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We are implementing a novel and highly flexible process for the production of High-purity aluminates and Silicon from industrial wastes. Such a new process is associated with a number of opportunities for supply-chain members upstream and downstream.

Upstream, the global aluminum industry produces one million tons of waste in the form of dross every year. Because there are currently no recycling paths available for this material, it is economically lost, causes disposal costs, and further increases the ecological footprint of aluminum production. By proposing a path to recover the grey energy contained in this material and upcycling the material, SiQAl therefore helps the aluminum industry green their process and reduce their costs.

Downstream, new industries using specialty materials based on aluminates and silicon are strongly expanding. As a prominent example, the LED or battery sectors have now scaled from niche sectors to industries with a significant consumption of high-purity alumina and own requirements both in quality and cost. Incumbent supply chain members are not able to serve the needs of these new sectors, threatening further expansion. With a low-cost process, sourcing its primary material from locally available sources and a circular economy approach, SiQAl’s process is able to sustainably provide these sectors the quality and quantity high-purity alumina needed.

The SiQAl process generates an aluminate of excellent quality and compositional stability through a novel processing route. Silicon – a side product of the the process – is special in that it has no direct CO2 footprint and is up to 500 times purer than traditional metallurgical silicon.

We are currently exploring the benefits associated with this novel genesis. The aluminate for instance is highly reactive, which makes it predestined for further hydrometallurgical processing. It is thus readily upgraded to high-purity alumina.

High-purity Alumina (HPA) is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) with purity levels above 99.99% or 4N+. Alumina is a ceramic material with exceptional hardness, chemical resistance and thermal stability.

In its predominant application, HPA is converted into synthetic Sapphire-crystals which are used as substrates for Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or as a scratch resistant protection glasses in mobile applications. Additional usues of this speciality raw material is in the semiconductor industry and in separator sheets for Li-ion batteries.

HPA is typically produced by dissolution of purified aluminum which makes it a very costly product.  HPA is a highly demanded material claiming prices between $25’000/t and $50’000/t.

SiQAl’s coupled production process and and advanced purity engineering starting at the input materials, results in a product of excellent quality at a cost significantly undercutting tradional production procedures.

The video below by our peer Altech Chemicals gives a good overview for applications of HPA:

Contact us at info@siqal.de if you would like to learn more about our products!