Bell Bay aluminum smelter
The Bell Bay Aluminum Smelter ( Bell Bay aluminum ) is located at the mouth of the Tamar River , 5 km from Georgetown and 45 kilometers from Launceton in Tasmania , Australia , removed. This aluminum smelter is wholly owned by Rio Tinto Alcan , a subsidiary of the global mining company Rio Tinto .
In 2009, the Bell Bay aluminum smelter employed 560 people. In 2010, 177,239 tons of aluminum were produced. The Bell Bay aluminum smelter was the first aluminum smelter to be built in the southern hemisphere. It was founded in 1955 as a joint venture between the Australian and Tasmanian governments. In the first year 1,200 tons of aluminum were produced. In 1960 Comalco Industries Pty Limited took over this aluminum smelter, later the Rio Tonto Alcan . This large industrial plant was of great economic importance for the development of northern Tasmania.
Aluminum smelters are large-scale industrial plants that use smelting electrolysis to produce aluminum from aluminum oxide using a lot of energy . In the Hall-Héroult process , pure aluminum is obtained from aluminum oxide using fused- salt electrolysis. Here, aluminum with a melting temperature of 2045 ° C is mixed with cryolite in order to lower the melting temperature. In this process, the melting temperature can be lowered to 950 ° C, which enables electrolysis. This aluminum smelter, like all such smelters, is in operation 365 days and cannot be switched off.
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Individual evidence
- ↑ riotintoalcan.com : Bell Bay , called in English, 12 April 2012
Coordinates: 41 ° 7 ′ 26.8 ″ S , 146 ° 50 ′ 52.1 ″ E