Key physical properties of smelter grade alumina

Abstract

The properties of Smelter Grade Alumina, SGA, vary from refinery to refinery, and they also vary over time. Some physical properties, such as high fines content, have the potential to impact key smelting performance indicators more than others. These may affect production efficiency as well as environmental performance. Often the barriers to optimal performance have as much to do with the equipment that is used to handle alumina, its layout, and how alumina inventories are managed, as with the physical properties of SGA. In this paper the author offers insights into which parameters are key focal points; for the properties of SGA, and upon handling equipment & methods. Copyright © 2014 by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.