Industries of the Future - West Virginia

Industry Sectors

Aluminum

The production of aluminum is one of the most energy intensive processes in common practice and is famous as a major consumer of electricity. Twenty-five percent of the cost of making aluminum from bauxite is for electricity. However huge amounts of natural gas are also consumed in producing the carbon anodes and in forming the aluminum into ingots, plates and sheets after it is smelted. IOF-WV has worked closely with West Virginia's aluminum companies to develop strategies to reduce the cost of both electricity and natural gas. For example, one IOF-WV project with Century Aluminum focused on the development of sensors and controls for the smelting operation to reduce electrical energy consumption in this expensive process. In another project, IOF-WV researchers, through a plant-wide assessment, identified numerous opportunities to save natural gas and electricity in the forming and heat treating processes at Pechiney Aluminum (now Alcan). Future goals for the IOF team are to work with aluminum companies to find new ways to:

  • Reduce the consumption of natural gas in the anode production process
  • Reduce the cost and consumption of electricity in aluminum production
  • Improve instrumentation and control of aluminum pot lines
  • Reduce the cost of ancillary operations in aluminum production, such as anode production and dust handling
  • Improve instrumentation and control of ingot reheating and coil annealing operations in the rolling mill
  • Improve the yield of melting, casting and rolling operations

Links to Participating Companies

Projects:

WVU Contact:

  • Larry Banta
    West Virginia University
    Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
    (304) 293-3111 ext. 2334
    Larry.Banta@mail.wvu.edu
  • Ed Crowe
    WVU National Research Center for Coal & Energy
    (304) 293-2867 ext. 5435
    Ed.Crowe@mail.wvu.edu

Industry Contact: