Speira upgrades aluminium recycling furnaces
Speira has upgraded the first of four aluminium recycling furnaces in an €11 million investment. It held an inauguration ceremony at its Grevenbroich facility where the furnace was named Bernhard. Further investments will take place with two ovens at its Töging site and another furnace in Grevenbroich, Germany sites.
The furnace, which can hold up to 25 tonnes, is used in particular for the recycling of so-called ‘low grades’, i.e. heavily contaminated scrap and dross produced during the melting process.
The name of the new tiltable rotary furnace was chosen from suggestions made by the staff of Speira recycling services business unit.
This honours a colleague who died at an early age and who was already involved in the construction and commissioning of the furnace that has now been replaced.
Einar Glomnes, CEO of the German-Norwegian aluminium company, said: “We take a holistic view of our contribution to a functioning circular economy.
“That’s why we don’t just look at the pure, easy-to-recycle scraps, but also at the more difficult lower grades and by-products.
“Wherever aluminium is in it, we want to get the maximum out of it and put it back into the cycle.
“With this latest, most efficient and environmentally friendly technology, we can now recover even the smallest quantities that were previously lost for recycling.”
District Administrator Hans-Jürgen Petrauschke said: “Speira’s major investments in the Rheinwerk in Neuss and the plant here in Grevenbroich are a strong signal for our business location.
“I am grateful to the company for demonstrating its commitment to the Rhine district of Neuss and to securing thousands of jobs and apprenticeships.
“These investments make it clear that the aluminium industry will continue to be a successful part of the economy at the Rhine and the Erft in the future.” The furnaces includes charging machines, suction hoods, thermal afterburners, piping and other infrastructure.
Modern burner technology and automatic charging will enable higher productivity.
Work on the new units will be even easier and safer for employees: the individual components are easily accessible for maintenance, the molten metal can be tapped with the furnace doors closed, and wheel loader and forklift traffic in front of the furnaces is minimised thanks to the charging machines.
The selected model meets environmental standards for new systems, the suction and burner technology causes less CO2 and the furnaces can also be operated with hydrogen in future.
Energy efficiency
In terms of energy efficiency, the new furnaces are a threefold improvement.
Firstly, because of the increased throughput: each tonne of recycled aluminium saves up to 95% of the energy required to produce one tonne of primary aluminium.
Secondly, because of the modern burner and afterburner technology: these ensure optimum energy yield from the natural gas used.
At the same time, the adhering impurities of the low-grade scraps are used as combustibles in the melting process, and the input spectrum for these grades in particular is even greater in the new furnaces.
And thirdly, because of the optimised furnace design: even less heat is lost thanks to the automatic charging process and tapping with closed furnace doors.
The decision to invest in the four furnaces was made in July 2024. The overall project is on schedule for the first furnace in Töging to start production in October 2025, the second furnace in Grevenbroich in May 2026 and the second furnace in Töging in October 2026.
