EDITOR ’ S CHOICE
COMMITMENT TO MEETING LOW- CARBON ALUMINIUM DEMANDS
BY WOJCIECH BROŻYNA - MD ALUPROF UK
What exactly is ‘ Sustainability ’? Possibly the most quoted explanation comes from the United Nations ‘ Brundtland Report ’ produced in 1987 which states that the definition of sustainability is “ meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ”. To better understand how we can bring about sustainability , a popular view of sustainable development can be referred to as the ‘ Three Pillars of Sustainability ’. Here , Sustainability rests on the three pillars of , Environmental , Social and Economic development , that all work together to achieve the sustainability goal . Whilst this view of sustainability is a global one , one that countries are encouraged to follow and develop for the future of our planet , how are we translating sustainability into construction today and in particular aluminium facades ?
Aluminium , since its commercial debut in the 1880s , has shaped our world in so many ways , in fact , if the metal did not exist , much of what we take for granted today , would never have been made possible . Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the Earth ’ s crust , making up 8 % of the total , with the majority of this ore , bauxite , which lies very close to the surface . Once dubbed ‘ the wonder metal ’ for its light weight and high strength , its discovery continues to push the boundaries of innovation today .
Aluminium has always been viewed in simple terms as ‘ sustainable ’ as it is infinitely recyclable with no loss of characteristics . Using just 5 % of the original energy to produce aluminium , recycling is well established , so much so , 75 % off all aluminium ever produced is still in active use today . With ‘ clean ’ scrap value almost that of new prime aluminium , the industry cannot get hold of enough scrap aluminium to meet the current demand for recycled content . With an estimated total discovered and undiscovered bauxite resources across the globe to be in the region of 55 billion to 75 billion tonnes we will not run out of new , prime aluminium anytime soon .
aluminium produced when energy from fossil fuels is used to produce new prime aluminium from bauxite . So aluminium smelters have traditionally been located next to renewable energy resources , such as hydro power for decades in order to use cheap renewable energy sources . Now the industry is turning to hydrogen power to further reduce embodied carbon .
Aluprof are proud to be leading this lowcarbon revolution , using a greater mix of recycled content to prime in aluminium can reduce embodied carbon to a very low parameter of just 2.79 tCO2e ( Tonnes of CO2 equivalent ) per tonne of aluminium . These lowcarbon billets are manufactured at the group ’ s lowcarbon Kęty line at the factory in the southern Polish town of Kęty . These low levels of emissions have been achieved thanks to the use of the company ’ s cuttingedge plant for the manufacturing process and utilising a high content of secondary raw materials in the form of recycled aluminium scrap at an average level of 65 %. Whilst to some this may seem to still be a high carbon price to pay , consider the carbon savings using a product containing aluminium during its long life span , compared to alternative materials which can create more carbon in use during their lifetime .
Architects understandably want to specify lowcarbon aluminium for future projects but with global aluminium recycling running at about 33 % of all aluminium output , to source 65 % scrap for specific projects will often mean extended lead times should be catered for . The Aluprof UK field team are always on hand to advise specifiers on what can be achieved
So where is the downside ? Like all metals , aluminium carries high embodied energy , described today as embodied carbon . This has been historically quoted as high as 20 tonnes of carbon for every tonne of
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