High on Aluminium

The Machinist
February 2014

The Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company (ABSTC) works closely with the Hindalco Innovation Centre on several fronts such as alumina production, aluminium smelting and downstream processing of aluminium. Not surprisingly, Hindalco aluminium business is today one of the most profitable aluminium businesses globally.

Hindalco Industries Ltd. is a leading global nonferrous metals player, with interests in aluminium and copper. It is one of the largest producers of primary aluminium and copper in Asia. An integrated business model with significant access to captive resources & dominant presence across the aluminium value chain has made Hindalco aluminium business one of the most profitable aluminium businesses globally. While its domestic competitors are more focused on upstream or primary metal capacity expansions, Hindalco has been consciously expanding its Value Added Products (VAP) capacities. Currently, 46 percent of Hindalco's aluminium product portfolio comprises VAPs, i.e. Flat Rolled Products (FRPs) and extrusions.

Within the next two years, Hindalco's primary metal capacity is expected to grow to almost 1.5 million TPA. With captive access to bauxite and energy, Hindalco will further enhance its cost competitiveness. Various market and product development initiatives will catapult Hindalco to a dominant position in India and in the emerging markets, the prominent consumption hubs of the aluminium going forward. Hindalco's new plants boast of the best available technology. The research and development activities are led by the Hindalco Innovation Centre (HIC) along with unit wise R&;D centres and departments, in collaboration with the Aditya Birla Centre for Science &Technology (ABSTC) and external institutes with focus on strengthening long-term competencies through proprietary technology, intellectual property, and development of new products and applications. Hindalco Innovation Centres at Belgaum and Taloja have earned national and international recognition, including the National Award for R&;D efforts and Indian Patents.

Alumina
Alumina is not only an essential input for aluminium but also finds several applications in hosts of industries such as refractory, paints, ceramics, water purifiers to name a few. Hindalco is one of the pioneers in specialty alumina technology that processes hydrates to get alumina with requisite qualities and parameters. With this technology Hindalco today stands amongst top global producers of specialty alumina. Hindalco is in the process of doubling its alumina capacity from 1.5 million tonnes to 3.0 million tonnes over next year through commissioning of a new alumina refinery with world class Alcan technology. With one of the best quality bauxite available and tight supply chain logistics this refinery is expected to be one of the best globally in terms of process efficiencies and cost of production. Hindalco's Belgaum Research centre works extensively on application based research methodologies, with enhancing productivity, reducing energy consumption and managing environmental impact being some of the focus areas. The research strategy involves application of advance science, technology and engineering platforms comprising of fundamental process analysis, computational fluid dynamics, process modelling and simulation, process control, process development and laboratory experiments.

Aluminium smelting
Hindalco is on the verge of enhancing its aluminium capacity by over 100 percent to 1.4 mln tonnes with the commissioning two world class smelter projects. These projects use AP 36 technology; one of the most modern aluminium smelting technologies in the world supplied by Aluminium Pechiney. With these technologies labour intensity will come down by 1 /6th, while power consumption shall decline by over 1000 units/tonne thus improving Hindalco's cost competitiveness further. Hindalco has been at the forefront of productivity optimisation through process innovation and operational excellence. Even before the ongoing commissioning and ramp up of these new plants with most modern technology, Hindalco has sustained its dominant position as most profitable and cost competitive aluminium producer for over 50 years. This reflects the core focus on the process enhancement &productivity improvement through in house efforts initiated and supported by our technological centres.

The research activity focus is on improving productivity by increasing amperage, current efficiency and reducing specific energy consumption of the aluminium smelters. R&;D teams at Hindalco's Renukoot and Hirakud smelters have initiated a number of projects that have helped the company in maintaining its low cost producer position. With expertise in pot design and control, ABSTC is focusing on increasing productivity by advanced modelling and advanced process control, with a long-term focus on building higher amperage pots. In association with the aluminium business, ABSTC is involved in developing new technologies such as drained cathode ells, inert anodes and vertical electrode cells.

Quick facts

• The world's largest aluminium rolling company with foot prints in 11 countries
• One of the most profitable aluminium operations globally
• Biggest producer of primary aluminium in Asia
• Consolidated turnover of US$ 14 billion
• Present across the aluminium value chain - From mines to consumer products
• Market driver for aluminium in India. Well recognised &accepted brands — Freshwrap, Superwrap (foils), Everlast (roofing sheets), Eternia (windows)

Downstream processing
One of the cornerstones of Hindalco's long term strategy has been its focus on downstream products. Customer centricity is the essence of this strategy. The R&;D efforts in this area are focused towards new product introductions in line with customer expectations, improving the quality and life of the existing products through constant research and bringing in developed world products to the emerging market in a calibrated manner through adaptive innovations.

ABSTC is working to develop new metallic and nonmetallic materials that meet higher performance standards and specifications. The team is working on improving understanding of processing-structure property relationships and using this knowledge to develop newer materials. An experimental setup has been developed to replicate some of the common industrial processes at the laboratory scale, in order to study mechanical properties and correlate these to various process parameters. Structural characterisation is undertaken at various scales to get a better understanding of the process and the product, and to identify opportunities for further optimisation.