Green Aluminium Driving a Circular Economy
Published on : Thursday 09-05-2024
Runaya inaugurates state-of-the-art calcium aluminate plant in Jharsuguda, elevating green recovery initiatives.
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Jharsuguda – a city that is also the headquarters of the district in Odisha – is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. Here Vedanta Aluminium operates a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter, the only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club. Aluminium is often referred to as a green metal and considered very environmentally friendly thanks to its recyclability, which saves 95% of the energy required to produce aluminium from raw materials.
Green gets greener
Dross is an inevitable by-product formed during the melting and processing of aluminium. Typically, dross is a mixture of solid components, mostly aluminium oxides, metallic aluminium particles, and other impurities. While there are textbook methods to minimise dross, the fact remains that it cannot be eliminated and in a plant of humongous smelting capacity, its volume is quite substantial. Aluminium dross, being a hazardous waste, is a real bane to the aluminium industry and the smelting plants have to find ways and means to store it. It is hazardous because if water falls on it, ammonia comes out of it so storage has to be very meticulous. The traditional methods of disposing dross in landfills are far from environment-friendly, besides a waste of precious residue metal.
Enter Runaya, a young startup co-founded in 2017 by brothers Ananya and Naivedya, who belong to the Agarwal family, promoters of Vedanta. A leader in sustainable manufacturing and recycling, Runaya recently inaugurated its cutting-edge Calcium Aluminate Plant in Jharsuguda. The launch marks a pivotal moment in Runaya's journey towards environmental leadership and technological advancement within the industry.
Central to Runaya’s green aluminium recovery plant using green raw materials such as the depleted dross, is technology-enabled innovation with sustainability at its core. With a capacity of 12,000 metric tonnes per annum, this facility not only recovers green aluminium, but also delivers another green premium product – the environmentally friendly RuCal Green, a Calcium Aluminate, which is used in the Steel Slag Conditioner segment. Already using a significant component of renewable energy, the plant would be operated solely on 100% green and renewable energy sources by FY25, setting a new benchmark for sustainability within the industry.
“At Runaya, innovation and sustainability are ingrained in our DNA. The launch of our Calcium Aluminate Plant is a testament to our commitment to pioneering environmentally friendly solutions in the metals industry. This state-of-the-art facility showcases a significant stride in our green recovery initiatives, reinforcing our vision for a greener, more sustainable future. Through cutting-edge technology and eco-conscious practices, we're not merely building a plant; we're cultivating a legacy of responsible manufacturing,” says Annanya Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder of Runaya. “We envision a future where sustainability is not just an aspiration but an intrinsic part of our ethos. The Calcium Aluminate Plant serves as a pivotal step towards realising that vision, ensuring a brighter tomorrow for generations to come,” he adds.
A logical question that arises is what were the steel plants using for slag conditioning before Runaya started offering them calcium aluminate? How were the steel plants sourcing their calcium? “Before Runaya came into the picture, steel plants used conventional slag fluidizers, mainly calcium chloride, which is carcinogenic and health hazardous. It is also detrimental to the steel plant ladle refractories, but they had no option. They tried many things to speed up the process and refine the steel better. So the calcium aluminate has come as a total replacement for the calcium chloride, which is now banned worldwide. Wherever they are processing steel with secondary steel processing units they have to use these briquettes. So all the Calcium Aluminate output of Runaya is consumed by the steel plants – clients include JSPL, Tata Steel and JSW – and there is a requirement for more as India has now emerged as the second largest steel producer in the world, almost touching 120 million tonnes of steels annually. The requirement of Calcium Aluminate is 1 kg per tonne of steel processing which translates into a huge quantity,” explains Annanya.
Patented technology
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According to Annanya Agarwal, Runaya scouted for the appropriate technology globally before zeroing in on TAHA International, a German company specialised in zero waste, ultra-low carbon dross processing technology. Taking the basic technology from TAHA, mainly its SARAH hot dross processing unit, Runaya improvised and innovated a host of processes and equipment, acquiring several patents in the process. “We have significantly improved upon the technology. So only the SARAH unit here is from TAHA, and everything else, including the dross cooler and the subsequent cold dross processing system is ours. So this is the first of its kind in India, and the first process approved by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), as also the local pollution control board,” says Annanya.
More important is the fact that Runaya is now in possession of a licensed proprietary patented technology for 100% processing of dross – the first end-to-end aluminium ross processing facility – which goes far beyond the technology offered by TAHA International. “If any other company wants to set up a similar dross processing facility, they'll have to go through us. We are the perpetual holders of the license for this technology,” informs Annanya. When asked if they have licensed it to anyone so far, Annanya says they are trying to do some licensing, but that's only one of the models. “The other model is that we can put up the plant on ‘Build and Operate’ basis for any other smelting plant. There are some people who are in touch with us, but we haven't yet decided where to go,” he says.
A young company
With 56% gender diversity in the direct workforce and 35% in decision making roles, the average age of associates at Runaya is just 29 years. The green aluminium recovered, branded Restora Ultra, is certified as one with the lowest GHG foot-print (<500 kg/tonne of Al) in the world. With initiatives like zero waste mining and green materials, Runaya is leading the charge towards a brighter future.
While the flagship project recovers aluminium from dross, addressing a major industry challenge, the company is also engaged in other metal recovery, e.g., in zinc smelting. Through their innovation-driven efforts, Runaya has amassed a portfolio of patents, showcasing their technological prowess. As a new-age resources company, Runaya fills the crucial gap in the industry by focusing on emerging mining technologies and meeting the material requirements of emerging businesses, all while protecting the planet with sustainable solutions.
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Key highlights of the Calcium Aluminate Plant
● Technological Advancements: Runaya's electric arc furnace, the largest in India among Calcium Aluminate plants, will be fully automated, ensuring optimal efficiency and productivity.
● Production Capacity: Occupying 2.5 acres of land, the plant boasts a current production capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum of slag conditioners, inclusive of briquettes and Calcium Aluminate.
● Unique selling points (USP): Runaya's Calcium Aluminate products are environmentally conscious, promoting sustainability. Moreover, the use of single-source raw materials ensures product homogeneity, while solutions are tailored to meet clients' specific needs.
● Waste to Wealth Initiative: Runaya actively participates in a Waste to Wealth initiative, converting dross into value-added products essential for steelmaking, aligning with a zero-waste and zero-discharge strategy.
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