Alcoa Corporation has announced that Australian governments have provided $7.7 million of funding to conduct pilot trials on a new carbon reduction technology that supports Alcoa’s Refinery of the Future initiative.
Alcoa of Australia has received support to test electric calcination with $6.4 million (A$8.6 million) from The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and $1.3 million (A$1.7 million) from Western Australia’s Clean Energy Future Fund (CEFF).
Calcination is the final stage in the alumina refining process and uses fossil fuels, primarily natural gas, to heat alumina hydrate crystals. Electric calcination, when powered with renewable energy, has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, electrification of calciners would allow significant amounts of residual energy, currently lost in the atmosphere as steam, to be captured and reused, saving water and negating the need for stacks to vent that steam.
Alcoa Pinjarra Refinery
