MATERIALS HANDLING

ALUMINA

Alumina is a fine white powder that’s brought by ship into the Port of Newcastle.
To eliminate dust emissions, Alumina is unloaded from the vessels using modern vacuum unloaders, and is then transported along fully enclosed conveyors to silos adjacent to the berth.
Fully enclosed trucks transport the alumina to the smelter while covered conveyors or air slides on site, as well as specially fitted de-dusting units, minimise emissions during the raw material handling process.

SOLID WASTE

Like most industries, an aluminium smelter generates waste. At Tomago Aluminium, there are two types of solid waste.

• Fluorinated Waste resulting from recycling activities and general housekeeping across the plant
• Spent Pot Linings, which are mainly carbon material and are produced when the pots are rebuilt every 5-7 years.

The majority of fluoridated waste generated through site operations is reused as raw materials for other industries. Fluoridated waste that’s disposed to landfill is treated to ensure the fluoride is immobilised.
Spent pot linings are stored in secure buildings on site and the company is actively pursuing treatment and reuse options.

DROSS

During the aluminium-making process, the liquid metal is extensively moved (eg into and out of transport ladles) which causes aluminium oxide or dross to form on the surface of the liquid aluminium. While steps are taken to minimise the amount of dross produced, a certain amount still needs to be removed from the metal.

Dross is skimmed from the metal surface and then processed in an on-site treatment plant, where it’s cooled and separated into different categories according to size.

Larger fractions of dross are returned to the Casthouse for immediate recycling, while small fractions are sent off site to be further processed by recycling companies. At these plants, aluminium is extracted from the dross for recycling or sale.