Sustainability shines with Alcore's pilot plant design completion

Alcore Limited, an 83%-owned subsidiary of ABx Group, has finished the primary engineering design phase for its quickly developing pilot facility and ordered a sizable laboratory reactor.

Alcore is developing a pilot plant in NSW to recover fluorine from an ‘excess bath’ (an aluminium smelter waste product) to produce hydrogen fluoride, with a later-stage commercial plant to react the hydrogen fluoride further to produce aluminium fluoride – a high-value chemical essential for aluminium smelting.

Commenting on the progress made by Alcore, ABx Group Managing Director and CEO Mark Cooksey said, "It is exceptionally pleasing to see progress accelerating at Alcore. The Company has the opportunity to solve an increasing waste issue for global aluminium smelters while also producing a necessary smelting additive, which is not only high-value but, for many countries, including Australia, is subject to significant supply risks."

“Completing the preliminary engineering design and order of a crucial laboratory bath reactor are two major milestones towards demonstrating the process at pilot scale. The pilot plant remains on track to be constructed by the end of CY2023.”

The primary purpose of the preliminary engineering design phase is to specify the central design and operating parameters for the significant components of the pilot plant.

The Company has finalised plant capacity and general layout, comprehensive process flow, piping and instrumentation diagrams, raw material storage and waste management plans, process safety and control philosophies, and significant equipment sizing.

Its completion now permits the Company to conduct the detailed engineering design of the pilot plant in partnership with several engineering suppliers, including specialist overseas manufacturers. Meanwhile, Alcore is progressing with site preparation works with the pilot facility to utilise space at the Alcore Technology Centre in Berkeley Vale, Central Coast NSW.

Alcore has entered discussions with contractors for civil and electric infrastructure work as part of these preparatory works. The Company is also progressing all necessary permits and approvals with local authorities.

Alcore has further cemented its pilot plant development pathway with an advanced laboratory reactor order for enhanced processing of excess bath material.

The Company has been reacting sulfuric acid (oleum) with a bath to recover fluorine at a laboratory scale. With initial operating conditions identified, the pilot plant will seek to evaluate these conditions at a grander scale.

The feed materials must be intimately mixed during the reaction to maximise the consumption of feed materials and the quality of the final products. These are important for process economics and customer acceptance.

The earlier results at the laboratory scale were limited by the extent of process mixing that could be achieved. Pleasingly, in early 2023, Alcore identified an international supplier that could manufacture a reactor which employs state-of-the-art technology to enhance process mixing, which is critical to achieving high fluorine yield.

Following further due diligence, the reactor technology has been determined to be highly advantageous for Alcore, with an order now placed. However, the delivery at the Alcore Technology Centre is anticipated to occur in Q3 CY2023. Following successful delivery and installation, experiments are to be conducted on this reactor in parallel with pilot plant construction.

These experiments will include confirmatory work on Alcore’s selected range of process conditions, with the improved reactor anticipated to deliver greater yields.