Official: Qatar Aluminium a model for others 

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum), the world's most efficient and environmentally friendly aluminium smelter, is leading the way for the Gulf in high-quality aluminium products, cutting-edge technology and operational excellence. Pioneering a new industrial sector for Qatar, Qatalum will celebrate the historic launch of their plant, located in Mesaieed Industrial City and occupying an area of approximately 2.7 square kilometers, at an inauguration event on April 12. 

Jan Arve Haugan, Chief Executive Officer of Qatalum, described the project's significance, “Qatalum's commitment to sustainability, efficiency and the highest environmental and safety standards is setting benchmarks in the global industry. As the Gulf aluminium industry continues to expand, we expect our fully-integrated facility to serve as a model for others to follow.”

 In order to build an efficient plant and streamline the production process, Qatalum has incorporated port and storage areas into their facility to receive raw materials. Qatalum imports a total of 1.1 million tonnes of alumina, 223,000 tonnes of coke and 50,000 tonnes of liquid pitch per year in order to produce 585,000 tonnes of primary aluminium annually.  Qatalum's Carbon Plant, which produces the carbon anodes necessary for aluminium production process, recycles spent anodes and the residual materials  they contain. The carbon plant recycles nearly 20 percent of its anodes every year.

 It is in the Reduction Plant that Qatalum truly demonstrates its position at the leading-edge of industry technology and environmental performance. The plant houses 704 electrolytic cellsin double-lined pot rooms and uses the world's most advanced Pot Tending Machines and specially-designedpot hoods to minimise emissions. 

The four Fume Treatment Plants allow Qatalum to keep emissions well under control, cleaning processgasses such as fluoride, sulfur and carbon dioxide removed from the 704 pots in the Reduction Plant, as wellas fumes from the carbon plant. Using both dry and wet scrubbing, Qatalum is able to treat 99.5 percent ofits process gasses. 

Throughout the production process, Qatalum's combined cycle power plant provides all of the necessaryprocess power, and returns the excess power to the Qatar grid.  In the final stages of production, the molten aluminium created in the Reduction Plant is transported toQatalum's cast house where it is alloyed according to customer specifications and cast into extrusion ingotsor foundry alloys. The value added cast aluminium product is then sawed and packaged for shippingthrough Qatalum's port.  On December 18, 2009, Qatalum made its first shipment of aluminium foundry alloys.