Industry titans unlocking revolutionary technologies to recycle aluminium dross into a strategic resource

The aluminium industry is on a determined mission to build a truly closed-loop supply chain, and the spotlight is firmly on aluminium dross. Around the globe, smelters are ramping up efforts to minimise waste and supercharge recycling, driven by ambitious sustainability goals. Thanks to cutting-edge advances in dross processing technology over the past few years, companies are making remarkable strides.

The impact - Of the total aluminium dross generated in 2024, an estimated 60-70 per cent was recovered and processed in various in-house facilities of aluminium producers as well as at third-party recycling facilities. Not only this, top region wise also the aluminium recovery rate from dross has shown significant results. Like –

• China generated over 2 million tonnes of dross, of which 70-75 per cent made it to recovery facilities, yielding considerable aluminium metal recovery.
• It is estimated that Europe generated more than 400,000 tonnes of dross, of which 80-85 per cent were collected and processed, and a huge amount of metal was recovered.
• North America generated approximately more than 450,000 - 500,000 tonnes of aluminium dross, of which about 75-80 per cent were collected and sent for further processing to extract valuable aluminium.

Want to know the amount recovered, click here to read.

The question now is how far this momentum can carry us toward a zero-waste aluminium future. The progress so far suggests the industry is well on its way. Billion-dollar transactions in the aluminium sector resulted from this recovery effort, demonstrating the value of modern dross processing technologies. 

Below is a list of such cutting-edge technologies in dross processing taken up by companies –

Rethinking dross not as waste, but as a resource - Alcoa

In the aluminium world, where every gram counts and every process has environmental consequences, Alcoa is rewriting the rules with its bold Dross-to-Pot initiative, a game-changing leap toward full-circle sustainability. Dross, the often-overlooked by-product of aluminium smelting, is typically rich in aluminium oxide and trace metal materials too valuable to waste.

In 2023, this initiative gained strong momentum. At Baie-Comeau, alloyed dross recycling was successfully stabilised, while Alumar fully implemented pure dross recycling. Meanwhile, dross from Deschambault, Portland, and most of Fjardaal is no longer heading to landfills, with only minimal volumes awaiting further process optimisation. The company has also started trial operations at Bécancour, the next potential hub for this sustainable practice.