Alumina and Bauxite: Process Optimization and Bauxite Enrichment
Sponsored by: TMS Light Metals Division, TMS: Aluminum Committee
Program Organizers: Anne Duncan, Hatch

Monday 2:00 PM
March 15, 2021
Room: RM 29
Location: TMS2021 Virtual


2:00 PM  
Introductory Comments: Alumina and Bauxite: Anne Duncan1; 1Hatch
    Introductory Comments

2:05 PM  Invited
Implementation of Digital Technologies in Alumina Refining: A Producer Experience: Vladimir Golubev1; Dmitry Mayorov1; Dmitry Chistyakov1; Evgeniy Fomichev1; Ilya Blednykh1; Andrey Panov1; 1RUSAL Engineering and Technological Center
    Nowadays digital technologies have become a byword for development. UC RUSAL effectively uses digital technologies in all fields of its activities including alumina refineries. For this purpose the Company has developed and successfully uses digital twins of all refineries; moreover it is implementing MES systems and developing new algorithms for enhancing precipitation control. UC RUSAL’s leading division in digital transformation of alumina production - RUSAL Engineering and Technology Center (RUSAL ETC) - established a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) center in Saint Petersburg with unique laboratory units installed to carry out physical simulations and to promote the Company’s expertise in fluid dynamics. RUSAL ETC developed comprehensive methods to calculate the properties of thickeners and washers, agitating devices for liquors and slurries, carbonization units, heat exchangers, burners and to perform rheology measurements. The CFD center develops solutions to improve the effectiveness of the equipment at RUSAL’s alumina refineries and performs engineering analysis of the equipment offered by the suppliers and manufacturers to select the best engineering solutions.

2:40 PM  
The Application of Intelligent Control to Red Mud Settling and Washing in Alumina Refinery: Yuehua Jiang1; Jinlong Tian; Zhengyong Zhang1; 1Shenyang Aluminium and Magnesium Engineering and Research Institute Co., Ltd
    Efficient operation of the red mud settling and washing system is a key operational goal for an alumina refinery. The concentration of soda in thickener underflow and the dosage of flocculant have great influence on the production cost of alumina. SAMI has developed an intelligent control system for red mud settling and washing, which can monitor the data of thickener online in real time. Through data mining, optimization of control strategy and other methods to realize automatic intelligent control. The intelligent control system has been put into operation for 2 years in an alumina refinery in China. The results show that the concentration of discharged soda is reduced by 25%, the consumption of flocculant is reduced by 15%, and the economic benefit is remarkable.

3:00 PM  
Alumina Refinery Volume Control: Thiago Franco1; 1CBA
    Plant volume control is a challenge for all alumina refineries because it involves complex mass and energy balances with numerous variables and conflicting goals. For instance, maximizing tank levels means increased production, but tank overflows mean safety risks and unnecessary cleaning expenses, increased water in red mud filtration means better caustic recovery, but higher costs in water evaporation. Bayer process refineries have large number of equipment and tanks in which caustic liquor flows and many parameters vary dynamically. Therefore, it is necessary to have well-established control limits, plant volume parameters and targets to allow daily routines of caustic cleaning and maintenance. This paper presents the development in CBA's alumina refinery, regarding the tools to support teams to make important decisions in volume control and management system created to support weekly and annual planning.