Bharat Aluminium Company successfully trials biodiesel in smelter operations
In India, Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a subsidiary of Vedanta Aluminium, has successfully conducted trial runs for using biodiesel in smelter operations. In the pilot test, the company used biodiesel for preheating molten metal (aluminium) carrying vehicles, called ‘ladles’, which transfer the hot metal in its molten state from its potlines to cast houses. A potline is a long building, or collection of buildings, located in a smelter and contains a series of ‘pots’, or large electrolytic cells, in which aluminium smelting is carried out. The preheating process is extremely crucial for removing any trace of moisture from the ladle. This is important for maintaining the purity and temperature of the metal during its transportation to cast houses, where the molten aluminium is converted into various finished products.
Category: Fuels
