Outotec to deliver a filtration plant for Alunorte's alumina refinery in Brazil

Outotec has agreed with Alumina do Norte do Brasil S.A. (Alunorte) on the delivery of a complete filtration plant for Alunorte's new red mud dry storage process at their alumina refinery in Brazil. Approximately EUR 50 million will be booked into Outotec's 2014 second quarter order intake.

Outotec's turnkey delivery includes eight Outotec Larox® FFP3512 fast opening filter presses and auxiliaries. The start-up of the new filtration plant is scheduled for March 2016.

Located in Barcarena, State of Pará in Northern Brazil, Alunorte's alumina refinery is the largest in the world and in its majority owned by Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro ASA. The red mud dry storage solution based on Outotec's filter plant concept is environmentally the most sustainable and safe solution for red mud disposal. Red mud is caustic residual material from the bauxite refining process to produce alumina. Additional benefits will be achieved by a reduced footprint of the storage area, resulting in a longer lifetime of the disposal area, as well as by maximized water and caustic recovery for reuse in refining process.

"We are very excited about this project with our long-term partner Alunorte. By combining in-depth bauxite refining process know-how, state-of-the-art proprietary equipment and proven turnkey implementation capabilities, we deliver a complete solution for one of the most critical areas in alumina refineries. Since red mud disposal is a major challenge in bauxite refining, we are confident that the dry disposal process with our novel filtration plant concept will be an attractive solution also for other alumina refineries. This solution will lower operational cost and improve environmental sustainability of the operations", notes Kimmo Kontola, head of Outotec'sAmericas region.