KrAZ could become one of Rusal's leading scrap metal recycling facilities

KRASNOYARSK. April 23 (Interfax) - For the first time in its history, the Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelter (KrAZ, owned by Rusal ) processed a large batch of aluminum scrap used in the smelting of primary aluminum which had been supplied to the Russian manufacturer, Rusal said in a statement.

A can produced from this metal is not inferior in its technical characteristics to products made entirely from primary aluminum, the statement said. Meanwhile, the company has never supplied aluminum containing recycled metal for the production of cans.

"This is a small volume for KrAZ [60 tonnes of aluminum scrap], but a significant step for the entire company (...). The use of scrap in aluminum production is one of the most effective ways to reduce the carbon footprint of our products. And the increase in demand for products containing recycled metal is perhaps the main trend in the global aluminum industry," Igor Ignashov, Rusal's sales director in Russia and the CIS countries, said.

Using the experience gained at KrAZ, Rusal is forming a list of investment projects that will allow it to launch scrap processing on an industrial scale. In the future, KrAZ will become one of the company's leading plants for recycling scrap metal.

The design capacity of KrAZ is 1 million tonnes of metal per year. The plant accounted for 27% of all aluminum produced in Russia and 3% of global production, the company's 2022 report said.

As reported, Rusal started preparatory work on the environmental restructuring of KrAZ in December last year. As part of the project, one electrolysis series with self-baking anodes, consisting of two buildings, will be built on the site of the plant's existing buildings No. 13-16 with EcoSoderberg production technology. This will allow for a two-thirds reduction in hydrogen fluoride emissions and eliminate emissions of tarry substances and benzopyrene into the atmosphere, while maintaining production volumes.

Rusal's preliminary investment in the project is estimated at about 100 billion rubles; the first metal from the new production site is planned to be produced in 2027, Rusal told Interfax.