Industries

Aluminum

Smelters are the driving force behind the aluminum industry, and are unfortunately responsible for producing high levels of hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas in the process. Hydrogen fluoride gas must be monitored in aluminum smelters for both the safety of workers and to limit facility emissions. Trapping of fluorides through efficient operation of dry scrubbers in fume treatment plants not only reduces harmful emissions off the stack, it is also economical as fluoride is an additive in the electrolysis process of aluminum smelting technology. Our LasIR gas analyzer can provide continuous updates on HF levels within a smelter to optimize process control, increase scrubber efficiency and minimize HF emissions. With over a thousand HF monitoring points measured worldwide by LasIR analyzers, Unisearch can be considered the world leader in this industry sectory.

Monitoring of hydrogen fluoride gas may be required at tens of different locations within an aluminum smelter, including inlets, gas treatment centers, single filter modules, exhaust stacks and Potroom roofs. Multichannel LasIR models are the most commonly used analyzers as they allow for gas measurement at up to 16 different monitoring locations within the same plant through a single controller connected to any combinations of stacks, inlet ducts and open path telescopes. These analyzers are not only cost-effective for the initial investment, but also reduce maintenance costs to virtually zero.

A typical use of a LasIR multichannel system is HF monitoring at each individual filter module of the gas treatment plant. Monitoring the scrubbing efficiency of each filter module contributes to the reduction of operational costs, prolonging maintenance intervals and optimizing the entire process, thus reducing stack emissions. Another example is monitoring HF inside the Potrooms, normally at roof level. Thanks to the use of high-power lasers combined with very high-precision reflectors, LasIR analyzers can be used to monitor HF over very long distances, with existing installations in which a distance of up to 700m was covered inside a Potroom. A single 4-channel LasIR analyzer is normally used to monitor HF emissions from a Potline consisting of two Potrooms, where the monitoring path covers half of the Potline's length.