Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust but, because aluminium was isolated experimentally only in 1827 and produced in commercial quantities only after 1886, its production and use is many times less than that of iron. However over twice as much aluminium is produced as copper and the annual percentage growth in its consumption between 1985 and 1998 at 2.8% is significantly greater than that of iron and steel.The aluminium industry provides an in-depth overview of the international aluminium trade at the turn of the millennium. Its clearly presented information, analysis and statistics bring the industry into sharp focus – from extraction and refining to applications, markets, prices and future trends.The aluminium industry is essential reading for: - Professionals whose businesses participate in, supply or buy from any part of the aluminium industry - The finance community with investment interests in the metals or raw materials industries - Engineers needing an overview of the structure and commercial operation of the aluminium industry - Government policy makers and all those needing an introduction to the industry or a training resource for new entrantsRead this guide and find out about: - How the aluminium industry has developed from its earliest beginnings - How the key raw materials, bauxite and alumina are processed - Why technical trends are changing the production of aluminium - How primary aluminium is priced - The role of recycled aluminium metal - How demand is changing and the main applications for aluminium products today and in the future - The organisation of international trade, industry corporate structures and the key issues that will determine the industry's future

Aluminium was one of most cartelised industries in the international economic panorama of the 20th century. Born following the discovery of electrolytic smelting process in 1886, this industry, even in its infancy, established a cartel which characterised its history until nearly 1980. Managers of the aluminium industry from various historical eras and countries shared the same vision about the development of their industry: to keep prices as stable as possible in order to encourage expansions and to provide return on investments. Price instability, which characterised the trade of other commodities, was unknown to the aluminium industry. This book neither argues that cartels are fundamentally evil, nor attempts to demonstrate that cartels are optimal business organisations. It instead provides an in-depth and frank analysis of the internal working of industrial organisations and of the interplay between cartels and political powers and institutions. The International Aluminium Cartel offers explanations for the construction and collapse of cartels, descriptions of their operations, and an historical interpretation of their experiences. Incorporating information gleaned from a unique collection of private and public archives from several countries, this unique study will appeal to a wide variety of readers, including academics interested in industrial and business history.

The rapid growth of the aluminium (or aluminum) industry during the last hundred years reflects the status of aluminium as the quintessentially modern metal. Given its impact on every facet of modern life, its aptitude for academic analysis is only rivaled by the versatility of the metal in industrial application. In the 19th century, aluminium was the source of luxury goods for the rich few, but during World War I, it was subjected to strategic considerations by belligerent states, becoming a warfare metal. It remained a military-strategic metal well into the 1950s before it regained a position as a metal for civilian consumption, this time for the masses. From Warfare to Welfare takes a historical approach, informed by an institutionalist perspective, to elucidate the political economy of the aluminium industry in the 20th century. The book is structured as a series of analyses of the interactions between the state and the corporations in different countries. By looking at business-government relationships, the book provides a better grasp on the linkages between the aluminium industry and the two key features of the history of the 20th century: the rise of the industrial warfare state and its subsequent replacement by the welfare state. (Series: ROSTRA Books Trondheim Studies in History - No. 9)

Aluminium is an important metal in manufacturing, due to its versatile properties and the many applications of both the processed metal and its alloys in different industries. Fundamentals of aluminium metallurgy provides a comprehensive overview of the production, properties and processing of aluminium, and its applications in manufacturing industries.Part one discusses different methods of producing and casting aluminium, covering areas such as casting of alloys, quality issues and specific production methods such as high-pressure diecasting. The metallurgical properties of aluminium and its alloys are reviewed in Part two, with chapters on such topics as hardening, precipitation processes and solute partitioning and clustering, as well as properties such as fracture resistance. Finally, Part three includes chapters on joining, laser sintering and other methods of processing aluminium, and its applications in particular areas of industry such as aerospace.With its distinguished editor and team of expert contributors, Fundamentals of aluminium metallurgy is a standard reference for researchers in metallurgy, as well as all those involved in the manufacture and use of aluminium products. - Provides a comprehensive overview of the production, properties and processing of aluminium, and its applications in manufacturing industries - Considers many issues of central importance in aluminium production and utilization considering quality issues and design for fatigue growth resistance - Metallurgical properties of aluminium and its alloys are further explored with particular reference to work hardening and applications of industrial alloys

As the key component in aluminum production, bauxite became one of the most important minerals of the last one hundred years. But its effects on people and economies varied broadly – for some it meant jobs, progress, or a political advantage over rival nations but for many others, it meant exploitation, pollution, or the destruction of a way of life. Aluminum Ore explores the often overlooked history of bauxite in the twentieth century, and in doing so examines the forces that shaped the time, from the mineral’s strategic development in the First World War and throughout the Cold War, to its role in the globalization of markets, as companies from the northern hemisphere vied for the resources of the south. In this wide-ranging collection, scholars from around the world consider multiple international perspectives on this history – from Guinea to Nazi Germany to Jamaica – all while examining the central place of one commodity in a time of change.

A consultant with McKinsey & Company surveys the international aluminum industry and asks why its various activities are divided among firms in the way that they are. These components include the minding of bauxite, its refining into alumina, aluminum smelting, fabrication, and manufacture of the final product. What is it about this industry that encourages joint ventures in some cases, long-term contracts in others, and vertical integration and merger in still others? The author identifies and analyzes the factors which motivate firms to adopt one or another of these patterns of doing business. He draws on and extends recent developments in theory relating to the operation of markets and organizations, and tests the power of theories to explain what is observed in the industry. He has assembled a great deal of empirical evidence, focusing on the United States, Japan, and Australia. The book should become the standard study of the aluminum industry.

Separation processes—or processes that use physical, chemical, or electrical forces to isolate or concentrate selected constituents of a mixture—are essential to the chemical, petroleum refining, and materials processing industries. In this volume, an expert panel reviews the separation process needs of seven industries and identifies technologies that hold promise for meeting these needs, as well as key technologies that could enable separations. In addition, the book recommends criteria for the selection of separations research projects for the Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technology.

An excellent overview of industrial carbon and graphite materials, especially their manufacture, use and applications in industry. Following a short introduction, the main part of this reference deals with industrial forms, their raw materials, properties and manifold applications. Featuring chapters on carbon and graphite materials in energy application, and as catalysts. It covers all important classes of carbon and graphite, from polygranular materials to fullerenes, and from activated carbon to carbon blacks and nanoforms of carbon. Indispensable for chemists and engineers working in such fields as steel, aluminum, electrochemistry, nanotechnology, catalyst, carbon fibres and lightweight composites.

Energy is an essential resource in the daily lives of humans. However, the extraction and use of energy has an impact on the environment. The industrial sector accounts for a large share of the global final energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The largest source of industrial GHG emissions is energy use. The production and processing of aluminium is energy- and GHG-intensive, and uses significant amounts of fossil fuels and electricity. At the same time, the global demand for aluminium is predicted to rise significantly by the year 2050. Improved energy efficiency is one of the most important approaches for reducing industrial GHG emissions. Additionally, improved energy efficiency in industry is a competitive advantage for companies due to the cost reductions that energy efficiency improvements yield. The aim of this thesis was to study improved energy efficiency in the individual companies and the entire supply chains of the aluminium industry. This included studying energy efficiency measures, potentials for energy efficiency improvements and energy savings, and which factors inhibit or drive the work to improve energy efficiency. The aim and the research questions were answered by conducting a literature review, focus groups, questionnaires and calculations of effects on primary energy use, GHG emissions, and energy and CO2 costs. This thesis identified several energy efficiency measures that can be implemented by the individual companies in the aluminium industry and the aluminium casting foundries. The individual companies have large potentials for improving their energy efficiency. Energy efficiency measures within the electrolysis process have significant effects on primary energy use, GHG emissions, and energy and CO2 costs. This thesis showed that joint work between the companies in the supply chains of the aluminium industry is needed in order to achieve further energy efficiency improvements compared to the companies only working on their own. The joint work between the companies in the supply chain is needed to avoid sub-optimisation of the total energy use throughout the entire supply chain. Better communication and closer collaboration between all the companies in the supply chain are two of the most important aspects of the joint work to improve energy efficiency. An energy audit for the entire supply chain could be conducted as a first step in the joint work between the companies in the supply chains. Another important aspect is to increase the use of secondary aluminium or remelted material waste rather than primary aluminium. The companies in the Swedish aluminium industry and the aluminium casting foundries have come some way in their work to improve energy efficiency within their own facilities. However, the results in this thesis indicate that cost-effective technology and improved management can, in total, save 126–185 GWh/year in the Swedish aluminium industry and 8–15 GWh/year in the Swedish aluminium casting foundries. This thesis identified several demands regarding economics, product quality and performance, and environment placed on the companies and products in the supply chains that affect energy use and work to improve energy efficiency. These demands can sometimes counteract each other, and some demands are more important to meet than improving energy efficiency. This implies that improving the energy efficiency of the supply chains as well as designing products so they are energy-efficient in their use phase can sometimes be difficult. The results in this thesis indicate that it would be beneficial if the companies reviewed these demands to see whether any of them could be changed. Both the economic aspects and demands from customers and authorities were shown to be important drivers for improved energy efficiency in the supply chains. However, placing demands on energy-efficient production and a company’s improved energy efficiency would require those placing the demands to have deeper knowledge compared to demanding green energy, for example. Requiring a company to implement an energy management system to ensure active work to improve energy efficiency would be easier for the customer than demanding a certain level of energy efficiency in the company’s processes. Additionally, energy audits and demands on conducted energy audits could act as drivers for improved energy efficiency throughout the supply chains. This thesis showed that the most important barriers to improved energy efficiency within the individual companies include different types of risks as well as the cost of production disruption, complex production processes and technology being inappropriate at the site. Similar to the supply chains, important drivers for improved energy efficiency within the individual companies were shown to be economic aspects and demands from customers and authorities. However, the factors that are most important for driving the work to improve energy efficiency within the individual companies include the access to and utilisation of knowledge within the company, corporate culture, a longterm energy strategy, networking within the sector, information from technology suppliers and energy audits. Energi är en viktig resurs i människors dagliga liv, men utvinningen och användningen av energi påverkar miljön. Industrin står för en stor andel av den globala slutliga energianvändningen och de globala utsläppen av växthusgaser. Den största källan till industriella växthusgasutsläpp är energianvändning. Produktionen och bearbetningen av aluminium är energiintensiv och har stora utsläpp av växthusgaser och använder betydande mängder fossila bränslen och elektricitet. Samtidigt beräknas efterfrågan på aluminium öka avsevärt globalt till år 2050. Energieffektivisering är ett av de viktigaste medlen för att minska industriella växthusgasutsläpp. Dessutom är energieffektivisering inom industrin en konkurrensfördel för företagen på grund av de minskade kostnader som energieffektivisering medför. Syftet med den här avhandlingen var att studera hur energianvändningen kan bli effektivare i de enskilda företagen och hela försörjningskedjorna i aluminiumindustrin. Detta inkluderade att studera energieffektiviseringsåtgärder, potentialer för energieffektivisering och energibesparing samt vilka faktorer som hindrar eller driver arbetet med energieffektivisering. Syftet och frågeställningarna besvarades genom litteraturstudier, fokusgrupper, enkäter samt beräkningar av påverkan på primärenergianvändning, växthusgasutsläpp och energi- och koldioxidkostnader. Denna avhandling identifierade flera energieffektiviseringsåtgärder som kan genomföras av de enskilda företagen inom aluminiumindustrin och aluminiumgjuterierna. De enskilda företagen har stora potentialer för effektivare energianvändning. Energieffektiviseringsåtgärder inom elektrolysen har stor påverkan på primärenergianvändning, växthusgasutsläpp samt energi- och koldioxidkostnader. Denna avhandling visade att det gemensamma arbetet mellan företagen i aluminiumindustrins försörjningskedjor är viktigt för att uppnå ytterligare effektiviseringar av energianvändningen jämfört med om de individuella företagen skulle arbeta enbart på egen hand. Det gemensamma arbetet mellan företagen i försörjningskedjan är viktigt för att undvika suboptimering av den totala energianvändningen i hela försörjningskedjan. Bättre kommunikation och närmare samarbete mellan alla företagen i försörjningskedjan är två av de viktigaste aspekterna i det gemensamma arbetet för att uppnå effektivare energianvändning. En energikartläggning av hela försörjningskedjan kan genomföras som ett första steg i det gemensamma arbetet mellan företagen. En annan viktig aspekt är att öka användningen av sekundärt aluminium eller omsmält processkrot snarare än att använda primärt aluminium. Företagen i den svenska aluminiumindustrin och aluminiumgjuterierna har kommit en bit på vägen i deras arbeten mot effektivare energianvändning inom deras egna anläggningar. Dock visade resultaten i denna avhandling att kostnadseffektiv teknik och förbättrad energiledning totalt kan spara 126–185 GWh/år i den svenska aluminiumindustrin och 8–15 GWh/år i de svenska aluminiumgjuterierna. Denna avhandling identifierade flera krav rörande ekonomi, produktkvalitet och -prestanda samt miljö som ställs på företagen och produkterna i försörjningskedjorna och som påverkar energianvändningen och arbetet mot effektivare energianvändning. Dessa krav kan ibland motverka varandra och vissa krav är viktigare att möta än att effektivisera energianvändningen. Detta innebär att det ibland kan vara svårt att energieffektivisera försörjningskedjorna samt att designa energianvändande produkter så att de är energieffektiva i användningsfasen. Resultaten i denna avhandling visar att det skulle vara fördelaktigt om företagen granskar kraven för att se om något av kraven skulle kunna ändras. Både de ekonomiska aspekterna och krav från kunder och myndigheter visade sig vara viktiga drivkrafter för energieffektivisering i försörjningskedjorna. Om krav ställs på energieffektiv produktion och effektivare energianvändning inom ett företag behöver de aktörer som ställer kraven ha djupare kunskaper jämfört med om de till exempel skulle kräva användandet av grön energi. Ett krav på implementeringen av ett energiledningssystem för att säkerställa ett aktivt arbete med energieffektivisering skulle vara lättare för kunden att ställa än att kräva en viss energieffektiviseringsnivå i leverantörens processer. Dessutom kan energikartläggningar och krav på genomförda energikartläggningar fungera som drivkrafter för energieffektivisering i försörjningskedjorna. Denna avhandling visade att de viktigaste hindren mot energieffektivisering inom de enskilda företagen är olika typer av risker samt kostnader för produktionsstörningar, komplexa produktionsprocesser och att tekniken inte är applicerbar inom anläggningen. I likhet med försörjningskedjorna uppkom de ekonomiska aspekterna och krav från kunder och myndigheter som viktiga drivkrafter för energieffektivisering inom de enskilda företagen. Dock är de viktigaste faktorerna för att driva på arbetet med energieffektivisering inom de enskilda företagen tillgången till och utnyttjandet av kunskap inom företaget, företagskulturen, en långsiktig energistrategi, nätverkande inom branschen, information från teknikleverantörer och energikartläggningar.

This book details the peculiarities of the requirements for refractories designed for aluminium metallurgical process: reduction, cast house, and anode production. The author describes requirements specific to the properties and structure of refractory materials that differentiate it from the refractories for ferrous metallurgy and other refractories. A comparison is drawn between the properties and structure of refractories and carbon cathode materials from different points of view: from the point of physical chemistry and chemistry interactions during the metallurgical process and from the point of design of reduction pots and furnaces with the aspect to the service life time of metallurgical aggregates.