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Aluminum recycling for green energy production 

The story of AliCE-WHy  

Idea of project 

The main idea of the AliCE-Why project is to address the recycling of aluminum (Al) for the production of clean energy. The demand for aluminum continues to grow, as does energy production, but recycling opportunities are relatively small, especially in small countries or remote regions. Furthermore, the transportation of current Al waste requires additional costs and does not generate jobs or revenue for the unused resources that are exported. Thus, a local circular recycling process should be developed. The main objective of this project is to develop  technology and a prototype for energy production from Al waste by producing hydrogen and further processing the by-product Al hydroxide. 

The scheme of the project can be seen in Figure 1, where when aluminum and water are combined (in our case with the addition of sodium hydroxide), hydrogen is released, and aluminum hydroxide remains. As one of the activity-increasing treatment methods, plasma treatment of the samples (Al waste) was performed, which changed how fast the reactions take place and thus gives the opportunity to vary the rate of hydrogen production. 

Activities of project 

Within the framework of the project, both the research of raw materials and the investigation of the reaction process, as well as the analysis of the final products, were carried out. This included the study of aluminum waste, where a material was selected from it, as shown in Figure 2, and experiments were carried out on the release of hydrogen. Next, the possibility of using the aluminum waste was evaluated. For example window frame chips as seen in Figure 2 a), and the composition of their elements b) as well as aluminum hydroxide left after reaction with water, which can be seen in Figure 2 c). 

The conducted experiments made it possible to understand the kinetics (speed) of processes and reactions at different electrolytes and temperatures, as well as to better describe the applicability of the chosen process in the processing and further use of materials. 

The main results of the project are two publications on process (https://www.mdpi.com/2400516) and materials research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319923046323), promotion of cooperation, including with representatives of the aluminum industry, Alcoa, as well as the creation of a prototype for the successful processing of aluminum waste for the production of green hydrogen (shown in Figure 4) with useful material (which can be used in the aluminum recycling industry). 

Within the laboratory, experiments were performed with a smaller device, as shown in Figure 3. Using this device, it is possible to accurately measure the amount of released hydrogen depending on the experimental parameters, such as determining the amount of released hydrogen in electrolytes of different concentrations, as shown in Figure 3 b. 

In addition, a techno-economic analysis has been performed and similar processes/projects elsewhere in the world have been compared, although our proposed solution is truly unique. Further publications on various aspects of the process and materials are expected at the end of the project.

Benefits of the project and development of cooperation 

One of the main benefits within the framework of this project, and also within the framework of the entire program, is international cooperation, development of personnel and competences. A lot of new knowledge has been gained, both thematically because of research and through direct contact within consortia. Within the AliCE-WHy group, members have grown and gained irreplaceable knowledge in the aluminum industry, hydrogen use, global economy, and fundamental process research. 

Project members have participated in many international conferences, for example the 2022 FM&NT-NIBS conference, where all members of the consortium presented oral and poster papers. Three examples from the Latvian team: 

1. Sika et al. “Reactor design investigation for Hydrogen production from Aluminum – Water reaction”. Simulated reactor fluid flow to test the planned prototype and optimize the design. The obtained results were used for a more efficient design for the reactors. 

2. Knoks et al. “Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Aluminum Foil – investigation of kitchen wastes”. Corrosion characteristics of packaging aluminum as an alternative material used in the project were examined. It turned out that increasing the temperature inhibits the process of active corrosion and raised new questions about the change in fluid parameters, which was studied later. 

3. Mezulis et al. “On the efficiency of hydrogen production from plasma-treated aluminum waste with NaOH and KOH promoters”. The main conclusions were related to the fact that pretreatment of applied aluminum with hydrogen plasma gives obvious results: in the first stage, the efficiency of hydrogen production increases up to 10 times, while the activation energy decreases by 18%. 

As one of the activities, scientists have actively participated in the promotion of the project, the program and the obtained results through various seminars, talks, events, and meetings with interested parties from around the world, from the Baltic States to California, USA to Japan with an invited talk. In all cases, the project and its results generated a lot of interest. 

Several informative events were organized within the project, where some of the most important ones are noted for a wider audience: 

• At the inventors’ exhibition MINOX and the international night of scientists. The MINOX AliCE-WHy prototype was rewarded with a bronze medal in the field of innovation. 

• The project was presented at the exhibition for the general public in Klaipeda “Without waste” and won the best innovation award 

• Social media posts such as Twitter, twitter, or LinkedIn, as well as a lit Christmas tree with aluminum scraps. 

• Cooperation with the REVEAL project from Switzerland (https://www.reveal-storage.eu/) was established. 

• LEI Hydrogen Technology group implemented a hydrogen energy technology training program for Lithuanian industry representatives. Activities of the Alice-Why project were also presented during the training. 

Results of the project 

The project team has found that, in fact, construction aluminum is currently not being recycled to the same extent as packaging (such as beverage cans) as is being reported. For example, the Al_waste 1 selected within the project comes from the production of aluminum windows, this type of material is recycled up to 20%, where the remaining 80% + is added to new/fresh aluminum, which can no longer be called a true part of the circular economy. There are also many other types of Al waste that are not recycled. 

Consequently, project scientists have developed a possible solution for the use of such waste- to produce green energy, which, as technology develops, could be a truly circular economy and full-cycle process. 

Future plans include development of the existing technology and further research into processes and materials. The consortium is determined to continue and expand cooperation, the established team is strong with a wide and detailed range of knowledge that will contribute to further development. In the final phase of the project, a new application is being prepared for further research with a wider consortium and larger objectives. The project consortium had applied for the EIT’s pre-study of new technologies, but the consortium’s plans turned out to be more ambitious than the call predicted. 

The Baltic Research Programme is implemented with the support of EEA grants within the framework of programme “Research and Education”, which is implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Latvian Council of Science. The total funding of the programme is 8,676,084 euros, of which the state budget co-financing is 15% or 1,301,413 euros and the EEA co-financing is 85% or 7,374,671 euros. In the Baltic research programme, 9 research projects and 5 small cooperation projects are implemented in Latvia. 

The Baltic Research Programme’s project “Aluminum in circle economy – from waste through hydrogen energy to alumina” – AliCE-Why” is implemented by Institute of Solid-State Physics of the University of Latvia (Latvia), Lithuanian Energy Institute (Lithuania), University of Iceland (Iceland), Innovation Centre Iceland IceTec (Iceland).