QuAlity Aluminium Cast House

The aim of the BIA-project «QuAlity Aluminium Cast House» was to demonstrate, in 2016, that high quality aluminium product can be produced from lower quality input material (scrap) by refining the metal into end user specifications, with improved control and increased production. The quality should be maintained at the previous level. Together this should contribute to about 165 MNOK in potential saving. Some of the goals of the project were: 1. Implement finer filters that enable increased use of external scrap in 2016. 2. Optimize and implement best practice in melt refining, leading to reduced number of claims during the project period. 3. Develop an efficient melt purification technique, that will enable a increased yield of 5% while retaining quality.

Use of aluminium scrap is vital as it saves ~95% of the energy and associated emissions compared to producing the metal from the ore. It provides metal, saves capital expenditures, and reduces landfill space requirements and fees. The main goal of the QuA lity project is to develop technology that can supply: high quality aluminium products from low quality input material (scrap) by refining the metal into end user specifications, with increased production by improved control, while retaining quality. New technology is steadily being developed based on extensive research and education facilities. It is now time to try out new innovations, and to more systematically make use of the competences of SINTEF/NTNU and the extesive indutrial know-how. We aim to: 1 ) Filter technology: study and test new filter materials, test and implement filters with various pore sizes. 2) Degassing of molten metal: improve fundamental understanding and modelling of hydrogen and inclusion removal, remove impurities and inclusion s, 3) Salt: utilize the refining characteristics and properties of salt in a reproducible and efficient manner, improve routines for using salt to clean the metal. The project includes the work packages that are the three main components in QuAlity Alumin ium Cast House ; 1 the input scrap material and supply rate, 2 refining steps and 3 customer specifications. In addition a fourth work packages concerns publications of our reults and generated knowlegde, among students, within the international communi ty and to the customers of the industrial partners.