The Effects of Aluminium Smelting Plant for Sarawak.
Posted by: Dr. John Brian Anthony
The objective of this article is to highlight to the public on the effects of aluminium smelting plant that the state government intent to set up in Sarawak.
The aluminuim smelting project has been toyed around for a decade by the State government and it has not got off the ground yet. It surfaces with different suitors, the latest being Rio Tinto and a Sarawak government company joint venture.
Recently the aluminium smelting plant investment appears again together with the infamous Sarawak 12 dams plan and bunch together with Sarawak Corridor for Renewal Energy. The aluminium smelting plant has been identified as major “corporate consumer” of electricity in Sarawak that would be provided by one of the 12 dams.
BAKUN electricity being “prostituted”.
In the first place, BAKUN dam alone is sufficient enough to meet the aluminium smelting plant requirement. The state government choose to make the 12 dams packages sweeter for the public to see or even to deceive the public intentionally. Why did Sarawak allow Bakun electricity to be “prostituted” to West Malaysia in the first place?
Dams announcement
The choice of asking YB Datuk Joseph Salang to announce the 12 dams project in itself is deceiving as it is a state project. In many instances the Dayak political leaders were asked to announce controversial state BN government project. In anything goes wrong then the YB Salang would be blamed by the Sarawak voters. That is just the way the “white termite” insulate himself from general public reaction.
What is Aluminium Smelting
Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide alumina, generally by the Hall-Heroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore Bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery.
This is an electrolytic process, so an aluminium smelter uses prodigious amounts of electricity; they tend to be located very close to large power stations, often hydro electric ones, and near ports since almost all of them use imported alumina.
In some countries, coal is used to fire the power station to supply the aluminium plant with power.
How does the aluminium plant link to SCORE?
In Jharsuguda in Orissa, India, the aluminium smelting plant is powered by its own 1215MW coal-fired power station. This aluminium smelting plant is therefore link to SCORE as coal from MUKAH area could be used in generating electricity supply.
The aluminium smaelting plant would be a big investment within SCORE, otherwise how do one account for $300 plus billion investment expected to attracted into score. An aluminium smelting plant could easily cost USD$45 billion. Our Sarawak BN government is not disclosing any detail yet. The brochure that is distributed by the Sarawak State Planning unit contained information that is not even worth the paper it is printed on. It is learn that a “highly paid foreign consultant person” is doing work on the SCORE brochure. If that is the quality of the SCORE brochure, taxpayer money has been wasted on a numb skull.
Aluminium smelting process
Alumina is electrolytically reduced into molted aluminum. This reaction occurs in Hall-Heroult reduction cells (called pots) where the bound oxygen in the alumina reacts with carbon electrodes to form carbon-dioxide gas and aluminum. Each ton of aluminum requires 0.4-.05 tons of carbon anodes.
Environmental issues of aluminium smelters
The process produces a quantity (as small as 0.5 kg per ton of aluminium in the best plants in 2007, up to 4 kg per ton of aluminium in older designs in 1974) of fluoride waste: perfluorocarbons and hydrogen fluoride as gases, and sodium and aluminium fluorides and unused cryolite as particulates.
Unless carefully controlled, these fluorides tend to be very toxic to vegetation around the plants.
The Soderburgh process produces significant emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as pitch is baked to form the electrodes.
The linings of the pots end up contaminated with cyanide-forming materials.
Environmental degradation
To call energy generation from using coal as renewable energy activity will make Sarawak a laughing stock on international community. Coal mining is a gross degradation of the earth, as large tract of beautiful forest is destroyed to allow for coal mining. An open pit coal mining would be the worst form of environmental degradation. Air emission from coal fired power plant is simply horrible, dirty and smelly.
Toxicity emission from aluminium
Emission from aluminium smelter plant is generally categorised under Class 3 Indicators: it is extremely hazardous, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, highly toxic, in short is has high potential to cause CANCER among workers or general population living nearby the plant.
Perfluorocarbon gases emission is a major contributor to global warming, causing generally a raising of temperature in the earth atmosphere that will melt ice in the north and south poles and bring higher tide resulting in flooding to lowland region.
Health Hazards
Hydrogen Fluoride can caused lung and bladder cancer, bone deformity, teeth decay and many more untold health hazards.
Sulphur Dioxide caused general respiratory problems. It is corrosive to plants and building and is a source of acid rain. This will result in soil getting infertile.
Pungent odour from the air emission is a public nuisance and very irritating. It lowers the quality of life of near by residence.
Soil contaminant
Other waste from the smelting plant caused soil contamination when it is not disposed off properly.
The Polychlorinated biphenyls waste are a group of chlorinated organic compound that are known to be soil contaminant.
From the Spent potlining (SPL) process waste it contain fluoride and cyanide that are both soil and marine contaminant.
Some other findings
“Since the late 1970s, scientists have correlated elevated bladder cancer rates in smelter potroom workers. In 1989, Alcoa told an Australia newspaper that it “emphatically rejects” any such risk for smelter workers. In the Associated Press Friday 17th December 1999.
- Alcoa warned thousands of past and present employees that they may face a greater risk than previously believed of developing lung and bladder cancer. Symptoms take 15-20 years to manifest.
- Three times as many miscarriages and more than sixteen times as many birth defects as elsewhere.
- Bones are malformed.
- Cancer, heart disease and artery problems runs between 2-8 times higher as elsewhere.
- Doctors noted high rates of anemia, irritability, rashes diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory and thyroid disease. Joint and bone disorders.
- Teachers stated that students appeared to be suffering from chronic fatigue and complained of aching legs muscles.” .
Latest news on Aluminium smelting
July 25, 2008
Rio Abu Dhabi aluminum smelter shelved on gas non availability
Arabianbusiness.com reported that a planned USD 43 billion smelter in Abu Dhabi has been declared dead after Rio Tinto said the UAE had decided to use its natural gas in more profitable industries.
Mr Dick Evans CEO of Rio Tinto’s aluminum unit said that Middle Eastern nations are using their gas in the chemical, fertilizer and liquefied natural gas industries to benefit more from their reserves. The shift is reducing supplies available to the energy intensive aluminum industry. Abu Dhabi is for all practical purposes dead at this point and we don’t see it coming back. That is because of this policy shift and how the emirates are seeing the use of their gas.”
Mr Nick Cobban Rio spokesman in May said that the project was on hold while the government reviewed its energy requirements.
Mr Jim White COO of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corp said in October the smelter there would be able to produce about 700,000 tonnes a year at a cost of USD 3 billion.
Conclusion
There is not much positive facts that the people of Sarawak will benefit from the aluminium smelting plant.
We should also decide in the same way as the UAE, that is to use our natural gas in better ways and in industry that give us the higher return on our natural resources as aluminium plant consume so much natural gas too. Add to that we should seek not to destroy our forest as a result of building the 12 dams.
It might be Sarawak Energy Berhad business strategy to build the dams and extract the logs to enrich certain people and a short cut to make money for the corporation. Either way, it is a mismanagement of Sarawak resources and BN should not misplace the power given by the people of Sarawak.
It isnot a surprise if “politically” connected company and certain “political”leaders would seek personal financial gain from such venture.
The public are not naive anymore and this project will face strong public opposition. But then again why did we vote BN in Sarawak with such a big majority in the first place?
Popularity: 27% [?]
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6 Responses to “The Effects of Aluminium Smelting Plant for Sarawak.”
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Inspirational word from gkm2020
[...] for the risk associated with the plant? Don’t believe this guy words for goodness sake. Trust these findings [...]
More articles here in this blog – The Truth Revealed @ http://the-truth-reveal.blogspot.com/search/label/Environment
1. Rio Tinto: Sarawak Aluminium Company
2. Rio Tinto: The World’s worst Company
3. Rio Tinto: Environmental Destruction
4. Rio Tinto and Ascendant Copper Partner in Ecuador
Though I don’t stay at my hometown Balingian, BUT I heard a lot about An Aluminium Smelting Plant somewhere located at road side to Balingian town. I heard it was own by a West Malaysian company. They are using the China technology. Congratulations to them and who ever approved this project. But what do the local get? Most of the workers are for outside Balingian and Mukah. Only very junior position are given to our people. The construction is on going and is done very fast as they are using parts from China (please check if it is a recond parts/plants). Can’t believe China…..
[...] plant? Don’t trust every words that this guy spit out of his mouth for goodness sake. Trust these findings [...]
[...] plant? Don’t trust every words that this guy spit out of his mouth for goodness sake. Trust these findings [...]
kindly inform me about the solid waste of aluminium smelting plant.
is it 100% of alumina extracted to aluminium ingot?. if it is not, how they do in that plant.
The Polychlorinated biphenyls waste are a group of chlorinated organic compound that are known to be soil contaminant.(% of solid from the raw material proceed)
From the Spent potlining (SPL) process waste it contain fluoride and cyanide that are both soil and marine contaminant.
.(% of solid waste)
thank you very much.