Alunorte refinery starts alumina production using natural gas
Hydro Alunorte alumina refinery has started using natural gas in alumina production, replacing fuel oil. When fully completed, six steam generation boilers and all the refinery’s calciners will operate on natural gas.
The R$1.3 billion investment will reduce the refinery’s carbon emissions by 30 percent. The fuel switch project is a key step in Hydro’s climate strategy and global commitment to reduce Hydro’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
Alunorte has an expected annual natural gas consumption of 29.5 Tbtu. When the transition from fuel oil to natural gas is completed, the change in the energy matrix at Alunorte will reduce the refinery’s annual CO2 emissions by 700,000 tonnes.
On August 14, the Governor of Para, Helder Barbalho, and state and municipal authorities from Barcarena visited Alunorte’s distribution station for natural gas. The visit was part of the program for the delivery of the natural gas distribution system of Pará Gas Company.
Alunorte is a pioneer in producing alumina using natural gas in northern Brazil. In July, the refinery eliminated the use of heavy fuel oil for steam production, contributing to the operation’s decarbonization process.
“Hydro will become the largest single consumer of natural gas in Brazil and the project reinforces our commitment to changing the aluminium game and to produce alumina and aluminium with an increasingly lower carbon footprint,” says John Thuestad, Executive Vice President for Hydro’s Bauxite & Alumina business area.
Significant changes have been made to the refinery’s operation to make this transition possible, with focus on automation and process safety.
“We have implemented the most modern technologies available for using natural gas in our alumina production. We are proud of our contribution to fulfilling Hydro’s decarbonization commitment,” says Thuestad.
The natural gas used in the process is delivered to Alunorte via a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and import terminal operated by New Fortress Energy. The project replacing fuel oil with natural gas at Alunorte has been an enabler bringing natural gas to Pará and to other projects in the region.
In the process of preparing to receive natural gas at the refinery, around 800 jobs were created at peak implementing the project. Commissioning started in April, and by starting alumina production using natural gas as an energy source, Alunorte is fulfilling its commitment to the Pará State Government, in accordance with an agreement for tax exemption from the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS).
Alunorte is the world’s largest alumina refinery outside China and is located in the city of Barcarena, state of Pará. The refinery started operations in 1995, has approximately 2,200 employees and a nominal alumina production capacity of 6,3 million tonnes per year.
