Alcan Inc. is pleased to announce that in the weeks ahead it will introduce a newly developed and innovative low-PAH pitch in its Quebec Soderberg plants. Pitch, along with calcined coke, is one of the primary materials used inthe production of anodes, which are used in the fabrication of aluminum.
Traditional pitch is made from carbon tar.
In the new pitch, the PAH materials have been replaced with petroleum by-products. The gradual introduction of the low-PAH pitch will take place in Quebec Soderberg plants over the next few weeks. British Titanium, the developers of a cheaper process to produce titanium, are in the final stages of securing finance to move from a small pilot plant to a scaled-up version. Their FFC process uses electrolysis to eliminate oxygen from titanium dioxide, leaving pure metal or titanium alloy. To date it looks like being the only realistic alternative to replace the traditional and costly Kroll process which uses chemical reduction.