
ogy improvement (design, process
control…). In both cases Operation-
al Excellence with performance im-
provement is the key to reaching
full asset potential by decreasing
operating costs or managing the
additional constraints introduced
by a creeping project.
Operational Excellence in potline
always prioritises safe operating
conditions with a particular em-
phasis on tapping, anode changing
and beam raising operations and
on coactivity between Pot Tend-
ing Assemblies (PTA), heavy load
transport and pedestrians.
Key driver for reaching Operational
Excellence is ensuring pot regulari-
ty and quality.
MESAL™ Operational Excellence
Platform for Reduction
MESAL™ provides the tools for
achieving Operational Excellence by:
MESAL™ PTA MANAGEMENT al-
lows viewing information regarding
PTA location, PTA available func-
tions (combination of tools avail-
ability) and PTA transfers (transfers
for operation reasons, for preven-
tive maintenance or breakdowns).
MESAL™ optimizes PTA usage via
providing information on:
Increases the real time
responsiveness of the company
Helps to transform constraints
(legislation, customer specifica-
tions, quality) into competitive
advantage
Ensures reliability of information
Improves the dialogue between
shops and plants
Is a tool for continuous
improvement
w
w
w
w
w
MESAL™ main advantages:
Generating information from var-
ious sources (PTA, Pot Control
System, audits, other MESAL™
modules, MESAL™ plant infocen-
tre),
Collecting the relevant KPI (oper-
ation & equipment),
Exploiting information with a real
time Dashboard and data analy-
sis tools (cross analysis, trouble
shooting, process) through three
main focuses:
Improving the decision process
Increasing operators involvement
and responsibility
Developing proactive manage-
ment
w
w
w
w
w
w
PTA availability and availability
per operation
PTA Tools/functions reliability
Decision making : PTA position,
available functions
PTA transfers (number and
reasons)
w
w
w
w

Figure 2: MESAL™ Dashboard views
MESAL™ DASHBOARD views to enable operation teams to ensure production performance targets are met and
supervisors are working to Rio Tinto best practices guidelines.

Figure 4: MESAL™ Shift Portal views
MESAL™ POT OPERATION QUALITY
MONITORING with data analysis
coming from various existing sys-
tems and visual inspection. Work
done during operation on pot is
measured and evaluated through
Performances indicators, then the
level of compliance with Standard
Operation Procedures is qualified
using a notation system. Analysis
of evolution of notation is a perfor-
mant way to see the trend on the
pathway to excellence.
Main KPI elaborates by MESAL™
for pot operation quality
improvement
Performance Indicators based on
PTA information:
u AnodeChanging(AC):grab passes
/anode, breaker shots/anode,
duration of sub-operations,
gauging performance
u Anode covering: duration,
quantity, number of recovering
uTapping: cycle per crucible,
ejector activation duration
u Anode beam raising: duration,
incidents
Performance Indicators based
on Process Control system
u Pot performance: Anode Effect
(AE) during AC, tracking
duration after AC
u Tapped mass versus target
mass
Performance Indicators based on
inspection (visual audits)
u Anode change: sweeping, stem
verticality
u Anode covering: quality
(number/quantity of recovering)
u Tapping: quality of hole
opening, crucible cleanliness
u Hoods: number of pots with
open hoods, tightness
Figure 3: MESAL™ Dashboard for pot
operation quality

MESAL™ SHIFT PORTAL empowers
supervisors by providing support
to help them focus on the activities
that truly impact their results and
so increasing management on the
shopfloor (figure 4).
It gives functions & information
throughout the shift:
u Help supervisors optimise their
own time allocations
u KPI calculation (to focus on
analysis and correction)
u Management instructions
display (avoiding multiple emails)
u Ease communication between
teams (log book)
Main features of the MESAL™
solution
MESAL™ lies at the centre of our
smelters, providing real-time visi-
bility into the entire operation. This
means immediate and customisable
access to the information we need
to maximize performance and pro-
actively address issues.
MESAL™ main differentiating factors:
u Embed a strong Aluminium
smelter know how
u Robust, scalable and flexible
u Supported by a world leader
IT Company
Based on Aluminium Pechiney
(AP) experience
MESAL™ has a strong Aluminium
business content with more than
300 screens and dashboard views
covering all smelter areas (figure 5
and specified through 5,000 man
days of AP operation and technol-
ogy experts during development
with close to 30 000 IT man days to
commercialize the product.
At AP, we’ve been designing, build-
ing, running and supporting smelt-
ers worldwide for more than a
century. The MESAL™ solution in-
corporates this knowledge and ex-
perience. Continuous involvement
of Operation, Technology and R&D
experts is part of MESAL™ develop-
ment governance model.
MESAL™ is based on a stretchable
and customisable platform giving
a high level of autonomy to each
smelter to improve parameteriza-
tion (equipment, KPI), and develop
views or reports.
MESAL™ can be cost effectively
customized to any of our plants
(also carbon plants). It uses stan-
dardised processes and reusable
templates named “industrial Frame-
work” applicable to each workshop
(Material Management, Shift Por-
tal, Equipment Performance, etc.)
and “Aluminium Framework” (PTA
management, metal flow, casting
units, anode baking furnaces,
etc.) (figure 6).
Final objective is managing oper-
ations and production, including
monitoring technical performance
with accuracy, certainty and effi-
ciency.
For Greenfield projects, it simplifies
smelter start-up and operations
by standardising parameterisation,
operation, use and increasing inte-
gration between the various sys-
tems implemented.
Figure 5: Areas covered by MESAL™ solution

Major MESAL™ deployments
Implemented:
MESAL™ is implemented in the
following SMELTER
u Sohar Aluminium (Sultanate
of OMAN) 2009
u Aluminium Dunkerque (FRANCE)
2010
u Aluchemie (NETHERLAND) 2011
u Alma (Quebec – CANADA) 2012
u Laterrière (Quebec CANADA)
2013
u Kitimat (British Colombia –
CANADA) 2015
MESAL™ Mobility tool to have
MESAL™ on smartphones, tablets
for operation manager on the floor
and Executive management in
headquarter. This tool allows a real
time access to all MESAL™ KPI us-
ing a secured WiFi/ 3G / 4G access
on a worldwide basis (access in
one application to all plant KPIs).
A MESAL™ version for Alumina
Refinery is in design and develop-
ment phase. A first deployment is
planned in 2016/2017.
Continuous MESAL™ solution
improvement
The high pressure on our smelters’
production costs led us to focus on
catching innovative projects with
immediate payback. We are con-
tinuously developing evolutions on
the MESAL™ solution to support
these projects and accelerate R&D
prototype validation and operating
solution deployment.
The lever of the MESAL™ platform
give us agility to deploy immediate-
ly at minimal new MESAL™ func-
tions supporting innovation and
thus catching value on all of our
production sites that could benefit
from these innovations.
The MESAL™ solution is an enabler
to accelerate value capture for our
plants and it drastically reduces our
IT cost.
Figure 6: MESAL™ Industrial and Aluminium Frameworks
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MESAL™ frameworks
Aluminium
framework
Industrial
framework
Alumina
framework
eShift log
MESAL™ mobile solution
Equipment performance
Material management
Analysis result
management
Operation work order
Equipment
line follow-up
Production order
execution management
Recipes management
Organisation and standard
Administration
KPI management
Substation and utilities
Consumption metering for energy, air, water and gas
Raw material handling
Stock monitoring / Port installation management
Casthouse
Reduction
Process and environment data / Roof emission /
GTC results / Operational excellence
Bayer process
performances
Energy management
(thermal and electric)
Operation management
Cleaning operation / Operational excellence /
Operation scheduling
Consumption metering for bauxite,
caustic, lime, water, gas, etc.
Environment management
Material handling and
stocks monitoring
Laboratory
information management system
Standard market solution
to be parameterised
Laboratory
Laboratory information
management system
Standard market solution
to be parameterised
Carbon
Anode quality / Grain size distribution /
Baking furnace operation / Flue wall
follow-up / Rodding cast management

PRIMARY SMELTING AND PROCESSES
FIVES
HeliosRT
, the latest technology implemented by Fives at Vlissingen _______ 31-36
FLSMIDTH
MÖLLER® Alumina Handling Systems, High Performance, High Efficiency _______ 37-38
STAS
SIRS: A new solution for pot ramming: the PRM _______ 40-41
HENCON
Smart industrial mobile solutions _______ 42-46
BORGESTAD FABRIKKER
Your next generation refactories _______ 47-52
PRIMARY SMELTING AND PROCESSES | AWJ 2016 29

In 2013, Century Aluminum carried
out large investment to restart an
anode production facility in The
Netherlands to produce world
class anodes for parent aluminum
smelters. Along with the partial
refractory refurbishment of the ex-
isting baking furnace, the project
included the upgrade of the firing
equipment to comply with new
local stringent regulation for NOx
emission.
Fives Solios was selected to imple-
ment its latest control system (He-
liosRT
) featuring clean and efficient
injection technology. Only a few
months after the furnace start-up,
the plant had reached perfor-
mance targets and stable opera-
tion, demonstrating the perfor-
mance of the new firing system.
In June 2012, Century Aluminum, a
primary aluminum producer, pur-
chased the anode production facil-
ity of a former aluminum smelter
that was closed a few months ear-
lier in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
The existing production unit was
modernised to optimize the anode
flow and enabling a progressive size
increase of the anodes to support.
As part of the revamping of the
Anode Baking Furnace, along with
the partial refractory refurbish-
ment of the furnace, the project
included the upgrade of the firing
equipment to comply with new
local stringent regulation for NOx
emissions (figure 1).
HELIOSRT
, THE LATEST
TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTED
BY FIVES AT VLISSINGEN
Figure 1 - Anode Baking Furnace at Vlissingen
Introduction
FIVES | AWJ 2016 31

Figure 2 - Integrated Control System HELIOSRT
Fives was selected to implement
its latest technology able to out-
perform the requirement of the
contract guarantee (<250 mg/Nm3
NOx at stack).
Thanks to the combined effort of
both Century and Fives teams, less
than 7 months were necessary to
upgrade and restart the complete
Firing Control System in November
2013.
Latest Control Technology
In the last couple of years, Fives
has developed a new Control Sys-
tem using the latest available tech-
nology such as EtherCAT for the
communication network.
With only redundant computers
that control the basic Inputs/Out-
puts on each mobile ramp, the
system architecture is more robust
and simple to understand and to
maintain. The hardware is reduced
and simpler than with convention-
al Control System Architecture.
A modern baking furnace like Cen-
tury’s is supervised by only one
operator that follows not only the
Firing Control System but also the
Anode Handling System and the
Fume Treatment Center. This op-
erator who spends his time be-
tween the control room and the
field needs to have all informa-
tion wherever he is. HeliosRT
has a
unique interface so the operator
gets the same information both
on the fixed screens located in the
control room and in the furnace.
For very specific operations, this
interface is also available on mo-
bile tablet PC. It allows operating
the system closer to the action and
the operator can see the change
he made in real-time. (Figure 2)
Advanced Injection Technologies
The upgrade of the firing equip-
ment includes up-to-date tech-
nologies developed by Fives to
promote clean and efficient com-
bustion while achieving high bak-
ing homogeneity:
u Advanced control algorithms to
optimize fuel to air ratio
u New generation of gas injectors
designed to limit NOx formation
and improve thermal distribu-
tion inside flue walls.
u Advanced control algorithms to
optimize combustion
u Anti-flooding system
u CO module
The first step in optimizing the
combustion starts with an algo-
rithm that limits the amount of
fuel injected per flue wall line ac-
cording to the amount of air avail-
able. The system calculates in real-
time the maximum injection limit
for a given flue wall as a function of
the draft pressure available.
32 AWJ 2016 | FIVES

The second step of combustion op-
timization is based on online CO
measurement for an adaptive con-
trol that takes into account outside
standard operating conditions. In
the case of bended flue walls, fume
flow disturbance, shifted pitch
burning area or other baking devi-
ation phenomena leading to high
CO content in the exhausted fumes,
the module automatically search-
es for the responsible flue wall and
manages the appropriate actions
by moderating fuel quantity inject-
ed or by increasing the volume of
blown air (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Exhaust duct equipped with CO analyzer
Injection Matrix Control
This module is the last generation
algorithm dedicated to the im-
provement of the combustion pro-
cess in an anode baking furnace. It
allows the optimization of the oxy-
gen available by sequencing gas in-
jection pulses along a flue wall line
(Figure 4).
The algorithm combines the injec-
tion demand with other measure-
ments such as CO, temperature
and negative pressure to calculate
the optimal injection sequences.
This synchronization management
is a further step for combustion
improvement and flame develop-
ment stability.
Figure 4 - Injection Synchronization
FIVES | AWJ 2016 33

Figure 5 - New injector flame profile compared with former design
New generation of gas injector
The latest generation of gas injec-
tors installed in Vlissingen is the
result of a research program for
the development of a clean and
efficient injection technology. This
program is based on experimen-
tal tests performed in a full scale
pilot unit. With this new injector,
a large improvement of the flame
temperature homogeneity was ob-
tained thanks to an adapted con-
figuration of the gas jet.
The flame behavior observed in
the testing unit with the new injec-
tor was confirmed in operation at
Vlissingen: large scale turbulence
flame distributed over a large vol-
ume inside the flue wall. Such a
flame allows a homogenous heat
transfer distribution along the re-
fractory flue wall and consequently
improves baking quality.
As the volume of the flame increas-
es the heat flux density is reduced
and consequently the flame peak
temperature decreases (Figure 5).
Figure 6 - injector and flame profile
34 AWJ 2016 | FIVES

FIVES | AWJ 2016 35
Figure 8 - Baking performances recorded at Vlissingen
Figure 7 - NOx emission benchmark
This has a positive impact on the
reduction of NOx emissions. The
NOx emission recorded at stack
at Vlissingen reached 50 mg/Nm3
only. This result sets a new stan-
dard for NOx reduction in the area
of the anode baking (Figure 7).
The anode production started at
the end of 2013, with the first
green anode on the 29/11/2013
and the first container of slotted
baked anodes ready for shipping
on 31/12/2013. After one year of
operations, Vlissingen records very
stable operations and high baking
performances particularly regard-
ing homogeneity ( Figure 8).

The mean levels of CO recorded at
the exhaust ramps is less than 250
ppm. This level is reflects the com-
plete combustion of both gas and
volatiles. The gas consumption is
10% lower than recorded before
the stoppage with the previous fir-
ing technology.
The continuous NOx measure
made at the chimney is lower than
100 mg/Nm3
. This value combines
the NOx produced by the anode
baking furnace and the RTO (Re-
generative Thermal Oxidizer). For
comparison, in 2010 the average
levels of NOx recorded by oper-
ators previously at the outlet of
furnace D was about 400 mg/Nm3
without RTO).
Conclusion
To meet the new stringent environ-
mental standards, Century Alumi-
num chose Fives latest control sys-
tem HeliosRT
featured with its new
injection technology to upgrade
their firing control systems.
After a few months, the produc-
tion target of baked anodes was
achieved in accordance with the
contractual performance criteria.
The NOx emissions recorded at
stack sets a new standard in the
aluminum industry and the baking
level distribution is outperforming
the world benchmark.
By Pierre Mahieu, Nicolas Fiot
Process Engineers at Fives Solios SA
32 rue Fleury Neuvesel - 69702 Givors - France
36 AWJ 2016 | FIVES

ALUMINA
HANDLING SYSTEMS
High Performance 5 High Efficiency
FLSmidth® is a market-leading sup-
plier of equipment and services to
the global minerals and cement
industries. FLSmidth supplies ev-
erything from single machine units
to complete minerals and cement
flow sheets including associated
services.
With almost 13,000 employees,
FLSmidth is a global company with
headquarters in Denmark and local
presence in more than 50 coun-
tries including project and tech-
nology centres in Denmark, India,
USA and Germany. Over the past
134 years FLSmidth has developed
a business culture based on three
fundamental values: competence,
responsibility
and cooperation.
It is FLSmidth’s vision to be the
customers’ preferred full-service-
provider of sustainable minerals
and cement technologies. This is
reflected in focused research and
development efforts aimed at ful-
filling customers’ future needs in
terms of innovative technical solu-
tions, high reliability and availabili-
ty, minimum environmental impact
and the lowest possible product
lifecycle costs.
FLSmidth’s in-house resources are
primarily engineers who develop,
plan, design, install and service
equipment, with most manufac-
turing being outsourced to a glob-
al network of subcontractors. This
has proven to be both a robust and
sustainable business model. FLS-
midth therefore has a flexible cost
structure, which makes it possible
to plan and adjust resources to
prevailing market conditions.
FLSmidth is a learning organization,
and our people are our most valu-
able resource. FLSmidth’s strategy
entails strong emphasis on select-
ing, attracting and retaining the
right people who can support val-
ue creation in FLSmidth.
FLSmidth in the alumina business
FLSmidth first entered the alumi-
na industry more than 100 years
ago. Today FLSmidth has an ex-
perienced team of engineers and
support staff with extensive alu-
mina experience located in offices
around the world – and offers the
latest equipment for most areas of
an alumina plant.
Red side, white side and alumina
handling
BasedontheBayerprocess,invented
by the Austrian chemist Josef Bay-
er, the alumina production process
can be split into a ‘red side’ and a
‘white side’.
Red side solutions
FLSmidth offers equipment for the
complete bauxite handling, stor-
age, crushing and grinding flow-
sheet, complementing the diges-
tion or dissolution of bauxite in hot
caustic liquor. This is followed by
the complete Settler-Washer train
flowsheet for Red Mud using the
leading technology acquired from
Dorr-Oliver and Eimco.
White side solutions
FLSmidth offers white side equip-
ment, covering the complete flow-
sheet after the hydrate precipita-
tion process, including MÖLLER®
equipment technology for alumina
handling and load-out.
Overall, FLSmidth equipment cov-
ers more than 50 percent of the
equipment needs of a complete
alumina plant, from the bauxite
mine to the above refinery equip-
ment. In addition, FLSmidth also
offers all equipment for alumina
handling in the smelters.
MÖLLER direct pot feeding system installed at Dubal Smelter
©DUBAL
FLSMIDTH | AWJ 2016 37
About FLSmidth

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4
Figure 1 & 2 show material handling modules for ALCOA Fjardaal Smelter.
Figure 3 & 4 show truck loading station at DUBAL Jebel Ali Port.
FLSmidth Hamburg GmbH
Haderslebener Strasse 7
25421 Pinneberg, Germany
hamburg@flsmidth.com
For more than 75 years the MÖLLER® brand has stood for high quality standard systems
with more than 5.000 references worldwide.
MÖLLER Technology
Through its MÖLLER® technology,
FLSmidth specializes in design,
engineering, procurement, erec-
tion and commissioning of pneu-
matic material handling systems
for turn-key projects and com-
ponents for the alumina indus-
try. Our capabilities of handling
fresh alumina, reacted alumina,
crushed bath and aluminium flu-
oride comprise:
u Large capacity storage silos
(up to 85.000 t realized)
including anti-segregation
filling and discharge
u MÖLLER airlift conveying
systems (up to 6oo t/h
realized)

u Pressure vessel dense phase
conveying either with
MÖLLER Turbuflow® our
standard conveying pipe
u MÖLLER screw pump
conveying systems
u Truck/wagon loading and
unloading stations
u Dosage systems
u MÖLLER Fluidflow® pipe air
slide and rectangular air
slide conveying systems
u MÖLLER direct pot feeding
systems either with 100%
MÖLLER Fluidflow pipe air
slide conveying technology
or as a hybrid of MÖLLER
Turbuflow conveying pipe
and MÖLLER Fluidflow pipe
air slide
u PTM filling stations
u Modular designed systems –
plug and play
38 AWJ 2016 | FLSMIDTH

FLSmidth®
is your expert in handling of fresh alumina, reacted alumina, crushed bath
and aluminium fluoride
• Large capacity storage silo including anti-segregation filling and discharge
• MÖLLER®
airlift conveying
• Pressure vessel dense phase conveying either with MÖLLER Turbuflow®
or
standard conveying pipe
• Truck/wagon loading and unloading stations
• Dosage systems
• MÖLLER Fluidflow®
pipe air slide conveying systems
• MÖLLER direct pot feeding systems
• PTM filling stations
• Modular designed systems - plug and play
FLSmidth Hamburg GmbH
Tel: +49 4101 788-0 • hamburg@flsmidth.com
www.flsmidth.com/moeller
Alumina handling
Expertise in
©NorskHydro

Introduction
STAS, a Canadian manufacturing
company well known for its wide
range of equipment for the alu-
minium industry, has developed a
new Pot Ramming Machine (PRM).
This equipment is used to compact
the ramming paste during the pot
lining process and features im-
proved performances and innova-
tive characteristics.
History
Ramming paste around cathode
blocks is considered a critical step
to avoid aluminium or bath infiltra
tion as well as premature failing,
therefore maximising the useful
life of cells. To ensure a consistent
quality in terms of compaction, and
to avoid this tedious task for opera
tors, it is common to use a machine
to compact the paste.
The market for Pot Ramming
Machines has evolved in recent
years. First, the requirements for
increasingly large cells operating
with higher electric currents have
resulted in high expectations in
terms of ramming, especially in
the context of a competitive mar-
ket where economic performance
is maximized. In addition, the of-
fer for such machines has changed,
with fewer companies offering this
kind of machines on the market.
It is in view of this situation that
STAS, with its 25 years experience
in the aluminium industry, decided
to develop its own Pot Ramming
Machine. STAS has been able to
stand out in this sector thanks to
its well recognized expertise in pro-
cess quality control as well as in the
design of specialized equipment
for the aluminium industry.
Vertical vibro-compaction
Vibro-compaction has been select-
ed as the ramming method, for it is
well recognized in civil engineering
and in studies made on paste prop-
erties. And vibro-compaction is also
recognized as a standard process by
several pot technology suppliers.
The ram is intended to move the
compaction tool in a perfectly
vertical trajectory to facilitate the
operation while ensuring more uni-
form compaction. The long travel
offered by the compaction ram
gives great ground clearance to
the compaction head, allowing the
machine to move by itself to the
next cell, using embedded rails in
the floor. This last feature is a ma-
jor benefit, more especially during
green field operations, where a
second set of rails is used to move
the machine to the next cell with-
out any lifting operation.
Quality control
In terms of production manage
ment, great emphasis was put in
the integration of a sophisticated
quality control system. A dedicated
PC with its own interface is used
to collect and record the complete
compaction profile of a pot and to
compare it to the predetermined
production recipe and compaction
quality criteria. Thanks to built-
in encoding devices, a complete
mapping of the cell is performed,
including the positions of the
joints, the number of layers and
The STAS Pot Ramming Machine
SIRS
A new
Solution
for Pot
Ramming:
the PRM
The machine has the capability to
move to the next cell
40 AWJ 2016 | STAS

compaction levels. The system
automatically measures the com
paction levels during the operation
- and alarms can be activated if
improper compaction is detected,
thus avoiding the costly reconstruc
tion of the cell if this problematic
layer is detected too late in the
process. In addition, data can be
sent in real time to the level 2 for
data logging and for more accurate
monitoring of the process.
Therefore, not only does the PRM
allow a more uniform and constant
compaction than manual compac
tion, but it also prevents human
errors that can be costly if detect-
ed too late.
Ease of operation and
maintenance
As the machine is used in the vicin-
ity of operators, the ergonomic
aspect was a primary design cri-
terion. Noise and vibration levels
have been optimized to an unprec
edented level for a vibro-compac-
tion pot ramming machine, with a
measured noise level well under
80 dB during operation. A patent
pending compaction ram allows
a very slim design next to the op-
erators, while offering a vibration
decoupling function and providing
maximum visibility. Such increased
visibility, coupled with the precise
control of the compaction tool al-
lows easy, precise and quick posi-
tioning of the tool above the joint
to be compacted. Indeed, the
movement of the machine is con-
trolled by a radio controller pro-
vided with the best-in-class safety
features and the drive systems are
carefully engineered to offer opti-
mized dynamic performance and
accurate positioning.
Moreover, ramming is optimized by
dynamically tunable parameters.
Both dynamic and static loadings
can be easily tuned, which gives
flexibility to the process and ex-
tends the compaction capabilities
of the machine.
Therefore, depending on the plant
practices or the cell parameters,
such as the cell technology or the
selected type of paste, the compac-
tion recipe is configurable with the
PRM.
The design philosophy is based
on minimum maitenance while
reliability and maintainability are
achieved through a robust con-
struction and easily available com-
ponents. The main structure is like
a gantry type overhead crane and
as such uses standard components
from the industry, keeping propri-
etary parts to a bare minimum.
In summary, here are the advantag-
es of the PRM, based on the com-
ments received from the customers
during field trials:
Very intuitive to operate.
w Very low noise and vibration;
operators can talk to each
other during the operation.
w Very good access around the
compaction head, allowing a
clear view of the current ram
ming process.
w Quality monitoring, efficient
and simple to follow.
w From a process point of view,
compaction recipes easy to
configure to enhance the
ramming quality of the cell.
The new Pot Ramming Machine is
the result of a thorough develop
ment program that went from
prototyping through the selection
of operating parameters and the
qualification of compaction up to
the design and manufacturing of a
full-scale equipment to the size of
the longest current pots (600 kA).
After successful testing both in-
house and in plants in Quebec,
the new Pot Ramming Machine is
now available for the industry.
References:
Pascal Cote, Giovanni Pucella.
An innovative Pot Ramming
Machine, TMS (2015)
Contact information:
Florent Gougerot, Eng.
- Marketing Manager
Telephone Office:
+1-418-696-0074, ext. 2426
STAS | AWJ 2016 41
HMI screenshot of quality control interface

For decades, the light metal indus-
try seems to have been quite con-
servative when choosing logistic
systems for their production pro-
cess. Although proven technolo-
gies are available with a high grade
of automation, these systems are
hardly being used by primary and
secondary aluminium producers.
For more than 50 years Hencon has
developed, designed, produced
and serviced the traditional mate-
rial handling and process support
systems for aluminium producers
and other industries. In recent
years Hencon has also developed
and implemented new technol-
ogies such as “Electric Drive Sys-
tems”, “Operator Assisting Tech-
nology” and “Automatic Guided
Vehicles (AGV)” for unmanned,
computer controlled processes -
and material-handling jobs in an
aluminium plant.
The complexity of producing cost-
efficient base metals is constantly
increasing. In order to give light
metal producers the competitive
edge, Hencon is committed to pro-
viding leading edge technology
and to delivering production-ready
equipment at the earliest possi-
ble date. Today Hencon offers a
wide range of integrated mobile
solutions for primary aluminium
smelters, cast houses, rolling mills,
extrusion plants and other produc-
tion processes in the light metal
industry. In order to optimize the
functional performances and to
keep the equipment in a good con-
dition Hencon also provides on-site
service and maintenance support.
In this article, remarkable systems
that could lead to huge savings and
improved health and safety will be
described.
1-Liquid Metal Tapping & Transfer
System
The internal transfer of liquid al-
uminium from the pots in the po-
trooms to the furnaces in the cast
house is a crucial daily job for pri-
mary aluminium producers. Im-
portant factors for the handling
equipment are safety, reliability,
flexibility, quick handling and re-
duction on costs.
Most smelters still use manually
controlled overhead cranes for the
tappingprocessinthepotroomand
transport vehicles for the transfer
of liquid metal to the cast house.
In the cast house the crucibles are
usually emptied by tilting with an
overhead crane or by special vehi-
cles. Minimizing dross formation
during transport of liquid metal is
essential in order to reduce costs.
Based on many years of experi-
ence, continuous development
and using the latest technologies,
Hencon created a solution that is
more flexible against lower pric-
es than cranes, creates less dross
than tilting solutions and is safer to
use: the Metal Tapping & Transfer
Vehicle (MTTV).
The MTTV, one system for total
handling of liquid metal
With the Hencon Metal Tapping
& Transfer Vehicles, the metal is
sucked in via a closed vacuum sys-
tem, using an on-board air com-
pressor. Discharge is done by a
pressurized discharge and not by
tilting. The MTTV reduces the for-
mation of dross to a minimum
leading to a higher plant efficien-
cy. Metal splash is eliminated and
therefore costs of damage due to
metal spillage will are eliminat-
ed as well. Most importantly the
health and safety of the plant is in-
creased significantly. One machine
can be used for the total handling
of liquid metal.
With operator assisting technolo-
gy, linked to the central computer,
the performance of the metal tap-
ping and transfer jobs will be im-
proved and risk of operator failures
will be minimized. The tapping will
automatically be done at the right
height, speed and quantity, this
leads to a longer lifetime of your
cathodes. These savings can be
significant. On all Hencon systems
technologies like anti-collision sys-
tems and anti-blind-spot systems
are available.
SMART INDUSTRIAL MOBILE SOLUTIONS
42 AWJ 2016 | HENCON

2- Scrap Handling and Furnace
Charging Systems
Aluminium is perfectly suitable
for recycling. This requires far less
energy compared to primary al-
uminium production. For a quick
and efficient charging of the re-
cycle scrap into the melting fur-
naces, Hencon Furnace Charging
Vehicles with charging containers
or fork units have been used for
many years.
Complete Scrap Handling and
Furnace Charging Solutions with
unmanned vehicles are available
Hencon has developed and imple-
mented Automatic Guided Vehicle
(AGV) systems with unmanned,
computer controlled vehicles for
handling and transport of metal in
an aluminium plant.
In the scrap yard the aluminium
scrapiscollectedinchargingcontain-
ers. These containers are weighed
and lifted in a lifting system prior to
the picking up of the full container
by the AGV. By using a laser con-
trolled navigation system the AGV
withthefullcontainerwillautomat-
ically drive from the scrap yard to
the right furnace in the cast house,
where the scrap is pushed into the
melting furnace. All these opera-
tions are fully computer controlled.
Operator costs will be reduced and
a continuous and safe operation is
guaranteed.
Hencon Metal Tapping & Transfer Vehicle with closed siphoning system and pressurized discharge.
One tool for total handling of liquid metal.
Furnace Charging Vehicle
HENCON | AWJ 2016 43

3-Cast House Furnace Tending
Systems
Nowadays some hazardous jobs at
furnaces are still performed with
forklift trucks or even done manu-
ally.
w Dross-skimming at the surface
of the molten metal
w Cleaning the bottom and walls
of the furnaces
w Mixing the metal
w Charging additives
w Charging solid metal into the
melting furnace
Smart Industrial Mobile Solutions
are compared with the more tradi-
tional methods.
Dedicated Furnace Tending
Vehicles replacing the use of
Fork Lift Trucks
Although standard low cost forklift
trucks with special tools are used
for furnace tending jobs frequently,
this has huge disadvantages such
as damages to the furnaces, high
maintenance costs, long charg-
ing times, safety risks because of
driving forwards/backwards and
bad visibility for the drivers. Some
aluminium producers treat these
forklift trucks as consumables, the
lifetime of a forklift truck in this en-
vironment is often not longer than
3 years.
Dedicated Furnace Tending Ve-
hicles for dedrossing, mixing and
furnace cleaning are safer, do not
damage the valuable furnace and
have a lifetime of more than 15
years. Because of these reasons
this is the most economical option.
Skimming will be done by scraping
the dross, with a perfect and au-
tomatically controlled horizontal
movement, into a collecting bin.
Telescopic reach of the boom in a
range of 5 to 14 meters will be
adapted to the furnace dimensions.
No more manual skimming!!
Manual dross-skimming is still
done at cast houses with small
melting furnaces and have limit-
ed space in front of the furnace.
Because of space constraint tradi-
tional tending vehicles or fork lift
trucks cannot be used in these cast
houses.
Manual dross-skimming can be
very hazardous to workers. The al-
uminium bath is kept at a high tem-
perature and the area in front of
the furnace will be very hot. There
HENCON AGV FOR UNMANNED
TRANSFER OF 10T ALUMINIUM
SCRAP FROM THE SCRAP YARD
INTO THE MELTING FURNACE.

is always the danger of burns, so
workers have to wear protective
clothing. However, this protective
gear makes the job even more
taxing and hot. Besides heat the
fumes from the furnace are often
toxic. The reaching and lifting re-
quired with manual skimming can
be straining and labour-intensive.
A Hencon robotic skimming ve-
hicle provides a safe alternative.
Hencon has developed battery op-
erated, multi-directional Furnace
Tending Vehicles, that only require
a minimum of floor space. These
vehicles are designed to withstand
high temperatures. No more tir-
ing and endangering workers, but
dedicated FTVs. These FTVs work
consistently remove the dross at
the right rate and precisely clean
without damaging the lining or
metal spillage.
Depending on the available space
in front of the furnaces, these ro-
botic FTV’s can be delivered with
or without a operator’s cabin. The
operator in the lifting cabin is pro-
tected against heat, splashes and
hazardous fumes and has an opti-
mal view to the operations in the
furnace.
The smaller FTV version without a
cabin is remote controlled, keep-
ing the operator at a safe distance.
Several well known car producers
have discovered the advantages of
these robotic skimming vehicles
and are using these machines with
great success.
Combined Furnace Tending &
Charging Vehicles
To reduce costs and the number
of vehicles in the cast-house, spe-
cial multifunctional combined fur-
nace skimming and charging vehi-
cles are available in different sizes
and capacities. These vehicles can
work with different tools for var-
ious jobs, such as a telescopic
boom with a skimming or cleaning
blade, a scrap container, a fork unit
for charging bigger solid parts or a
cage for charging additives. These
tools can easily be connected to
the truck by the driver in his com-
fortable cabin.
The charging system works with in-
terchangeable containers that give
the possibility to fill the containers
that can be filled with the right
materials in advance and stored
close to the furnace. The contain-
er can be emptied by pushing the
scrap material out the front side.
By pushing out the scrap material
through the front side the contain-
er can be emptied. The material
will be equally divided over the
furnace. With a tilt mechanism the
discharge height can be limited,
thus reducing splashes and dam-
age of the bottom lining. Charging
can be done very quickly.
Advantages are:
w One single multi-functional
machine for various jobs in
the cast house.
w Reduced cycle times for
skimming and cleaning.
w Optimal and precise
dedrossing, minimizing liquid
aluminium loss.
w Reduced heat loss in the
furnace, due to fast opening
of the furnace door.
w Reduced damage of the
lining; controlled forces on
bottom and walls; increasing
lifetime of the lining.
w Increased safety in the cast
house; no forward / backward
driving during skimming and
cleaning.
Multi-directional Furnace Tending Vehicle with comfortable lifting cabin.
Robotic Furnace Tending Vehicle
multi-directional, without cabin
HENCON | AWJ 2016 45

Automated Furnace Tending
Vehicles
w All Hencon Furnace Tending
Vehicles can be provided with
automatic programs for
improved operations.
w Pressure control technology,
preventing damage of the
furnace lining
w Automatic dedrossing
technology.
w Automatic alloying technology.
Hencon Service and Maintenance
Support
To ensure fleet availability for op-
erations, Hencon provides mainte-
nance support around the world.
Hencon developed a maintenance
training program that will assist
your team in keeping the machines
inoperation.Thefocusofthismain-
tenance system is the in-depth
preventive maintenance program
including the possibility of VDS and
an online maintenance manage-
ment system.
HenconVehicleDataSystem(VDS)
Every vehicle can be equipped
with a data system that monitors
the system on a real time basis.
Data is securely transferred to
the online Hencon maintenance
management system. Imagine to
getting an automatic report with
location, G-force, error codes and
driver identification if an accident
occurred.
Hencon Maintenance
Management System
Hencon machines can play a vital
role in the production process.
Hencon takes care of on-site main-
tenance for many customers and
makes their experience available
to its customers. The Hencon main-
tenance system will improve the
scheduling of the service intervals,
and enables maintenance depart-
ments to have the right people and
parts available at the right time.
Various reports from temperatures
of hydraulic oil to production time
and much more can be automati-
cally generated. Documents such
as Operation Manuals, Service
Manuals, Service Bulletins, Hydrau-
lic and Electric Schemes and spare
parts forecasts can be downloaded
with a push of a button. The actual
status and location as well as the
history of machines is available in
one central and secure place.
Hencon’s maintenance manage-
ment system, in combination with
the VDS and the service and main-
tenance support, is a life line for
excellent vehicle performance for
years to come.
For more information about these
and other solutions please visit:
www.hencon.com
Combined Furnace Tending & Charging Vehicle

Norway’s leading refractory
supplier
Borgestad Fabrikker has always
beenaprimarysuppliertotheglobal
aluminium and ferro-alloy indus-
tries and to the Norwegian found-
ries as well. Borgestad Fabrikker
was established in 1887, and have
a long tradition in refractories.
Refractories and service to
improve your performance
Borgestad Fabrikker offers superior
refractory solutions to the alum-
inium and ferro-alloy industries
around the world. At the same
time, we supply a range of special-
ty products and services to other
industries that use refractory ma-
terials – both within Norway and
globally.
Our range of innovative products
will reward you with a cost-effec-
tive refractory solution and the
lowest refractory cost per ton of
produced metal. We aim to answer
your needs and solve your prob-
lems – even before you ask us.
Building a new future:
We are committed to ensure the
future of us as well as our valuable
customers. In this process, we are
constructing a most modern mono-
lithic refractory plant in Bjuv, Swe-
den, with a manufacturing capacity
of 30,000 MT/ year, to be opened
on 1st
of September, 2016.
The key features of this modern
new plant are:
w High level automation.
w Intensive mixing technology
for monolithic mixes, to ensure a
high degree of homogeneity of
additives level of as low as 0,005%.
w Robustly designed products
ranging from conventional,
low cement, ultra-low cement
and no cement, suiting installation
through vibration, self-flowing,
rodding, pouring, gunning,
pumping and shot-creting.
w Focus on energy saving mono-
lithic technologies, to reduce car-
bon footprint, through reducing
drying times and thus making the
developments sustainable.
Aluminium
Borgestad Fabrikker has been
supplying the refractory needs of
aluminum foundries since the es-
tablishment of the aluminum in-
dustry in Norway in the early 20th
Century. Our range of materials
has become the preferred refrac-
tory solution for this industry.
BORGESTAD FABRIKKER | AWJ 2016 47
Your next generation refractories
New product line

NEW
FUTURE
POT-LINE
EDUCATION
R&D
INSTALLATION
CAST-HOUSE
NORWAY’S LEADING
REFRACTORY SUPPLIER
48 AWJ 2016 | BORGESTAD FABRIKKER
We provide complete refractory
solutions for all the major produc-
tion processes — cathodes, hold-
ing furnaces and anode-baking
furnaces, as well as a number of
special applications with top-class
refractory materials that will help
keep your costs low and promote
your competitiveness.
Our product range includes:
w Chamotte and high-alumina
bricks
w Monolithics (castables &
gunnables)
w Mortars
w Insulation material
w Anchors
w In addition to our high-quality
products, we provide a range of
services spanning from design to
installation.
Electrolytic cells
Borgestad Fabrikker understands
the demands of the production
process in detail, and we are an
experienced supplier of refractory
material for electrolytic cells. The
key strength of Borgestad Fabrik-
ker is own chamotte clay of excel-
lent quality, which is calcined and
classified for manufacturing barrier
bricks in Bjuv, Sweden. This allows
us to control the manufacturing
process, quality as well as the mi-
crostructural design of brick that
is resistance to cryolite or bath
components.
Barrier bricks must provide as
much protection as possible to pre-
vent bath compounds from pene-
trating into underlying material.
Here, we can offer two strong brick
solutions:
BJUF F is the classic ‘good old brick’
used for decades throughout the
aluminum industry. Its 33-35% alu-
mina content provides excellent re-
sistance against attacks of molten
electrolyte. The brick is available in
a wide range of formats. The larg-
est available cross section area is
500x500 mm.
ALU 30 is the alternative brick
with 29% alumina content. Several
studies show that silica-rich barri-
er bricks like ALU 30 create a vis-
cous barrier in reaction with mol-
ten electrolyte. This brick shows
especially good results from cup
tests with molten electrolyte. ALU
30 is also available in large format.
At installation we use mortars that
match the properties of Bjuf F as
well as ALU 30.
Our monolithic Thermocast 7.4.1
has become a standard in the alu-
minum industry to fill and seal
open gaps in the refractory lining
around the cathode steel bar. Ther-
mocast 7.4.1 is very easy to work
with, delivering exactly the right
combination of strength and flexi-
bility. Borgestad Fabrikker delivers
this product in flex bags tailored
to your order, ranging from 25 to
1000 kg, so you get exactly the
right amount of product for your
installation.
All of our materials are regularly
monitored by a number of quality
institutes like SINTEF (the Founda-
tion for Scientific and Industrial Re-
search at the Norwegian Institute
of Technology), to assure product
uniformity and consistency.

Casthouse
Almost all melting and holding fur-
naces have one thing in common
— each one is unique! That’s why
we have developed a comprehen-
sive range of refractory solutions to
improve the performance of your
unique production.
In furnace linings, the focus is to
maintain a stable heat balance
throughout the furnace’s lifetime,
and keep the isotherm for the
freezing point of the metal within
the hot face lining to minimize the
risk of a breakout of molten metal.
We offer a number of flexible, prov-
en solutions — based on bricks or
monolithics — that will help you to
achieve this.
Designing the lining is also a mat-
ter of finding the right balance be-
tween output volume and the lin-
ing’s functional lifetime, the thicker
the brick, or castable lining, the
longer its life. In addition, identify-
ing the right amount of insulation
is an important factor in getting the
best solution.
The extreme environment of the
holding furnace makes renovation
an ongoing process, regardless of
the quality of the refractories and
their installation. Borgestad Fab-
rikker offers you full maintenance
support for your kiln.
Borgestad Fabrikker has experi-
ence and expertise in both mono-
lithics and bricks for casthouse ap-
plications. Alsafe 90 BP is a classic
example of cast house refractory
bricks. This is a phosphate bonded
bauxite brick, with superior, resis-
tance to aluminium liquid metal
contact. Aluminium resistance test
performed by an external labora-
tory SINTEF has proven superiori-
ty of this brick for Aluminum alloy
contact applications (See Figure 1).
Aluminium Test SINTEF/ALILAB
Test pieces measuring approxi-
mately 110 x 110x 64 (75) mm3
are
used in the test. A borehole with
diameter of approx. 55 mm and a
depth of approx. 40 mm are drilled
in the centre of the test pieces. The
bottom of the borehole is surface
ground. The test pieces are dried at
110°C for 24 hours.
After drying, 160 g of aluminium or
an aluminium alloy is placed in the
hole.
The furnace used for the exposure
test is an electrical furnace of the
Naber type. The internal furnace
volume is 400 x 400 x 400 mm3
. Six
test pieces may be heat treated
simultaneously. The test pieces are
placed parallel with a distance of
approx. 10 mm. The temperature
is registered with a thermocouple,
type S. The thermocouple is placed
inthecentreofthefurnace,approx-
imately 10 mm above the test piec-
es. The heating rate is 10°C/ min.
The test is carried out in air. The
temperatureis800±5°C,andtheex-
posure time is 72 hours. The melt is
stirred daily to break the oxide film
formed. After exposure the test
pieces are left in the furnace to cool.
The test pieces are cut diagonally
with a diamond wheel and the cut
face inspected and photographed.
The area of penetrated/reacted
material is calculated and reported.
Sample Alsafe 90
BP
Competitor 1 Competitor 2
Attacked area,
cm2 1.2 1.8 3.6
The aluminium cup test using alu-
minium alloy AA7278 and compet-
itor material is presented in table
below.
Table: Comparison of Alsafe 90 BP
with competitor materials
Crucible Lining
Borgestad Fabrikker can design
your crucible lining with bricks,
in-situ casting and for prefabricat-
ed shapes including crucible lid.
Crucible prefabricated lining

Aluminium resistance of Alsafe 90
BP
Alsafe 90 BP from
Borgestad Fabrikker is tested
against the aluminium alloy
AA 7278 according to the
procedure described above.
Two test-cups were prepared
for the test.
Alloy AA 7278
Si < 0.15 %
Fe < 0.20 %
Cu 1.7 - 2.1 %
Mg 2.7 - 3.0 %
Zn 6.8 - 7.2 %
Cr 0.18-0.22 %
Results:
There was no sign of penetration
or reaction between the Alsafe 90
BP and the aluminium alloy.
Pictures of the cut-face are
shown.
Research and Development:
Research is the heart of our busi-
ness. In order to fulfill your current
and future needs, we continuously
research and develop new prod-
ucts and upgrade our existing solu-
tions to incorporate new technical
trends and safety requirements.
We have a state-of–the-art labo-
ratory at our production facility in
Bjuv and our R & D team is com-
posed of engineers and profes-
sionals with deep understanding of
your operating practices.
Using the latest technology
and processing methods, they
strive to develop the best
materials or the most challenging
applications. We are equipped
with sophisticated equipments
f.e. particle size analyzer, thermal
conductivity measurement,
Refractoriness under load, hot
abrasion tester, microscopy etc,
to completely characterize and
understand the refractories.
Other Expertise, Installation
and training
w Borgestad Fabrikker, can offer
solutions to all other applications
involving aluminium industry.
A high abrasion resistance and
high-strength castable
Borgflow 85 used for making
pre-cast floor tiles known as
Borgfloor is gaining more
reputation in industry at present.
This tile is capable withstanding
heavy load from vehicle, and
other mechanical abuses in user
indus-try. Borgflow is also
excellent for other wear resistant
areas for your casthouse furnace.
Borgcrete 50 is our solutions for
general purpose gunning mix for
both hot and cold repairs.
w Borgestad Fabrikker has two
in-house installation companies
known as GLC contracting in Nor-
way and Macon in Sweden and
is co-operating with some of the
most experienced international in-
stallation companies in the world.
Alsafe 90 BP after exposure to
Aluminium alloy 7278
Cut sections of Alsafe 90 BP after cup test with
Aluminium alloy AA7278 showing
no sign of neither penetration nor corrosion.

w Serviceandsupporttocustomers
is very important part of business
for us. Borgestad Fabrikker updates
each year their customers on re-
cent developments of refractories,
installations and other services
through training programs.
References
Borgestad Fabrikker customer base
spans from domestic to global;
w Hydro Aluminium
w Hycast
w Alcoa Norway ANS
w SOR Norge Aluminium AS
w Vigeland Metal Refinery
w Qatalum
w Rio Tinto Alcan
w Emirates Global Aluminium
w Alba Aluminium Bahrain
w Nordural
w Isal
w Slovalco
Conclusions:
Borgested Fabrikker has long with-
standing experience and expertise
in developing, selecting and install-
ing the right refractories depending
on the needs of customers in all
areas of aluminium manufacturing
industry. Equipped with its own
R&D and production center in Swe-
den, Borgestad is constructing a
modern monolithic plant to expand
on delivering the newest refractory
technology for our customers
benefit.
Eirich intensive mixer for monolithic production

New Plant Building
Author Contact Details:
Roger Kvam
General Manager
BORGESTAD FABRIKKER AS
Borgestadbakken 2,
N-3712 SKIEN, Norway
www.borgestadfabrikker.no

Give Siwertell the opportunity to amaze you _______ 54-58
SIWERTELL | AWJ 2016 53

Say goodbye
to crushing,
dust, spills, and
additional
fines in
alumina
unloading
Our free demonstration at your site will show you
what alumina handling should really look like.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t invest in a
Siwertell unloader years ago.
blksales@cargotec.com
youtube.com/siwertell
siwertell.com

Give Siwertell the opportunity to
amaze you
Few investments can totally trans-
form a business at a stroke, but
Juha Huovilainen, Sales Director,
Siwertell, explains how making
the switch to a Siwertell screw-
type unloading system can save
alumina plant owners and opera-
tors a fortune and offer major en-
vironmental benefits.
Siwertell screw-type unloaders
outperform established, traditional
equipment for alumina unloading
to such a high degree that opera-
tors would save so much, so quick-
ly, that their return on investment
would be unusually rapid, followed
by major cost savings stretching
ahead for decades.
If the industry as a whole made the
move from traditional grab cranes
and pneumatic systems and in-
vested in Siwertell unloaders on a
global scale, we estimate it would
result in annual savings of up to
US$1.0 billion.
You may think this is too good to be
true, but Siwertell has supporting
data showing conclusively that the
global aluminium production in-
dustry can profit significantly from
making the switch to its totally-en-
closed screw-type technology. The
advantages and consequent cost
savings are delivered in a number
of different ways, related to the
nature, value and processing re-
quirements of alumina. But in all
instances, it is the performance of
the Siwertell unloader that delivers
the results.
Figures explained
Alumina is a valuable commodity.
Spillage associated with tradition-
al unloading methods costs the
industry millions of dollars every
year. This is particularly true with
grab cranes. The picture of the grab
crane at work clearly demonstrates
the scale of the problem.
A Siwertell customer reports that
using a grab crane for unloading
alumina results in the loss of one
and a half percent of the materi-
al during the discharging process.
In contrast, discharging tests with
Siwertell road mobile unloaders
showed no loss of bulk material
whatsoever.
To present this in monetary terms,
we can consider a typical operation
with an annual intake of half a mil-
lion tonnes of alumina. With alumi-
na priced at US$400/tonne, the an-
nual value of cargo arriving at the
discharge berth is US$200,000,000.
Therefore the annual saving result-
ing from using a Siwertell unloader
is a massive US$3,000,000. On top
of this, there is a negligible amount
of cleaning necessary when using
a Siwertell unloader and working
55 AWJ 2016 | SIWERTELL

conditions are greatly improved.
We estimate that eliminating spill-
age right across the industry would
result in savings of up to US$600
million per annum.
Pneumatic systems are also widely
used for alumina unloading. While
they do not incur spillage on the
scale of grab cranes, pneumatic un-
loaders lose money in other ways.
They are less efficient than Siwer-
tell unloaders, and consume more
power per tonne of alumina un-
loaded. Far more importantly, the
use of pneumatic systems results
in high levels of cargo degradation
which has serious consequences
for the smelting process.
Putting the lid on smelting costs
Aluminium smelting requires a
massive amount of energy and
the process is very sensitive to the
amount of fines (powdery material)
in the alumina.
Siwertell customer Aluminij Mostar
reports that, in its experience, alu-
mina discharged with a pneumatic
unloader has a fines content with
a particle size of less than 45µm of
up to five percent.
Aluminij Mostar used a Siwertell
unloader for discharging alumina
for ten years (see separate text
box). During that time the alumina
had an average fines value of be-
tween 0.2 and 0.3 percent. The re-
duced amount of fines had a huge
positive impact to the energy con-
sumption of the plant because the
lower the percentage of fines, the
less energy required for the smelt-
ing process.
A number of smelters have closed
because the high cost of energy
made their operations uneconom-
ic. We estimate that minimising
cargo degradation by using our
screw-type unloaders could save
the global industry up to US$400
million every year.
Environmental credentials
Siwertell unloaders have unbeat-
able environmental performance
with zero spillage and virtually no
dust creation. Aside from the eco-
nomic advantages of receiving 100
percent of the shipped cargo, op-
erations as clean as this are vital
for those importers with facilities
close to centres of population and
commerce who are finding it diffi-
cult to meet increasingly stringent
environmental regulations.
Unloaders to suit operations of
any size
For alumina importers with a high
throughput, Siwertell can offer suit-
able unloaders with rated capacities
up to 2,000t/h. These can be fixed
installations or they can run on rails.

Some models can be equipped
with rubber tyres to allow self-pro-
pelled operations without the
need for rails. For smaller scale
operations our road-mobile un-
loaders offer the perfect solution.
Road-mobile units are also ideal
for operators discharging alumina
at multiple locations.
Interested but still not convinced?
We realise that asking operators to
replace their cranes and pneumatic
systems before they have reached
the end of their useful life is a big
ask; certainly not a decision to be
taken without being absolutely
certain that it will deliver all that
is promised. This is why we have
a free, no obligation offer to bring
one of our road-mobile unloaders
to your import terminal so you
can see for yourself exactly how it
performs. You can make your own
measurements and observations
to confirm our claims regarding the
cleanliness, the power consump-
tion, the rate of discharge, the
level of cargo degradation and the
minimal clean up requirements. In
preparation for such a demonstra-
tion we can provide you with de-
tailed reports of similar tests car-
ried out in Northern Europe.
This is not a gimmick and there
is nothing altruistic about it. We
are all in business to succeed. We
know we can give you a massive
commercial advantage and we
want to sell our unloaders to you.
We all have much to gain.
Finally, if your company’s tradi-
tional alumina unloading system
is near the end of its useful life;
please think very carefully about
your next move. You have the
choice between giving your com-
pany a massive commercial advan-
tage or committing it to decades
more of sub-optimal performance.
To support our business case we
are prepared to give substantial
guarantees related both to the
performance of the unloader as
well as the degradation of the bulk
material.
57 AWJ 2016 |SIWERTELL
Well-established in alumina
loading
Siwertell loaders have been
delivering reliable service for
alumina exporters around
the world for decades.
Siwertell’s well-known attri-
butes of clean, careful han-
dling and low power con-
sumption are exactly what
this market demands. On
top of that, operators derive
great confidence from the
support provided by Siwer-
tell’s global service network
and our remote monitoring
and fault-finding capabilities.
Siwertellloadersareespecial-
ly well suited to the particular
demands of handling alumi-
na, because they make use of
aeroslides and Cleveland cas-
cade-type vertical telescopic
loading spouts that handle
the material very gently, re-
sulting in minimal cargo deg-
radation. Dust collectors are
fitted at all transfer points to
reduce dust emissions to an
absolute minimum, allowing
exceptionally clean, high ca-
pacity loading.
The highest capacity Siwertell
alumina loader delivered to
date is a Siwertell HST-1800
with a rated capacity of
2,500t/h. It has been operated
by Hydro Alunorte in Brazil
since 2008.
Say goodbye
to crushing,
dust, spills, and
additional
fines in
alumina
unloading
Our free demonstration at your site will show you
what alumina handling should really look like.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t invest in a
Siwertell unloader years ago.
blksales@cargotec.com
youtube.com/siwertell
siwertell.com

First delivery demonstrates
performance capabilities
The first Siwertell unloader to be
used for handling alumina was a
5000 S, road-mobile unit delivered
to Aluminij Mostar’s import termi-
nal in Ploce, Croatia in 1997.
Equipped with a double-loading
bellows system and radio remote
control, it had a rated unloading
capacity of 150t/h, handling ships
and barges of up to 5,000 dwt.
A major factor in Aluminij Mostar’s
decision to purchase a Siwertell
system was its desire for a clean,
environmentally-friendly operation.
However, the company soon found
that it had also made a very wise
decision for wider-reaching com-
mercial reasons.
Commenting on its unloader in
2001, it said that the machine was
operating to its complete satisfac-
tion, handling over 100,000 tonnes
of alumina per annum, and exceed-
ing its specified unloading rate by
30 percent. The company described
it as: “environmentally superior
and very efficient”.
Operations at Ploce ceased in 2006.
By that time the unloader had
logged 10,550 hours, discharging
over 1,250,000 tonnes of alumina,
delivering an impressive overall
through-the-ship rate of nearly
120t/h.
Siwertell gained valuable experi-
ence from providing solutions to
some early teething troubles re-
lating to bearings and their seal-
ing and lubrication arrangements.
These were quickly resolved to the
customer’s satisfaction and from
then on operations were virtually
trouble-free. The screws experi-
enced no significant wear.
Building on this early experience
and through subsequent develop-
ments and improvements, today’s
Siwertell unloaders are perfectly
specified for alumina handling.

ANODE PLANT TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATHERM
The impact of the firing and control system for a production boost
in the baking area _______ 60-64
STAS
SIRS 3D Anode Stub Inspection System (ASIS3D
) _______ 66-69
OUTOTEC ARTS®

A new Tool for Optimization of Anode Performance _______ 70-73
ANODE PLANT TECHNOLOGY | AWJ 2016 59

Abstract
Based on the actual conversion
of an existing anode-baking fur-
nace in a smelter in the Gulf Re-
gion, the paper will demonstrate
the improvements that have been
achieved by upgrading the firing
and control system on the baking
furnace.
The focus was hereby set on boost-
ing the production output, aiming
for an increase in the range of 15-
20 %. The evaluation covers the
most relevant parameters of the
baking process such as fire-cycle
time, temperature regime, bak-
ing level, quality consistency, fuel
efficiency and the resulting boost
in production. In addition to the
advanced built-in features of the
new system, which already offered
a distinct improvement over the
existing one, fine-tuning of the sys-
tem by the carbon plant manage-
ment in close cooperation with the
system designer enabled the team
to adapt further advanced features
to the new system and optimize
the furnace operation.
Introduction
Most of the Smelters in the Middle
East were put into operation in the
early and mid-1970s. The original
aluminium output was in a range
of 125.000 – 250.000 t/a, but this
has been continuously expanded
during the decades. Nowadays the
annual production output has
reached around 1 million tons
of aluminium. For this increase in
production, it was necessary to in-
crease the production of anodes
continuously. Additional Anode
Baking Furnaces have been built at
the carbon plant. However, for a
further production increase, there
is often no space available for fu-
ture extension of any equipment.
Therefore, the anode production
has to be increased within the
boundaries of the plant and equip-
ment installed.
Problem description
The challenge of the develop-
ment is how to further boost the
anode production while staying
Details of the baking
furnace:
The baking furnace con-
sists of 34 sections, each
with 9 flues and 8 pits.
Figure 1 allows a top
view of the anode-bak-
ing furnace.
The corresponding fire
configuration consists
of two fire groups and
is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Fire configuration
THE IMPACT OF THE FIRING AND CONTROL SYSTEM
FOR A PRODUCTION BOOST IN THE BAKING AREA
Figure 1. Anode Baking Furnace
60 AWJ 2016 | INNOVATHERM

Aluminium World Journal 2016

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