Qatalum is taking part in the Qatar Petroleum Environmental Fair to deliver the message to visitors that aluminium is a genuinely sustainable metal that can lead to a more sustainable world. The slogan of the exhibition is "God created from water every living thing".
The company's theme for the Fair, which starts today and runs to the 26th April shows that aluminium helps to preserve water and how aluminium production at Qatalum uses a water-conscious production process. Aluminium, Qatalum is keen to emphasise, helps to improve environmental performance due to its water conservation efficiency. Qatalum is showing technologies for treating water pollution, the use of water in the smelting process, and how water recycling and conservation is at the forefront of Qatalum's environmental agenda.
At Qatalum, seawater is used for wet scrubbing and for the cooling tower. Once used, it is treated to meet Ministry of Environment specifications for quality and temperature and then returned to the sea. But in fact, both fresh and salt water are used in the aluminium process; and in doing so, Qatalum implements a number of known techniques and guidelines that allow for efficient water consumption, treatment and reuse on site.
The QP Environmental Fair has been organized since 2004, and this year will be the 8th edition of the event. QPEF 2014 will be held for the first time for four days to effectively promote environmental awareness among students, the employees of QP, its joint ventures and subsidiaries, and the general public. There will also be a theatre and games activities for children with an educational message to increase awareness of water conservation and usage.
Qatalum CEO Tom Petter Johansen said at the opening of the Fair, "Sustainable improvements are underway at Qatalum within the mission to raise our position on the global industry cost curve – but everything is done with environmental impact and innovation at its core. Qatalum is deeply committed to a sustainable approach in achieving its ambitions and we're pleased to be here at the Fair once again, to exchange ideas, educate, and be an honest broker for the sustainability of the aluminium industry."
Deputy CEO Khalid Mohammed Laram said, "We are deeply committed to sustainability, both within the company and the industry at large. We want to emphasise to a young generation the importance of environmental responsibility, of recycling and of efficient water usage." We believe the Oil and Gas industry and the aluminium industry have much to share on energy efficiency and water waste recycling. Taking part in events such as this helps to bring to a new audience the sustainability argument for aluminium and encourage ownership among the young to these important concepts."
Qatalum is a founding member of the Qatar Green Building Council and its Deputy CEO Khalid Mohammed Laram is a board member of the Council. Last year a Zero Emissions Lab was opened at the Qatalum Plant, a newly established facility dedicated to researching and testing aluminium used in curtain wall solutions in support of creating energy, emission and carbon neutral buildings in the Middle East.
One example of Qatalum's innovation is how Qatalum has found a sustainable method of reusing waste from the pot relining process with minimal environmental impact. Spent pot lining (SPL) is made up of three distinctive materials requiring disposal and are actively removed separately and sorted and the carbon rich and iron rich by-products from Qatalum are being used by Qatar Steel. Qatalum's by-products are another industries feedstock.
