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  • Figure 2. Top image shows a very fine grained microstructure and the image in the bottom a very coarse grained one—both found on the same aluminum part made of EN AW 6061 aluminum alloy.

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    Introduction to Anodizing Aluminum

    By Dr. Anne Deacon Juhl, AluConsult and AnodizingSchool. Editor’s Note: Aluminum manufacturers are not always consistently satisfied with the surface quality of the anodized extrusion and sheet products returned from their anodizers. The anodized products may have patchy surfaces, color variations, or corrosion pits, causing rejects, higher cost, and frustration. Therefore, it is crucial that […]

  • An aluminum billet being loaded into the billet heater prior to extrusion at Benkam Alu Extrusions in Uzbekistan.

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    Benkam Launches Multi-Year Expansion to Increase Extrusion Capacity

    Benkam Alu Extrusions, owned by AKFA Group, is one of the major manufacturers of aluminum profiles in Central Asia. Located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the company recently announced that it is launching a multi-year expansion project, which will more than double its aluminum extrusion production capabilities. This expansion is a part of the company’s overall strategic […]

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    Searching for a Better Battery: Researchers Consider Aluminum as a Lithium Alternative

    By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. With a growing worldwide focus on sustainability, the automotive industry has been shifting its designs towards more environmentally friendly models. The initial focus was on lightweighting using aluminum, magnesium, higher strength steels, and other materials in order to improve fuel economy. Much of the current attention is now focused on […]

  • Rusal primary aluminum production Inert anode

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    Rusal Produces Low Carbon Aluminum Using Inert Anode Technology

    UC Rusal, a metals segment of En+ Group, successfully produced low carbon aluminum using its proprietary inert anode technology. According to the company, it has achieved the world’s lowest carbon aluminum footprint — less than 0.01 tonnes of CO2eq per tonne of aluminum (based on GHG Protocol’s Scope 1 and 2 guidance for direct and […]

  • Figure 5. Cross car beam made of AM50 magnesium alloy. (Source: Meridian Lightweight Technologies.)

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    IMA Launches New Magnesium LCA Study: Setting Sight on Lowering CO2 Emissions

    By Simone Ehrenberger, Institute for Vehicle Concepts, and Dr. Martin Tauber, IMA Achieving zero CO2 emission levels has been a major driver for sustainability goals around the world, with many governments and companies declaring ambitious goals for a circular economy through 2030 and beyond.1 For large, traditional primary metal or processing industries, such as magnesium, […]

  • Figure 2. Demolition and removal of SPL from an aluminum cell cathode.

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    The SPL Waste Management Challenge in Primary Aluminum

    By Alton Tabereaux, Contributing Editor. Spent potlining (SPL) disposal is one of the largest environmental waste management challenges confronting worldwide primary aluminum smelters due to its toxicity. The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) asserts that 1.6 million tons of SPL were generated from primary aluminum production in 2019,1 making it the second largest waste volume produced […]

  • aluminum ingot

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    An Overview of the ASI Standards Revision

    By Dr. Fiona Solomon and Thad Mermer, ASI. The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certification program, which includes the Performance Standard and the Chain of Custody Standard was launched in December 2017, following its development through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process. Currently, it is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminum value chain. […]

  • Novelis automotive aluminum lightweighting

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    Novelis Affirms Commitment to Automotive

    Novelis, Inc. has been supplying the automotive industry for more than 40 years, with its aluminum sheet products being featured in more than 225 different vehicle models, such as the Nissan Rogue, Jaguar I-Pace, and Jeep Wrangler, among others.  The company supports the automotive market through the development of closed-loop recycling programs and innovative development […]