“Economic disruptions caused by the pandemic have been felt by all. Continued production of low carbon aluminium can alleviate disruptions in downstream markets through security of supply, especially as the material can be applied to key industry sectors including transportation, construction, packaging, renewable energy technology and more”, James Herbert, Global Sales Director, ALTEK

James Herbert, the Global Sales Director of ALTEK, is a Chartered Professional Engineer who has been involved in the aluminium industry for over 20 years. He has worked for companies on the equipment supply side as well as in a production environment and has expertise in various fields of the aluminium industry including scrap decoating, metal circulation and dross handling and recycling. James has authored and co-authored numerous technical papers on the above subjects and holds several patents associated with technologies for handling and managing aluminium dross.

AlCircle: Could you please explain ALTEK’s journey in regard to technology for the low carbon aluminium production?

Mr James Herbert: Since we were acquired by Harsco Environmental (a global market-leading provider of environmental solutions for industrial and specialty waste streams) in 2018, ALTEK has been hard at work perfecting our technology and processes to provide the best possible solutions for our customers in the aluminium industry.

ALTEK is not a business that sits still, especially when it comes to innovation. We have a long history of developing the best available technologies for managing aluminium dross and slags.  Technologies such as our Tardis Generation II have allowed the industry to maximize the metallic recovery and value of their dross in an environmentally friendly manner. ALTEK is now the first and only commercially viable and scalable end-to-end environmental solutions provider to handle every step of aluminium dross processing for the global aluminium industry. We are also the first provider to effectively commercialize a viable and fully scalable in-house salt slag recycling solution.

Using ALTEK technologies to manage and process dross not only increases metal recoveries but when combined with our AluSalt Technology, there is no need to ship waste or utilize a landfill. These are all elements of carbon footprint reduction. If you bring everything on-site with a contained in-house solution, the need for externally sourced materials is greatly reduced. ALTEK’s technology brings all of this to the fold.

AlCircle: Do you think low carbon aluminium can help the world recover from the current economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Mr James Herbert: Economic disruptions caused by the pandemic have been felt by all.  Continued production of low carbon aluminium can alleviate disruptions in downstream markets through the security of supply, especially as the material can be applied to key industry sectors including transportation, construction, packaging, renewable energy technology and more.

The pandemic has helped organizations take more control over their own destinies, becoming less reliant on external operations, making them more resilient in the face of future economic disruptions. For example, a secondary dross processor or salt slag processor is a critical part of the aluminium production chain.  If such an operation was to shut down, depending on the geographic location, it can have a huge impact as they may not have an alternate outlet to process their materials, or if they do, the economics may not be attractive. ALTEK technologies allow aluminium producers to manage their own dross and slag and become self-reliant.

AlCircle: What role does ALTEK play in the production of low carbon aluminium?

Mr James Herbert: The aluminium production process has changed very little over time, and technology is available to us today that can transform our industry. The recent AlCircle report, Aluminium Dross Processing: A Global Review, estimated that as much as 50% of the three million tonnes of aluminium dross generated globally each year is still disposed of in landfills.  This is an alarming number and a huge opportunity for the industry to act and prevent so many valuable metal units being lost forever from the value chain.

Considering that recycling and producing secondary aluminium only takes 5% of the initial energy used to produce primary aluminium, ALTEK’s focus is to recover as much of the metal units as possible from the dross and returning them back to the aluminium producer. 

ALTEK is providing modern solutions to old age problems, which drastically reduce landfill, atmospheric pollution and is helping to drive the aluminium industry to be a zero-waste industry through sustainable methods of aluminium production.

AlCircle: Why are environmentally safe solutions for residual waste materials important to the aluminium industry?

Mr James Herbert: The cost-efficient recovery of metal and other valuable materials – and environmentally safe solutions for residual waste materials – is increasingly important to the aluminium industry. As the demand for aluminium continues to grow and the climate continues to be impacted by human activity, the aluminium industry has a critical role to play in both reducing waste generation and managing and extracting value from waste streams.

AlCircle: How is ALTEK uniquely equipped to meet the technological advancements and environmental needs of the future?

Mr James Herbert: It is an exciting time to be in the aluminium industry. Demand for aluminium is continuously increasing, creating new challenges for producers.  As suppliers of process equipment, innovation will be critical to meet the ever-stringent safety, environmental, process and quality requirements expected from our customers.  The industry is considering new manufacturing philosophies, such as Industry 4.0, which have the strong potential to change the way cast houses will be designed in the future and aluminium is produced. 

We believe that every casthouse is an opportunity for innovation, and we deliver end-to-end solutions that improve casthouse operations. The result is the best range of technology available to reduce dross generation, maximize aluminium dross recovery, improve efficiencies, and provide significant environmental and financial benefits. As we hold a deep understanding of the entire process, we are uniquely positioned to develop customized solutions to our customers’ challenges.