Solar aluminium smelting in a directly irradiated rotary kiln
More than 90% of South Africa’s energy supply is based on local coal resources. A significant share of this fossil energy is used in metal production processes. Especially the aluminium smelting industry is a major energy consumer in South Africa. Today, mainly electrical furnaces are employed to smelt the metal. SOLAM aims to decarbonize this sector of industry by developing a process, which smelts aluminium using solely solar energy.
In the first step, a lab scale reactor will be developed, which will provide the basis for the second step – the development of a scale-up design for industrial application.
In order to achieve this goal, a solar-powered rotary kiln as shown in Figure 1 will be tested. This pilot scale kiln will be installed on a solar tower in Germany or South Africa. The experimental work will be supported by numerical modelling, which will further allow for a techno-economic assessment of the smelting process.
Besides the plant development, the project consortium is also elaborating a logistics concept. This concept includes transportation of the aluminium melt from the central solar smelter to the production sites, which take care of further processing. Based on the insights of the demonstration phase, a business plan for a commercial pilot plant will be prepared.