Qatalum ‘leading the way for Gulf in high-quality aluminium output

Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum), set to inaugurate its plant in Mesaieed Industrial City on April 12, aims to produce 585,000 tonnes of primary aluminium annually, which will see the need for imports of as much as 1.1mn tonnes of alumina, 223,000 tonnes of calcined petroleum coke and 50,000 tonnes of liquid coal tar pitch.

In order to build an efficient plant and streamline the production process, Qatalum has incorporated port and storage areas into their facility to receive these raw materials.

“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,” chief executive officer Jan Arve Haugan said.

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% of its anodes every year, and is equipped with state-of-the-art fume treatment centres to minimise emissions.

Carbon anodes produced in this plant are sent to the reduction plant, where they are used in a complicated electrochemical process to break down the alumina and create the liquid aluminium in Qatalum’s 704 pots.

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 cells in double-lined pot rooms and uses the world’s most advanced Pot Tending Machines and specially-designed pot hoods to minimise emissions. 

The hydro technology used therein is designed for low specific energy consumption, high labour productivity and low emissions.

The four fume treatment plants allow Qatalum to keep emissions well under control, cleaning process gasses such as fluoride, sulfur and carbon dioxide removed from the 704 pots in the reduction plant, as well as fumes from the carbon plant. Using both dry and wet scrubbing, Qatalum is able to treat 99.5% of its process gasses.

Throughout the production process, Qatalum’s combined cycle power plant provides all of the necessary process 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 to Qatalum’s cast house where it is alloyed according to customer specifications and cast into extrusion ingots or foundry alloys. 

On December 18, 2009, Qatalum made its first shipment of aluminium foundry alloys.