Bell Bay aluminium smelter
Encyclopedia
The Bell Bay aluminium smelter is located on the Tamar River
at Bell Bay
, Tasmania
, Australia
. The smelter has a production capacity of 178,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.
It is owned and operated by Rio Tinto Alcan.
The original potline (Line 1) used British Aluminium
Söderberg
technology. It
was converted to use
prebake
anodes in 1965 and shut down in 1981.
Kaiser
P-57 reduction cells
Line 2 and Line 3 were built in the early 1960s. Line 4 was built
in two stages in the early 1980s.
Tamar River (Tasmania)
The Tamar River is a 70 kilometre estuarine in northern Tasmania formed by the merging of the North Esk River and South Esk Rivers at Launceston to its mouth at Low Head, north of the second largest settlement George Town and into the Bass Strait...
at Bell Bay
Bell Bay, Tasmania
Bell Bay is an industrial centre and port located on the eastern shore of the Tamar River, in northern Tasmania, Australia. It lies just south of George Town.- Industry :It hosts an aluminium smelter and a power station.- Transport :...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The smelter has a production capacity of 178,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.
It is owned and operated by Rio Tinto Alcan.
History
The Bell Bay smelter commenced production in 1955 as a joint venture between the Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments. The smelter was the first built in the Southern Hemisphere primarily to overcome difficulties importing aluminium during wartime. Bell Bay was chosen as the location because of the available hydroelectric power and deep water facilities. Rio Tinto Aluminium purchased the smelter in 1960, when production was about 12,000 tonnes per year.The original potline (Line 1) used British Aluminium
British Aluminium
The aluminium producer British Aluminium Ltd was originally formed as the British Aluminium Company Ltd on 7 May 1894 and was subsequently known as British Alcan Aluminium Plc...
Söderberg
Hall-Héroult process
The Hall–Héroult process is the major industrial process for the production of aluminium. It involves dissolving alumina in molten cryolite, and electrolysing the molten salt bath to obtain pure aluminium metal.-Process:...
technology. It
was converted to use
prebake
Hall-Héroult process
The Hall–Héroult process is the major industrial process for the production of aluminium. It involves dissolving alumina in molten cryolite, and electrolysing the molten salt bath to obtain pure aluminium metal.-Process:...
anodes in 1965 and shut down in 1981.
Technology
The smelter currently comprises three potlines ofKaiser
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum is an American aluminum producer. The company was founded in 1946 by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser entered the aluminum business by leasing, then purchasing three government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. These were the primary reduction plants at...
P-57 reduction cells
Line 2 and Line 3 were built in the early 1960s. Line 4 was built
in two stages in the early 1980s.
External links
- Rio Tinto corporate web site