Abstract
The Alcoa Fjarðaál smelter in Iceland consumes 4600 GWh annually to produce aluminum. About 50% of the total energy absorbed by the cells is reduced to waste heat of which roughly 40% is currently lost through exhaust gases . The exhaust gases leave the cells at about 110 °C before entering the gas treatment center (GTC). The feasibility of operating heat exchangers upstream of GTCs has been demonstrated at other smelters. Reyðarfjordur, which is 5.5 km from Fjarðaál currently uses electricity for domestic heating, like other surrounding communities. Previous research has shown that the waste heat from Fjarðaál is more than enough to supply space heating for the local community. This paper will address the technical challenges and suggest solutions to deliver heat in a closed-loop heating circuit from the Fjarðaál plant to Reydarfjordur and estimate the total investment cost for the heat regeneration system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Landvirkjun (2018) Fjótsdalur Power Station https://www.landsvirkjun.com/company/powerstations/fljotsdalurpowerstation/. Accessed 7 Aug 2018
Yu M (2018) Waste heat recovery from aluminium production, M.Sc. thesis, Reykjavík University
Samorka, Flokkur: Hitaveita https://www.samorka.is/category/hitaveita/. Accessed 7 Aug 2018
Email from Sigurjón Kristinn Björgvinsson, Process Technician at Fjarðaál. Received 15 Mar 2018
Wedde G (2012) HEX Retrofit enables smelter capacity expansion
Wedde G (2009) Pot gas heat recovery and emission control
Wedde G (2009) Increased energy efficiency and reduced HF emissions with new heat exchanger
Personal communication during site visit at Alcoa Mosjoen (May 2018)
Email from Geir Wedde, Consulting Engineer. Received 28 Feb 2018
Ingimar HG, Jónas K (2010) Jarðhitanotkun til raforkuvinnslu og beinna nota til ársins 2009 https://orkustofnun.is/gogn/Skyrslur/OS-2010/OS-2010-02.pdf. Accessed 7 Aug 2010
Email from Þorsteinn Sigurjónsson, Director of Municipal Utilities at Fjarðabyggð. Received 14 June 2018
Courau A, Darsy N, Lim C (2015) Balanced GTC’s at the heart of aluminium production, Aluminium International Today
Email from Sigurjón Kristinn Björgvinsson, Process Technician at Fjarðaál. Received 28 May 2018
Orkustofnun (2018) http://map.is/os/. Accessed 12 July 2018
Landsvirkjun (2018) Energy Generation in Harmony with the Environment and Society, https://www.landsvirkjun.com/societyenvironment/. Accessed 16 Aug 2018
Email from Ómar Bjarki Smárason, Engineer at STAPI ehf, Received 14 June 2018
Ómar SB (2015) Hitaveita Eskifjarðar Framtíðarsýn 2015, STAPI ehf
RUV (2017) Hitaveitan á Eskifirði hefur kólnað, http://www.ruv.is/frett/hitaveitan-a-eskifirdi-hefur-kolnad. Accessed 15 Aug 2018
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Alcoa Foundation for financial support for this project and to Geir Wedde for valuable advice. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the interest and input from Alcoa Fjarðaál, Fjarðabyggð, and EFLA Consulting Engineers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Haraldsson, L.B., Saevarsdottir, G., Gudjonsdottir, M.S., Valgardsson, G. (2019). Feasibility of a District Heating System in Fjardabyggd Using Waste Heat from Alcoa Fjardaal. In: Wang, T., et al. Energy Technology 2019. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06209-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06209-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-06208-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-06209-5
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)