Aluminum is one of the world’s most widely used and recycled metals. Fossils based carbon anodes are widely used in primary aluminum production. The consumption of carbon anodes is 380-450 kg for the production of 1 ton of aluminum. This means a carbon dioxide emission of 1.4-1.65 tons. In this project, KTH will cooperate with Swedish bio-carbon producer and an aluminum industry to develop processes for high-quality bio-based raw materials used in carbon anode production for the aluminum industry. The overall objective of this project is to develop sustainable and highly efficient processes to upgrade bio-oil and bio-carbon into high-quality carbon anode raw materials. Specifically:
1) To develop a sustainable process for bio-oil upgradation to produce a high-quality binder used for carbon anode production.
2) To develop a sustainable process for bio-carbon upgradation to produce a high-quality dry material used for carbon anode production and as packing material.
3) To document the developed process for scale-up application with details energy and mass balance and toxicity of the process.
Participants
KTH (The Royal Institute of Technology), Envigas AB and Norsk Hydro ASA.
Budget & time plan
The project’s total budget is 8 230 000 SEK and the project runs for 2,5 years – between August 2023 and January 2026.