Facility to recover aluminium metal from waste — By A Staff Reporter — MUSCAT — A Bahraini firm has won a contract to construct a dross processing facility downstream of the massive aluminium plant being set up by Oman Aluminium Rolling Mills (OARM) at Sohar, a local newspaper reported at the weekend. Taha International Corporation (TIC) will invest in a new system to recover aluminium metal from dross, which is a by-product of aluminium smelting and re-melting. Dross is typically recycled using salts and flux to recover available metal, and the residue is dumped in landfills — a practice frowned upon worldwide for environmental reasons.
However, Taha's proprietary processing uses no such salts or flux. Instead, the residual dross is refined into non-toxic oxides suitable for numerous downstream applications, including agricultural fertilisers. "OARC's plant will begin commercial production in August 2013 and represents a significant milestone in Oman's downstream aluminium development," the paper quoted OARC chief executive Buddy Stemple as saying. "We're pleased that Taha will provide us with a dross processing system that fits extremely well with OARC's sustainability goals," Stemple added.
"OARC's contract award is another important stepping stone for Taha's cost-effective and environmentally-friendly processing," said Taha managing director Frank Pollmann. "What began here in Bahrain just a few years ago is gaining traction within the global aluminium industry. Taha's superior metal recovery along with our commitment to a Zero Waste Solution is a win-win for aluminium cast houses and the environment. It makes this Bahrain-bred technology a noteworthy addition in doing what's right for the next generation and beyond," he added.
OARM, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of majority government-owned Takamul Investment Company, is building a 140,000 — 160,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) capacity aluminium rolling mill adjoining the world-scale smelter of Sohar Aluminium. Molten metal from the smelter will be cast into aluminium foil for the packaging and food preservation foil markets, while finstock will be produced for the automotive heat exchanger and air conditioning sectors. OARM’s products are primarily destined for the Middle East and European markets. The plant is slated to commence operations in Q3 2013.
