CARBACEM - Creating valuable secondary resources for cement production from hazardous wastes produced by aluminium production, generating sustainable, resource efficiencies for both.

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This project aims to connect 2 major foundation industries, primary metal (aluminium) and cement production, yielding significant environmental, economic & resource efficiency benefits for both.The primary aluminium industry is large in scale with 65.296 million tonnes produced globally in 2020\. It creates a number of difficult waste streams including Spent Pot Liner (SPL).SPL is designated as hazardous waste in the UK, EU, USA and elsewhere because:* It contains toxic sodium, fluoride and cyanide compounds leachable in water.* It is corrosive - having high pH due to alkali metals and oxides.* It reacts with water - producing flammable, toxic and explosive gases.Around 1.8 million tonnes of SPL were produced in 2020\. SPL waste has few good disposal options which, where available, are expensive.However, SPL contains valuable constituents, such as carbon, aluminium oxides and fluorides which could, with the right treatment, be made safe and become valuable feedstocks for other industries, displacing primary feedstocks, particularly for cement.The global cement industry is even larger, with 3.99B tonnes produced in 2018\. Cement production causes significant adverse environmental impacts, with extensive energy and mineral extraction requirements. It is the second biggest contributor of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The industry recognises this and works hard to reduce its environmental impact.Ultromex a UK company, formed by chemists, chemical engineers and waste experts, have developed a novel set of processes to treat SPL at an economic price point which can facilitate a mutually beneficial symbiosis between aluminium smelting and cement production, using several key Ultromex innovations:1.Unique low energy technology for downsizing SPL to a particle size suitable for chemical treatment.2.Innovative processes generating no gases removing the need for expensive abatement infrastructure during treatment and rendering SPL safe.3.Novel chemical process methods for the selective removal of non-desirable contaminants in SPL, retaining desirable ones according to the needs of the individual cement producerThe project solves a difficult waste problem for the aluminium industry, keeps hazardous waste out of landfill while providing a large supply of secondary resources for cement production including carbon, alumina & silicates and mineralising agents, reducing its environmental footprint.The project has the potential significant positive impacts for the economics & resource efficiencies of both industries, with massive environmental & sustainability benefits for society.