Background Informal Technical Document on Techniques to Reduce Emissions from Aluminium Production

This informal background document has been prepared by TFTEI technical secretariat and provides a compact overview of the state-of-the-art in air pollutant reduction techniques from aluminium production. After a brief general description of the aluminium production processes, the report provides a systematic overview of relevant air pollutants and the corresponding abatement techniques, mainly based on the European BREF on Non-Ferrous Metals Industries. This document was found to be up-to-date and in line with emission limit values in force in the EU. In addition to technical descriptions, this document presents, where available, the economic aspects of reducing emissions in terms of capital and operating expenditure.

Due to the versatility of secondary aluminium (recycling) processes, this document focuses mainly on primary production while providing a general description of recycling processes. However, the inclusion of secondary processing focusing on air pollutants could be part of future TFTEI activities.