Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced the start-up of a new Dh15-million ($4.1 million) pre-treatment and crusher facility for spent pot lining in a step forward for the recycling of industrial waste.

Spent pot lining (SPL) is the used inner lining of reduction cells in which aluminium gets smelted and is one of the most significant waste streams in the aluminium industry.

The new pre-treatment and crusher facility is located at EGA’s Al Taweelah site, and is the largest in the Gulf region, said the company.

It will be used to pre-treat spent pot lining so it is ready to be used by cement companies in the UAE as an alternative feedstock, it added.

The Emirati aluminium giant has been working with UAE cement companies since 2010 to develop the potential of spent pot lining to replace some fuel and refractory materials required in cement manufacturing.

Last year, EGA supplied over 41,000 tonnes of spent pot lining to UAE cement companies, reducing stockpiles from previous years and making EGA a global leader in the re-use of this industrial waste.