Management Assignment Sample

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT FOR THE ALUMINIUM SMELTING PRODUCTION

Introduction

The environmental troubles and the regarding problems that are main on the basis of the aluminum smelting industry, which is the cause of the air pollution that are produced by the emission of the fluorides from the reduction cells of aluminum. Without implying any proper controlling attention, these fluoride particles have harmful effects on the health of the workers inside the plant and as well as the environmental ambience besides it. But within these last 30 years due to the advancement of technology in this production has been able to sustain better control on the environment, as great efforts have been made to reduce these fluorides from the smelting plants. Here the extraction of the aluminum process is to be mentioned in a descriptive way through the “Hall-Heroult process”.

Description

Utilizing the “Hall-Heorot process” electrolytic reduction of alumina can produce the aluminums. Alumina is then melted in the bath of molten cryolite at approx. 9500c and by direct current in the reduction cell it is electrolyzed. The connected cells in series comprised an alumina based insulated carbon cathode or refractory bricks inside a steel shell.  From the above cells the anodes get suspended. From anode to the cathode a DC is passed through the bath and reached to the near cells by an aluminum busbar. At the cathode present in the cell’s bottom the liquid aluminum gets deposited and at this point the carbon anode gets combined with the oxygen. As the electrolysis proceeds the alumina is then added to the molten bath and then gets melted. In order to replenish the material removed or get consumed as normally the fluorides are also being added. To get enter into the cell the solidified crust of the bath is broken. From the electrolysis the fume gets emitted and collected by the hood for further evacuation (Cao et al., 2018). The melted aluminum is taken out from the cell by vacuum suction.

Factory perimeter

In the factory the plant has enabled the main process that involves the electrolytic reduction process for the alumina which is an oxide of the aluminum. The process needs a series of large cells which is termed as “Pot” or the Plotlines. In order to maintain and operate the cell functions a continuous supply of the carbon anodes are required. These anodes are normally manufactured in the Carbon plant and after their use each spent anode is then returned for the process of the renewal. There should be a process enabled for the molten aluminum for which it should get collected from, the cells for transport to the area of casting and the finishing (Farjana et al., 2019). Proper plant site selection and the provision of a buffer zone are required.

Flow Diagram

In this below diagram, it is presented as the thorough version of the Hall-Heroult process. Through this process the smelting of the aluminium through the procedure of the extracting the alumina from the aluminum is precisely shown. In the sustainability management system there is few things needed to be added for the better improvement to avoid polluting environment issues.

Aspect Map

In this below Aspect map the large analysis of the extraction of the aluminium by the Hall-Heroult is presented in an abridged form (Torres-Carrillo et al., 2020). Basically as the input or as the reactant the Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) with the Carbon(C) at 298.15 K temperature is reacted with heat using the Hall-Heroult process and as the byproduct the aluminium and the carbon dioxide come out at the temperature of 1233.15K.

In the next diagram it is being shown the process of extracting the aluminium from the Bauxite follows the process of Bayer’s and when there is an increment or the presence of over 95 to 98% the production of aluminum is possible through aluminium oxide.

Extraction process starts with the bayers’ process, which states that at first the Bauxite is being crushed and milled at the pressure vessel under the temperature form 170 degree centigrade to 180 degree centigrade with the sodium hydroxide. This process is then followed by the filtering of the Bauxite where the red mud is being extracted and the Na [Al (OH) ₄] has been produced that after cooling turns into the crystals which is then being added with the water and the crystallized seeds of Al (OH) ₃ and then it si been send to the rotary kiln and then the aluminium oxide is being produced.

If there is a presence of the 95 to 98% aluminium oxide then there has to be the application of the Hall-Heroult’s process which states that the steps of precipitation and the calcinations which produces the alumina and for which when the electrolytic process is being applied then the aluminum is produced.

SPARAIL Diagram

The sustainability risk profile is being assessed while using the SPARAIL diagram. Aluminium smelting process and the production of the factory may be and sometimes if harmful for the environment but there are some of the processes to solve out those issues regarding the environmental sustainability procurement. It is being estimated that the release of the per fluorocarbons is heavily injurious to the environment as it has the potential to produce 9200 times more powerful effect than the CO₂ in the aspects of global warming (Soo et al., 2018). The SPARAIL diagram shows that two procedures that can be kept as an account for the recovery of the environment from the issues that has been caused by the production of the aluminium. Basically there are two norm phases for initiating this risk management. With respect to time this assessments have been taken forward by the name of pre-disaster and post-disaster recovery sessions. The pre-disaster recovery first states that there is a development of the procedures for the reduction for the risk, for which the fundamental preparation on the sources have been taken that has faced the impact and then the relief has been outcome through the early transition eventually after the occurrence of the disaster the post recovery statement has been produced. This things claim the reconstruction of the procedures and finding out the way to sustain the aluminium smelting process in a sustain and more advance way so that the extraction can be carried out on a suitable eco friendly way though it is quite arguable at this time whether this kind of processes can be held as for processing. That would generally give an insight on how to carry out the sustainability assessment for the next time.

The source process and the matter for the infringement is being termed as by various methodological serious to initiate the process for the sustainable policies.

To apply different advance functionality and its trade marking through copyright terms from the factories are to be taken and needed at first. Bringing the better sources and the technologies for the better implementations and sustaining the better environment is the important and significant thing to carry out. The rights for guarding the process and the practices have been secretly covered form the behalf of those factories that are carrying out the process under patent.

Improvement strategy

With Economical Strategy

Using the “Hall-Heroult” procedure the improving model, operational implications need an improvisation on the newly control strategies. The contraption for the measurement of the current of the individual anode is now available, as it is now easy to keep an eye on and controlling the conditions in a reduction cell of aluminium. A new cell control strategy is based upon the “Economic Model Predictive Control method” which has an aim to advance the efficiency of current of the reduction procedure of aluminium and therefore it increased the economical profits through the improved control algorithms (Wu et al., 2019). This has basically normalized the costs.

Without Economical strategy

But in the previously mentioned process which has an effective economic strategically maintenance scheme for this industry there is also an attention able  thing and that is the without economical strategy which includes the meaning regarding the problems in the economical issues that the company is facing. In this industry using the electricity in the electrolysis or in any processes can be a renewable and a sustainable approach but it has a high economical rate on this regards (Lee et al., 2018). The current , as the DC current which is applied is high of cost as the DC current is very expensive while generating the energy and has much energy losses while making it applicable for the process during the extraction of the aluminum.

Site specific approach

Since it’s a matter of the issues on the environment, the balancing and the compromising of the environmental issues are highly to be seen in this case (Saxena et al., 2019). Thus some changes to sustain and maintain the environmental issues must be rationally managed for the selection of the site for making the industry. As it is mentioned earlier that the proper site selection depending on some specific approaches by provisioning a buffer zone by utilizing a proper technological production and a good design of the plant and its facilities are much needed to control the environmental issues as it is highly mandatory since the outcomes will be a feasible part from the plant design. The surrounding ecosystem i.e. the flora and the fauna, soil and the geological, topographical, meteorological and land use conditions are to be examined first for influencing impact. Also the economic and the other basic factors regarding the environmental impact are to thoroughly examine on this basis. Moreover before the plant design an aim on the factors for environmental control should be exhibited. Pollution control technology should be maintained for the surrounding residence and nature. The raising industry should be restricted to get built besides the farming, agricultural or the forestry (Li et al., 2019). For the standards of the environmental issues the air and the water quality and also the standards for the emission of the fluorides are needed to be established by the government or by the smelter.

TSM procedure review

There is a way to develop the environmental sustainability for extracting aluminum as the utilization of copper inserts and the reduction of the distance of cathode and anode while reduce much energy consumption. The loss of heat must be reduced as the voltage of the cell is reduced which is thought tough to maintain. Better feeding on alumina and controlling its higher level can eliminate all anode effects. Due to advancement the consumption of energy is decreasing. But currently the global environmental problems appear to be the evolution of CO₂ which is produced in the electric power house which is increased in a heavy magnitude at the last four decades. This effective process is to be used to maintain the low amount of heat against the global warming environment issue. Applying the TSM concept on this purpose it can be proposed that the Strategic framing for maintain the environment sustainability can be proceeding through. Then after that the defining of the problem is being stated. In this, the elimination of the alumina for the consuming issue of the anode affects. Even if there is any need of the simulation for making the workers of a factory to learn about the effects at danger scale then that can also be applied. Skills and the knowledge for the aluminum and the alumina smelting risks factories are also need to be addressed to those who are unaware of it. Learning experience can help the management to know about the critical tasks and through the methods the things can be more useful to the management to have it executed and workout.

Sustainable policy

The sustainable policies that are required for the aluminium smelting industry are as follows. There are lots of concerns regarding the sustainability policies in these sectors. Using the coal based electricity, and also evaluating the level of improvement for the sustainability through a “natural gas based combined cycle (NGCC)” (Litovchenko et al., 2020). This contains two parts for the development that are needed to be examined: 1) the surplus generation of power with the NGCC and the second one is 2) the capacity of the production should be doubled with the NGCC.

Conclusion

In this case top management must have an effective policy for the protection of the environment and its workers for their health safety this need to get integrated into the activities of the whole workforce with a proper allocation of the needed resources. Monitoring the environment, avoiding the detrimental effects satisfactory environmental health and its safety proper attention on the disposing waste should be highly maintained. Setting up a factory is well and good but to maintain the environmental sustainability through it could induce some management process that could save the ambient surroundings for more sustaining the power of the environment.

Reference List

Journals

Soo, V.K., Peeters, J., Paraskevas, D., Compston, P., Doolan, M. and Duflou, J.R., 2018. Sustainable aluminium recycling of end-of-life products: A joining techniques perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 178, pp.119-132.

Torres-Carrillo, S., Siller, H.R., Vila, C., Lopez, C. and Rodríguez, C.A., 2020. Environmental analysis of selective laser melting in the manufacturing of aeronautical turbine blades. Journal of Cleaner Production, 246, p.119068.

Litovchenko, V.I., Misuna, I.I. and Shumakova, N.A., 2020, April. Contemporary analysis of Krasnoyarsk environmental problems. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 822, No. 1, p. 012013). IOP Publishing.

Cao, G., Yang, L., Liu, L., Ma, Z., Wang, J. and Bi, J., 2018. Environmental incidents in China: Lessons from 2006 to 2015. Science of the Total Environment, 633, pp.1165-1172.

Farjana, S.H., Huda, N., Mahmud, M.P. and Saidur, R., 2019. A review on the impact of mining and mineral processing industries through life cycle assessment. Journal of cleaner production, 231, pp.1200-1217.

Wu, J., Wei, Y.D., Chen, W. and Yuan, F., 2019. Environmental regulations and redistribution of polluting industries in transitional China: Understanding regional and industrial differences. Journal of cleaner production, 206, pp.142-155

Lee, J., Noh, S.D., Kim, H.J. and Kang, Y.S., 2018. Implementation of cyber-physical production systems for quality prediction and operation control in metal casting. Sensors, 18(5), p.1428.

Saxena, G., Purchase, D., Mulla, S.I., Saratale, G.D. and Bharagava, R.N., 2019. Phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated sites: eco-environmental concerns, field studies, sustainability issues, and future prospects. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 249, pp.71-131.

Li, T., Liu, Y., Lin, S., Liu, Y. and Xie, Y., 2019. Soil pollution management in China: a brief introduction. Sustainability, 11(3), p.556.