The lower the aluminium content of the dross, the greater the aluminium recovery benefit RAME can achieve

In a recent conversation with AL Circle, Eric Lefebvre, Vice President of Business Development at Lefebvre Industri-AL, discussed the company’s approach to recovering and recycling aluminium residues and its role in advancing the circular economy. Based in Quebec, Lefebvre Industri-AL develops solutions, including RAME technology, that transform aluminium residues into reusable resources while helping producers reduce their environmental footprint and improve operational efficiency.

With extensive experience in the industrial sector, Lefebvre works with aluminium producers, technology partners and other industry stakeholders to develop strategic partnerships and expand markets. His approach focuses on turning the industry’s environmental challenges into economically viable opportunities while supporting more efficient and sustainable aluminium production.

AL Circle: As aluminium producers aim to reduce the carbon footprint of dross treatment, how much GHG emissions do RAME avoid annually compared with a conventional rotary-furnace and salt-flux route processing the same volume of dross? 

Eric Lefebvre: RAME technology uses electrical energy for the entire process, which makes the RAME process GHG free in terms of direct emissions.  Processing 1 tonne of aluminium dross through rotary-furnace and salt-flux generates direct emissions of 0.155 tonnes CO₂e and a further 0.075 tonnes CO₂e from electrical emissions, totalling 0.255 tonnes CO₂e per 1 tonne of dross processed.

An additional and significant carbon footprint reduction is through RAME’s improved aluminium recovery.  RAME is proven to increase aluminium recovery from dross by at least 10 wt per cent compared with Tilt Rotary Furnace with salt flux technology.  This means for every tonne of aluminium dross processed, an extra 10kg of aluminium is recovered and does not need to be regenerated through electrolysis again.  Depending on the electrical energy source, this equates to savings of 0.4 – 1.3 tonnes CO₂e per 1 tonne of dross processed, an enormous carbon footprint saving.

Further GHG emission reductions are also realised through reduced transportation of dross to existing third party processors, some of which are hundreds of kilometres away.

To summarise, RAME is a proven technological process which reduces the carbon footprint of processing dross by 0.634 to 1.534 tonnes of CO₂e per 1 tonne of dross processed.

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AL Circle: RAME is described as a “100 per cent circular” process, but circularity can refer either to the total material processed or to the recoverable fraction. In RAME’s case, what exactly does “100 per cent circular” mean? What percentage by weight is returned to Alcoa Baie-Comeau’s and Alouette’s primary production lines, and what material, if any, remains outside the loop? 

Eric Lefebvre: RAME is truly a 100 per cent circular process because every tonne of residue entering the facility is converted into products that are returned directly to the primary aluminium value chain.

After processing through RAME, the residues are separated into two streams: recovered aluminium and LIA-Prime. This means no material is sent to landfill and no secondary waste stream is created.

Since RAME began operations in Canada, 100 per cent of the residues processed have been returned to the participating smelters and reintegrated into their production processes. The recovered aluminium is returned as metal value, while LIA-Prime is reused within the smelter ecosystem, ensuring that the entire input stream remains within the aluminium production loop.

What makes RAME unique is that the process does not use salt fluxes or other contaminating agents during treatment and remelting. As a result, the recovered aluminium retains its original chemical composition and metal value. Unlike conventional recycling routes where alloying elements can be diluted or downgraded, RAME produces aluminium that is very high quality either as 1xxx pure aluminium or in the alloys that they produce.

In practical terms, RAME's definition of "100 per cent circular" means that 100 per cent of the material processed is recovered and reused within the primary aluminium industry, with no residual material left outside the loop.

AL Circle: Much of the projected increase in global dross generation is expected to come from secondary aluminium and scrap-based production, where dross can be more contaminated and contain less metallic aluminium. How technically and economically suited is RAME to this type of dross, compared with dross generated by primary smelters?

Eric Lefebvre: Since the beginning of our operations, RAME has processed far more than just dross. Our technology has been successfully applied to a wide range of aluminium-bearing residues generated throughout the primary aluminium production process, including foundry dross, carousel skimmings, electrolysis pigs, pot bottom pads, cuts/shavings, crucible cleanings, rolling mill rejects, transformer residues, and many other by-products.

One of RAME's key advantages is that it uses a modified electric heating process rather than combustion-based technologies to minimise oxidative environments. Conventional recycling routes such as rotary salt furnaces, gas-fired furnaces, torches, or electric arc technologies typically incur significant oxidation and metal losses during processing. By avoiding this RAME consistently achieves aluminium recovery rates that are typically 10 per cent to 15 per cent higher than traditional rotary furnace salt-flux processes across a wide range of scrap types.

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The same technical advantages apply to residues generated by the secondary aluminium industry. While secondary dross can contain lower metallic aluminium content and a more complex mix of contaminants, RAME has demonstrated improved recovery performance because the process is designed to selectively recover metal while minimising additional oxidation losses.  As a rule of thumb, the lower the aluminium content of the dross, the greater the aluminium recovery benefit RAME can achieve.

Importantly, the secondary aluminium market is evolving rapidly. Significant advances in scrap sorting technologies, including sensor-based and automated sorting systems, are enabling recyclers to produce increasingly well-defined, higher-value scrap streams. In this environment, RAME is particularly well positioned because its higher recovery efficiency helps maximize value from these upgraded feedstocks. Rather than relying on dilution and high-volume processing, RAME is designed to capture the highest possible metal value from carefully sorted materials.

By contrast, traditional rotary furnace (TRF) operations are often best suited to very large-volume blended feedstocks, where throughput is prioritized over maximising recovery from individual residue streams. As the industry continues moving toward higher-quality scrap segregation and circularity, we believe technologies that preserve metal value and maximize recovery will become increasingly important.

In parallel, Lefebvre Industri-AL has developed a proprietary approach that enables the LIA-Prime fraction generated from secondary-industry residues to be fully reused, avoiding landfill disposal. Industrial trials are currently underway, and we are targeting commercial implementation before the end of the year.

Our objective is the same for both primary and secondary aluminium markets: maximize aluminium recovery, eliminate landfill dependency and drive toward sustainable melting practices.

AL Circle: RAME has been operating since 2020, giving the technology several years of commercial operating experience. What is the total volume of aluminium dross processed by RAME since operations began? 

Eric Lefebvre: Since commencing commercial operations in 2020, RAME has processed approximately 50,000 tonnes of aluminium residues, including dross and other aluminium-bearing by-products from several primary aluminium smelters.

This operating experience has provided several years of continuous industrial validation, demonstrating the reliability, scalability, and performance of the technology under real-world production conditions. The volume processed to date has enabled RAME to consistently prove its ability to maximise aluminium recovery, treated through a fully circular approach, with 100 per cent of the processed material being reintegrated into the aluminium production.

AL Circle: Global aluminium dross generation is estimated at 5.86 million tonnes in 2025 and is projected to reach around 7.24 million tonnes by 2032. Against this growing market, what does Lefebvre Industri-AL see as RAME’s realistic addressable share by 2032? 

Eric Lefebvre: The global aluminium industry represents a significant growth opportunity for RAME, and Lefebvre Industri-AL has positioned itself to capture this opportunity through its strategic partnership with Altek, one of the aluminium industry's most established technology and solution providers, with a presence across virtually every major aluminium-producing region in the world.

The licence agreement with Altek combines Lefebvre Industri-AL's proven RAME technology with Altek's global market reach, customer relationships, and project execution capabilities. Together, this partnership enables us to respond to the needs of primary aluminium producers on a global scale and accelerate the deployment of sustainable residue treatment solutions.

While the total addressable market for aluminium dross and residues is measured in millions of tonnes annually, our focus is on disciplined and sustainable growth. By 2032, we are targeting the deployment of approximately 15 RAME plants worldwide, serving major primary aluminium-producing regions.

At this scale, we expect to process approximately 225,000 tonnes of aluminium residues per year, creating a substantial global network of circular recovery facilities.

Our ambition is not simply to increase processing capacity, but to establish RAME as the reference technology for circular aluminium residue management, enabling smelters around the world to recover more value from their residues while significantly improving their environmental performance.

AL Circle: China is estimated to account for roughly 47 per cent of global aluminium dross generation across primary, secondary and downstream sources. Given the scale of the Chinese market, has Lefebvre Industri-AL had any commercial discussions, partnership enquiries or licensing interest from Chinese aluminium producers or equipment manufacturers?

Eric Lefebvre: China is undoubtedly an important market given its scale and significance within the global aluminium industry. However, at this stage of commercialisation, Lefebvre nor Altek have engaged in commercial discussions with Chinese aluminium producers or equipment manufacturers.

Our current focus is on successfully deploying RAME through our partnership with Altek, supporting primary aluminium producers in our target markets and demonstrating the value of the technology through continued commercial growth.

That said, we recognize the strategic importance of China and remain open to exploring opportunities in the future with organisations that share our commitment to maximizing resource recovery, advancing circularity, and improving the sustainability of aluminium production.

AL Circle: Energy consumption is a key consideration when comparing dross-treatment technologies, particularly when assessing their overall environmental benefits. What is RAME’s energy consumption per tonne of dross processed, what are the main energy sources, and what is the associated carbon intensity? 

Eric Lefebvre: Energy consumption and carbon intensity must be evaluated in the context of both the electricity source and the overall aluminium recovery achieved. While RAME is a fully electric process, its environmental benefit extends beyond operational energy consumption alone and must include the significant carbon savings associated with recovering more aluminium.  As mentioned earlier reduced transport emissions and alumina re-use in the electrolysis process further improves the sustainability benefits.

RAME operates using 100 per cent electrical energy. In regions supplied by low-carbon electricity, such as hydroelectric or nuclear-powered grids, the technology offers two important advantages: the elimination of fossil fuels from the dross-treatment process and higher aluminium recovery rates compared with conventional rotary salt furnace (TRF) technologies. In these locations, RAME delivers both operational and lifecycle carbon benefits.

In regions where electricity is primarily generated from natural gas or coal, the direct operating carbon footprint of an electric process is naturally higher. However, this must be weighed against the additional aluminium recovered by RAME. By avoiding the oxidation losses inherent to combustion-based technologies, RAME typically recovers around 10 wt per cent more aluminium from the same dross stream than conventional treatment routes.

For example, in a region supplied predominantly by natural-gas-fired electricity, processing one tonne of dross with RAME may result in an operational carbon footprint of approximately 0.43 tCO₂e, compared with approximately 0.255 tCO₂e for a conventional TRF process.

Viewed in isolation, the TRF appears to have a lower operating footprint. However, RAME's higher recovery rate typically preserves an additional 10 wt per cent of aluminium that would otherwise be lost. In the same natural-gas-powered region, producing this amount of replacement primary aluminium would generate approximately 1.1 to 1.2 tCO₂e.

As a result, the carbon emissions avoided through the additional aluminium recovery more than offset the difference in processing emissions. When the full system impact is considered, RAME delivers a net carbon benefit of approximately 0.93 tCO₂e per tonne of dross processed in this scenario.

The key point is that the sustainability of dross treatment should not be assessed solely on the energy consumed during processing, but on the overall carbon balance of the system. By maximising aluminium recovery and reducing the need for new primary metal production, RAME delivers significant lifecycle CO₂ reductions, even in regions with higher-carbon electricity grids. In low-carbon electricity markets, the environmental advantage is even greater, combining near-zero operational emissions with industry-leading metal recovery rates. 

There are significant drives and initiatives globally to decarbonise the aluminium industry, RAME is already in place to capitalise on this now and in the future.

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AL Circle: While RAME aims to close the material loop, dross-processing technologies can still generate residual materials. Does RAME produce any material that is not returned to the smelter? If so, what is it, how much is generated per tonne of dross processed, and how is it currently managed or utilised?  RAME does not produce any residues. 

Eric Lefebvre: Everything we process is going back to the primary smelter under two streams.  Primary aluminium reinsert at casting and LIA-Prime reinsert in the production line of primary aluminium.

RAME is designed around a zero-waste philosophy. The process does not generate any residual material requiring disposal. Every tonne of material processed is recovered and returned to the aluminium value chain through two distinct streams: recovered aluminium metal and LIA-Prime, the non-metallic fraction.

The recovered aluminium is returned directly to the smelter and reintroduced into the casting process, preserving its original metal value and chemical composition. LIA-Prime is likewise returned into the primary aluminium production process, where it can contribute value within the smelter ecosystem. As a result, since the start of commercial operations, RAME has successfully maintained a fully circular model in which 100 per cent of processed material is reused and no landfill stream is created.

From a sustainability perspective, we believe the most valuable, economical, and environmentally beneficial route is to reinsert the non-metallic fraction back into the aluminium production cycle wherever possible. This keeps materials in their highest-value application and maximizes circularity within the primary aluminium industry.

At the same time, Lefebvre Industri-AL and Altek recognise that customer requirements, operating conditions, and market opportunities can vary from site to site. Altek brings decades of expertise in developing commercial solutions for aluminium oxide-rich residues and has established routes to market across multiple industries. Today, these materials are already being successfully utilized in applications including the cement industry, steelmaking as synthetic fluxes, and the refractory and ceramics sectors.

In addition, Altek is actively engaged in strategic development programmes and partnerships aimed at expanding the range of high-value applications for these materials. This work continues to demonstrate that aluminium oxide-rich fractions can serve as valuable industrial feedstocks rather than waste products.

Therefore, while our preferred approach is to maximise reintegration into primary aluminium production, Altek's global experience ensures that robust zero-waste solutions are available for all RAME outputs. Whether through reuse within the smelter or through established industrial applications, the objective remains the same, every material stream generated by RAME retains value and remains productively employed within the circular economy, with no requirement for landfill disposal.