BRAZILIAN ALUMINUM - solutions for sustainable living

BRAZILIAN ALUMINUM SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING 47 THE INDUSTRY’S ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE The environmental aspects in the survey refer to the most substantial ones to our industry, for they comprise the use of natural resources and the emissions in need of environmental management. The reported data solely refer to that given step and cannot be compared with data deriving from life cycle studies. They are: 1. Disturbed and rehabilitated bauxite mining areas, shown in hectares (ha) 2. Total energy consumption and type in Giga Joule (GJ) 3. Greenhouse gas emissions in tons of equivalent CO 2 (ton CO 2 e) 4. Use of water, in thousand cubic meters (a thousand m³) 5. Waste generation and disposal in tons (ton) In short, the productive stages in the survey included: Bauxite mining: in this first step of the aluminum production process, a thorough and environmentally-planned removal of vegetation and organic soil is carried out. The ore is then removed and processed for use in refineries. Alumina refineries: in this step, known as Bayer process, the alumina, a high-purity aluminum oxide, is obtained by processing the ore, both chemically and physically. Primaryaluminumproduction (includesanodemanufacturing): processing alumina into aluminum is made at high-temperature electrolytic pots, a process patented in 1886 by Hall-Heroult. The aluminum in metal form is conveyed to furnaces for manufacturing ingots, slabs and billets, which are then processed into finished products. Aluminum processing: this stage comprises data from the flat-rolled (e.g. plates and sheets) and extruded processes, wires and cables. Secondary aluminum production: this phase includes data from the remelting and recycling processes. The companies having more than one productive phase reported their data, then showing each single phase. In order to be as representative as possible, the survey was based on the volume produced at each stage of production in year 2015. So, as an average it attained 95%, against a result of 100% for refineries and primary aluminum production. 5.1 - Disturbed and rehabilitated areas in bauxite mining Balance between disturbed and rehabilitated areas - 2015 ha 1 Total disturbed and not rehabilitated area: accumulated result for up until the previous year. It covers mining areas, office and operating infrastructure and support facilities. 9,036 2 Area disturbed throughout the year 941 3 Area rehabilitated throughout the year 940 4 Total disturbed and not rehabilitated area – balance (1 + 2 – 3) 9,036 Source: The sector’s companies