ICSOBA 2024 conference has come to an end; the event bought together key industry players and technical experts to discuss aluminium.
Taking place in Lyon, France, ICSOBA hosted over 500 attendees.
Opening the event, Frank Feret, Chairman, ICSOBA set the scene by encouraging attendees to gain connections and “learn something new.” Claude Vanvoren, CEO, ICSOBA added “we come together not only as competitors, but as industry specialists who are sharing their knowledge.” The event highlighted the importance of collaboration as it was a theme that remained intertwined throughout the presentations.
“We heard about the importance of innovation through collaboration; this is what we will be discussing in this presentation” – Philippe Gauthier, Senior Advisors, Casthouse Refractories, Rio Tinto.
The three-day conference ensured that key topics were given a platform, sectioning presentations into the categories: Electrolysis, Electrodes, Alumina, Casthouse, Bauxite, and Bauxite Residue. With these categories, attendees were able to sit in on technical sessions discussing the developments and challenges faced throughout the aluminium process.
The unpleasant challenges experienced by the industry are often hidden away from public view.
But have we not seen, through history, that challenges also bring us to innovation?
Jennifer Peten, Reduction Process technician, BC Works, Rio Tinto discussed how they managed the unpleasant situation of a disrupted alumina supply, which interrupt their Kitimat smelter. In her presentation ‘Successful 72-hour Sleeping Mode Operation on AP40 Posts in Kitimat Smelter -A Case Study’, she took the audience to November 2022, where the team successfully prevented pot loss by employing the “sleeping mode” method.
“I have to say I’ve never heard of sleeping mode”, noted the chairs to the session, Stephen Broek, President, Kensington Technology and Vinko Potocnik, Vinko Potocnik Consultant Inc. A position shared by many, if not all in the audience.
Also coming forward with an experience of an unpleasant challenge was Subah Al-Shammari, Director, Production Engineering and Quality, Ma’aden Aluminium Smelter. In his presentation ‘Ma’aden Reduction Potlines Partial Failure Incident and Recovery’ , he discussed how Ma’aden was presented with an avoidable situation, but dealt with it in a way which resulted in a positive outcome. With 304 pots cut out due to a series of anode collapses and anode gall-offs, in addition to other operational challenges, Ma’aden were able restore the afflicted pots, and do so without a power shot down.
Speaking with Subah later during the conference, he commented on the importance of sharing these unpleasant experiences with others in the industry to educate and learn from one another and prevent these situations from happening across the industry as a whole.
In these circumstances, safety is essential. But this is also the case for every day in heavy industry. Safety was also a key topic throughout the conference. Alex Lowery, General Manager, Wise Chem LLC, presented a harsh update on the reality of industry and the dangers. In his presentation, ‘Preventing Molten Metal Explosions in Smelters’ he discussed the most common causes for explosions, their threat to life, and the importance of safety education.
“Lack of education and awareness is often a cause of safety issues” – Alex Lowery, General Manager, Wise Chem LLC
The importance of safety was also noted by Tim Murray who discussed “the psychology” of safety, and how he worked with Aluminium Bahrain, whilst CEO, to change the mindset of employees so that safety becomes a way of life, rather than a tick box exercise.
One interesting comment made Alex Lowery was that by adding scrap into our production of aluminium, we run the risk of increasing molten explosions, due to the unknowns in scrap material. That being said, scrap has a huge role in the success of decarbonising aluminium and cannot be ignored.
But scrap is just one of many examples of circularity for the industry. Bauxite presents the opportunity for a second life in roads. Stephen Beailieu, Process and Efficiency Coordinator, Aughinish Alumina presented on ‘Field Evaluation of a New Road Sub-Base Concept Including Bauxite Residue and Other Industrial By-Products’.
In this short review I have only discussed a small percentage of the presentations I attended, and an even smaller fraction of all the white papers presented during the event. ICSOBA presented two awards under each of the categorise: Electrolysis, Electrodes, Alumina, Casthouse, and Bauxite. One award was ‘best student paper’ the second ‘best paper’. On two occasions, more than one presentation won the award. This highlighted the high caliber of content presented at the event.
A select few have the opportunity to attend a site visit to Aluminium Dunkerque in Lille. ICSOBA provided through coverage of the industry process, from across the world. I look forward to seeing how the industry develops at the next ICSOBA event due to take place in China for 2025.