Ausmelt, in conjunction with Alcoa of Australia, has developed a process to treat the aluminium plant hazardous waste, spent pot lining (SPL). Development began in 1992 when the first exploratory testwork was carried out in Ausmelt's Dandenong pilot plant. The first large scale experimental plant was established in 1997 at the Portland Aluminium smelter in Victoria, Australia. The process developed incorporates high temperature (1200-1300 deg C) processing of SPL in the presence of a slag and in contact with water vapour in the Ausmelt Top Submerged Lancing reactor to facilitate safe destruction of toxic components. Fluoride present in the SPL reacts to produce HF gas, at a relatively high concentration in the offgas. This gas is amenable to processing for further production of valuable aluminium or hydrogen fluoride products.
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