The FTC-RUSAL fume treatment system, which is being implemented at the Company's aluminium smelters, corresponds to equipment of the world's leading manufacturers in terms of its characteristics and functionality, but surpasses it in terms of reliability, manufacturability, and lower cost. The technology has been developed by engineers at UC RUSAL's ETC and scientists at SibVAMI as part of the import substitution programme, and it is based on technical solutions that have been accumulating since the 1990s.
The capacity of FTC-RUSAL is up to 140,000 cub. m/hour, and its efficiency is 94.5%, which is the best indicator in the world. At the same time, the FTC removes up to 99.8% of hydrogen fluoride and solid fluorides from the exhaust fumes of aluminium smelters. The equipment is fully adapted to Green Soderberg technology, creating a closed-loop production system together with the reduction cells. In the ARMF/PFS system (automatic raw materials feeding – point feeding system), alumina is fed not directly to the cell, but to the fume treatment centre, where it acts as a kind of filter for fumes. After fluoride compounds settle on the alumina, it is involved in the production of aluminium. This ensures an additional reduction in the consumption of fluoride raw materials and the environmental impact.
In 2019, the Company's production facilities started installing two-stage FTC-RUSAL units for the 'dry' and 'wet' stages of treatment. The latter allows treating exhaust gases from sulphur compounds, particularly sulphur dioxide.