RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONS

CAUSED BY ALUMINUM AND ITS PROCESSING

An Environmental Chemistry Mini-Paper on the Issue of

Pollution Caused by Aluminum and its Processing from Bauxite

A Partial Requirement for the Fulfillment of the subject

Chemistry for Engineers Lecture

Submitted by​:

Barnachea, Isabelle

Rosello, Neil Erwin

Soriano, Ella

October 2020
 INTRODUCTION

Aluminum is one of the commonly used metals in this modern society. Its properties are

perfect for a wide variety of products, many of which are indispensable to modern life (Menzie

et.al., 2010). Pure aluminum (Al) is a soft, lightweight, odorless, non-magnetic, non-sparking,

silvery white colored metal. It is also highly reactive and does not occur freely in nature

(Enviroliteracy.org, 2015). Aluminum metal is made through various processes from bauxite ore.

Primary aluminum production begins with the mining of bauxite, which is processed first

into alumina and subsequently into aluminum metal (Menzie et.al., 2010). The production itself

creates wastes that causes the problem to water, air and soil. According to Hegde (2019), matters

about aluminum contamination are not often discussed however, aluminum is one of the

significant sources of pollution primarily due to its abundant natural occurrence and industrial

use. It was said that by 2025, aluminum consumption is likely to increase more than 2.5 times to

120 megatonne(Mt) compared with 45.3 Mt in 2006. In order to meet the projected consumption

of 120 Mt of aluminum, the world will need to produce about 570 Mt of bauxite and about 230

Mt of alumina. This increase and continuous demand on production will generate significant

levels of wastes even if technological improvements are made to current production processes

(Menzie et.al., 2010). These wastes are solid wastes and liquid effluent which would certainly

pollute our air, land and water bodies.

This environmental contamination starts from the mining of bauxite ore. The processing

of bauxite to alumina involves initial chemical processing of the bauxite. The main waste from

alumina refining is the production of red mud, a solid waste that is usually disposed of in a
landfill. The contamination continues in the processing of alumina into aluminum metal. The

most significant waste products from the production of aluminum from alumina are air emissions

including perfluorocarbon gases and carbon dioxide from the production of anodes and

electricity (Menzie et.al., 2010).

Recent investigations on environmental toxicology revealed that aluminum may present a

major threat for humans, animals and plants in causing many diseases (Barabasz et al., 2002).

Aluminum effluent causes changes in the pH of the water, high concentration of aluminum increases

the water’s pH (Shinzato & Hypolito, 2016) which can cause death to aquatic organisms. Due to

aluminum toxicity, the crop production was constrained to 67% of the total acid soil area in the world

(Jaishankar, et.al., 2014). Air emission from aluminum production: ​perfluorocarbon gases and

carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases which traps heat in the atmosphere causing global warming.

This paper focuses on relevant issues brought by aluminum and aluminum production.

The research objectives are concerned with contributing to future research to give them ideas on

the effects brought by aluminum and it’s wastes and propose some doable solutions in hopes of

reducing adverse ecological effects procuring from the environmental problem.

 THE MATERIAL

Pure aluminum is a soft, lightweight, odorless, non-magnetic, non-sparking, silvery

white-colored metal. ​Aluminium does not occur as an isolated ore because it is too reactive with

other compounds​. Instead, it is wrapped up in clay, minerals, rocks, and gemstones like

aluminum silicate. Aluminum is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon,

constituting 8 percent of the Earth's crust.

The bauxite rock is the only commercial source of alumina under current economic

conditions. The compound derived from bauxite is aluminum oxide (alumina). Bauxite is

aluminum oxide hydrated with impurities that include iron oxide, several silicates, and quartz. To

form soluble sodium aluminate, the Bayer process or the combination process dissolves the

impure alumina in the ore with caustic soda. The solution is cooled, diluted, and hydrolyzed,

filtered, and calcined into alumina to precipitate aluminum hydroxide. The residue is red or

brown mud from this process. At aluminum plants, red mud is produced. In aluminum smelting,

pollution control is a severe problem.

It takes a lot of energy and different environmental impacts to transform Bauxite into

Aluminum. The plant and animal life immediately surrounding an area and beyond for many

centuries is affected by both open and underground mines. Clear-cut trees and pastures

contribute to the loss of biodiversity, loss of wetlands, emissions of pollution, and erosion. In

recent years, mining activities have gradually taken this destruction into account, incorporating

proposals to rebuild and re-grow natural ecosystems once mining is completed. Varying energy

and water levels are used in all refining processes, which can lead to higher carbon emissions, air

and water pollution and even noise and heat pollution.

 THE ISSUE

Aluminum is such a versatile material due to its excellent lightweight, erosion

obstruction, long life, and electrical conductivity. In spite of the fact that not talked about

regularly, aluminum is one of the critical wellsprings of water contamination basically because

of its bountiful characteristic occurrence and industrial use. ​Consequently, aluminum discovers

its essence in a wide scope of uses, including transportation, bundling, development, electronic

equipment, and electrical transmission lines, to name a few. Normally, the utilization of

aluminum is exceptionally high, coming to as high as 5.4 million metric tons in the United States

in 2017 alone​.

The release of the oceanic climate happens through normal and anthropogenic structures

resulting from weathering of rocks, acidic springs, and volcanic activities. The anthropogenic

aluminum discharge is an aftereffect of human exercises, for example, mechanical cycles

bringing about wastewater and strong waste, non-renewable energy source ignition, fabricating,

aluminum creation, and horticulture. Significant levels of aluminum are watched

overwhelmingly in freshwater contrasted with marine water as low pH of freshwater contrasted

with sea water favors its solvency. Acid rain due to industrial activities a significant explanation

behind expanded aluminum levels in water as acid rain reduces water pH preferring

disintegration of anthropogenic and normal structures. Thus, aluminum is an inescapable

wellspring of tainting in freshwater in both metropolitan and provincial territories bringing about

poisonous impacts on oceanic life and in the end can enter the human natural way of life.
 Moreover, the aluminum doesn't simply influence the aquatic life however it can likewise

influence the terrestrial territory, particularly the animals ​Notwithstanding, the negative effects

of aluminum on terrestrial wildlife are ineffectively known. The only experimental evidence for

such association is that of Nyholm (1981) who proposed a potential etiological part of aluminum

in rearing impedance saw in wild passerines at certain lakes in Swedish Lapland. The

impairment was brought about by serious eggshell defects just as decreased grip sizes and high

occurrences of mortality. Since these findings were confined to winged animals settling by the

shore of a lake suspected to be corrosive focused on, some sort of harming related to the lake

was proposed (Nyholm and Myhrberg, 1977). Thus, aluminum can have different negative

impacts on our current circumstance.

An industrial accident caused by an aluminum plant in western Hungary where the

northwestern corner of the dam of reservoir number 10 collapsed, freeing approximately one

million cubic meters of liquid waste from ​r​ed mud lakes. The mud was released, flooding several

nearby localities. Ten people died, and 150 people were injured. About 40 square kilometers of

land were initially affected.

The health authorities said that the high-pH mud was considered hazardous and would

cause an alkaline reaction on contact if not washed off with clean water. The mayor of the

affected area in Hungary said that 80–90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns.

A doctor in the hospital where many of the injured had been taken, said that it might take days

for the full extent of any burns to be realized. The waste initially resulted in massive death to

wildlife in and around the Marcal river. The spill reached the Danube river, prompting countries

located further down the river to develop emergency plans in response.

 Ultimately, the aluminum can likewise have adverse effects on the wellbeing of an

individual. ​Aluminum goes into the body from the climate, diet, and prescription. ​One great

example is the Alum (potassium aluminum sulfate), a chemical utilized in clarification of

drinking water and wastewater, can likewise be a wellspring of aluminum whenever delivered

untreated which can be destructive on our body.

With this issue nearby, we have to actualize a bunch of preventive methodologies and

conventions for the improvement of our current circumstance and limit the unfavorable effects

and harms of aluminum to our current circumstance and to the individuals.

 RECOMMENDATIONS

A significant proportion of over 1.5 million tons of waste that the planet produces per

year is made up of aluminum cans. In the United States alone, with the average American eating

about 380 cans of soda each year, more than 100 billion cans are used annually. After lunch,

tossing your empty soda can into the garbage may not seem like a big deal to some, but this

everyday routine last year resulted in almost 60 billion cans ending up in the landfills.

A great way to decrease waste accumulation such as red mud is to recycle aluminum.

One of the best characteristics of recycling aluminum is that the number of times it is possible to

recycle is infinite. Aluminum is a 100 percent recyclable commodity, and recycled aluminum

can be back on the market within 60 days of being recycled with a highly successful turnaround

process. Aluminum recycling is also a very energy-efficient operation, with just 5% of the

energy required to manufacture new aluminum products being used during the entire process.

Aluminum recycling will also minimize the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from

aluminum smelting, lower the risk of acid rain, avoid water supplies from being polluted with

toxic pollutants, and reduce the amount of landfill waste that is accumulated every year.

Recycling aluminum alone will annually divert 1.7 billion pounds of junk from landfills. As part

of producing new aluminum goods, aluminum smelting accounts for 14.1 percent of the

greenhouse gases released per year. Like nitrogen oxide, these greenhouse gases lead to acid rain

and smog. Recycling aluminum is also responsible for 97 percent fewer water emissions than

making new aluminum goods.

 Aluminium recycling is the process by which scrap aluminium can be reused in products

after its initial production. The process involves simply re-melting the metal, which is far less

expensive and energy-intensive than creating new aluminium through the electrolysis of

aluminium oxide (Al​2​O​3​), which must first be mined from bauxite ore and then refined. It is very

beneficial to recycle aluminium, recycling scrap aluminum requires only 5% of the energy used

to make new aluminum, and in addition, 10 cubic yards of landfill space are saved for every ton

of aluminium recycled. Recycled cans can be used to make furniture, airplanes, appliances and

more (Ameerah, 2015). Whereas making a new set of aluminum from raw materials, that would

create far more threat to us and the environment.

Another main advantage of aluminum recycling is that it significantly decreases the

consumption of energy. When a single can is recycled, the amount of power saved from

aluminum recycling is realized. An available aluminum recycler can save enough energy to fuel

a TV for three hours. People will save the equivalent of 7.5 kilowatt-hours of energy for each

pound of recycled aluminum canisters. The equivalent of 2,350 gallons of fuel is saved for every

ton of aluminum that is recycled. If all people invested in recycling aluminum, they could save

about billions worth of energy per year.

The amount of energy that could theoretically be saved with aluminum recycling is

incredible. We may benefit the environment in many ways by just taking a few extra seconds to

put aluminum cans into a recycling bin instead of the garbage. Recycling aluminum cans is only

one way of recycling that can make a significant difference not just to us humans but all of the

biosphere, since the process of making aluminum imposes a lot of environmental pollution.
 Moreover, another great way to reduce the waste accumulation of aluminum waste is by

focusing and investing more on research that implements the different ways of filtering

aluminum waste in an efficient and economical way. Focusing on such research can greatly

reduce the negative impacts of these issues and can actually discover new things that might help

us give the future generations a better future.

Having said all the possible solutions and with the help of experts on the field and

different sectors of the government, those above aforementioned solutions could be possible and

be a great step in reducing the effects of aluminum contamination. This would help lower the

mortality rate of marine animals near aluminum production plants as liquid effluent is one of the

main waste of aluminum making. This is also beneficial to nearby farmers since it would

increase their crop yield because of lesser aluminum toxicity. Lastly to us, and the animals as

these solutions could reduce air emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
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