European Aluminium’s new report fortifies CO2 reduction benefit of aluminium recycling

The voice of the European aluminium industry, European Aluminium which is encompassing primary aluminium producers, downstream manufacturers and producers of recycled aluminium has come up with a new report that reveals the European aluminium refining industry is a magnificent example of a modern circular economy business model accredited to its ability to recycle aluminium from multiple scrap streams efficiently. The report further focuses on substantial enhancement in the sector’s carbon emission performance.

On 16^th November, the European Aluminium launched a dedicated study on the environmental performance of aluminium refining processes used to produce cast alloy aluminium ingots from aluminium scrap complementing its 2018 Environmental Profile Report.  The report delivers accurate and reliable performance and Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data, the latter essential for calculating the environmental impact of products using aluminium based on European Aluminium members’ data.

The principal outcome of the report:

• The GHG emissions of the refining process reduced by 14% between 2010 and 2018
• When comprising the benefits related to the recovery of the aluminium oxide from the salt slag recycling process, the environmental impacts of the refining process can be further decreased by 11%.
• The aluminium refining process allows for the recovery and generation of three value-added products, including recycled aluminium, fluxing salt and aluminium oxide from what is generally considered waste. These raw materials recovered from the refining process are used by various industries, including the aluminium, ceramic and cement industries as well as refractories.

The Director-General of European Aluminium, Gerd Götz while commenting on the report said: “The findings of our new report highlight the importance of boosting aluminium recycling in Europe. Every year, around 1 million tonnes of aluminium scrap are exported outside the EU, which is a huge loss to a European circular economy. We call on the EU to incentivise investments across the full recycling value chain and strengthen the legislative framework pertaining to waste shipment.”

The European Aluminium promotes lifecycle thinking and has been monitoring the industry’s environmental performance for more than 25 years as a part of its commitment to the circular economy. However, advancement is monitored through regular data collection and public reporting.