Startup and Tuning of Material Distribution System at

Startup and Tuning of Material Distribution System at Aluminium Smelter in Qatar Mr. Julian Sowah – Qatalum Mr. Vivek Shroff – Qatalum Mr. Santosh Kumar – Qatalum Mr. Arne Hilck - Claudius Peters Mr. Jan Paepcke - Claudius Peters

Content of Today • Introduction of Claudius Peters • Aerated Distribution System for Potroom Feeding (ADS) – Basics • Claudius Peters - Outlook for 2015 • Introduction of Qatalum • Startup and Tuning - Results • Summary and Outlook 2015

Outlook TMS 2013 for 2014 • FLUIDCON: Attrition factor testing • ADS: Results of Qatalum Smelter • AS – System: Commissioning of Boguchany and Results

Introduction – Claudius Peters • Worldwide acting Engineering Company (born 1906) • Main Business Areas: Aluminium, Cement, Steel, Gypsum, Power • More than 550 employees worldwide • Deliverer for AIRBUS Industries • Turnover 150 Mio € • Offices in Germany, USA, France, China, Brazil UK, Spain, Italy, Romania, Singapore, India • 4

The ADS Principle • 5

The ADS Principle • 6

The ADS Principle • 7

Introduction - Who are we? Qatalum • 8

Introduction Qatalum: Our Milestones 2004 December Heads of agreement 2006 March Joint venture agreement and approval of feasibility October Investment decision 2011 2009 2007 January Site preparation start-up July Final approval November Construction commences April Power from grid October First raw material ship November Commissioning of cast house December 18 First Metal from potline First Export of PFA 2010 January First EI Export Fuel gas for power plant gas turbines Initial power available from power plant March Project completion September 21 Qatalum achieved full production of 585, 000 tonnes

Qatalum: About Us 39 Nationalities at Qatalum 34 6 1 1 2 5 3 16 1 11 357 239 3 21 172 30 9 2 3 15 3 3 1 1 47 1 3 1 7 50 98 1

Reduction (Potlines) - Qatalum Designed for low specific energy consumption, high labour productivity, low emissions, no SPL landfill 314 insert • Delete text box and k. A Picture/Photo/Figure here 4 pots x 70 1. 2 km

Qatalum • Delete text box and insert Picture/Photo/Figure here

Aerated Distribution System in operation since 2009

Qatalum Pot Line Design Parameters Design Parameter (704 pots) Name Template Capacity Design Present Day Amperage Number of Pots 585, 000 t/y 300 k. A 704 + 605, 000 t/y 314 k. A 704

Qatalum ADS Design Parameters ADS desgin parameters Distribution Air slide Inclination Cell Airslide Inclination Design 50 t/h 1° 10 [t/h] 0. 5 ° Present Day 100 t/h 1° 10 t/h 0. 5 °

CHALLENGES • Constant Flow into System with varying Material Properties – Silo fluidisation – Silo aeration timing – Material overflow from Silo to Coarse Particle Separator (CPS) • • Coarse Particle Separator (CPS) Accessibility & Performance Air supply nozzles (blockages) De-aeration of transport system Fine tuning of operational settings • 16

Modifications carried out • Modification CPS for accessibility • Repositioning of Level switches • Conversion of level switches to adjustable types. • Installation of additional manual valves on 750 t secondary alumina silo • Filling time optimization • Provision of continous venting (2015)

Coarse Particle Separator Improvements • Baffle plates for flow control • Vibrator design • Silo fluidisation adjustment • Aeration nozzle size repositioning • Easier access for daily inspections • 18

Coarse Particle Separator- Improvement Results Month No. of CPS overflows Jul-12 26 Aug-12 32 Sep-12 34 Oct-12 28 Nov-12 29 Dec-12 30 Jan-13 11 Feb-13 5 Mar-13 2 Apr-13 5 May-13 4 Jun-13 0 Jul-13 5 Aug-13 2 Sep-13 5 Oct-13 13 Nov-13 3 Dec-13 3 • 19

Other Modifications Carried Out Modification of CPS for accessibility Installation of adjustable level switches Repositioning of Level switches on airslides Additional manual valves on alumina silo 20

Verification of Improvements How the improvements were measured Alumina spills on CPS Maintenance cost - No significant wear can be seen on the airslide fabric - Spare / Wear parts consumption is extremely low Timing of aeration system (Small increaments of 10 s resulted in more consistent filling) • 21

ADS – Results & Advantages • • NO RISK for Potline – Easy catch up after stoppage. Easy maintenance. Low manpower. 2013 Maintenance cost = 0. 126 USD/ton of alumina Operational activities: Cleaning of CPS and visual inspections! System availibility is more than 98%; The buffer silosensures constant material supply to pots. Dust free system (environmentally friendly) No accumulation of coarse particles in the system, as material is screened out in the beginning. • Little variations in alumina grain size distribution during conveying

Variations in alumina grain size distribution during conveying Longest Conveying distance = 280 m • Alumina Grain Size Distribution During Conveying (Lab analysis) • -45 • +150 • 100% • 90% • 80% • 70% • 60% • 50% • 40% • 30% • 20% • 10% • 0% • -0. 020 • -0. 045 +0. 020 • -0. 075 +0. 045 • -0. 106 - +0. 075 • -0. 150 +0. 106 • -0. 200 +0. 150 • -0. 300 +0. 200 • +0. 300 • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 1 • 2 • 3 • A 001 • A 027 • A 044 • B 001 • B 027 • B 044 • C 001 • C 027 • C 044 • D 001 • D 027 • D 044

Particle Size Distribution/ Check Ø 8, 1% < 45µm Ø 8, 21% < 45µm Ø 8, 3% < 45µm Ø 7, 9% < 45µm

No Effect on PSD and Anode effect distribution Material Number of AE

ADS Maintenance • No significant wear has been seen on the airslide fabric since the plant startup • Spare / Wear parts consumption is extremely low • ADS Annual Maintenance & Operational Cost/ton of Alumina • 0. 25 • 0. 223 • USD / ton • 0. 2 • 0. 142 • 0. 15 • 0. 126 • 0. 1 • 0. 05 • 0 • Dec-09 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013

No Scaling • No build-up of scales inside Airslides • No Coarse particle accumulation.

Lessons Learned Material Flow from silo • Control of alumina flow out of silo / inlet box by optimization of aeration air. • Coarse particle seperator upgrade Quality of aeration air/Aeration nozzles • Flushing of the air system before start-up is helpful • Selection of air filtration system for compressed air Stability of deaeration pressure is crucial for the system operation

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