> Having an electricity interruption of more than a handful of hours can cause the aluminum in-process to solidify, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage to the smelter and requiring months to fix.
-When touring an aluminum melting plant in Norway (which exists only because of cheap, reliable hydropower - the bauxite is shipped in from Australia, mostly), I was told the last-ditch measure to avoid such a situation was a metric shitload of gravity-fed kerosene burners with redundant fuel supplies located at the critical (that is, hard and expensive to replace) parts of the line.
They really, really didn't want to look at a solidified production line.
I haven't been through a smelter, but would love the opportunity to tour one sometime. Were you on a public tour, or was it through a business dealing?
Business dealing of sorts. My grandfather was an engineer with the utility company and brought me along once, figuring I'd find it interesting. He was right.
-When touring an aluminum melting plant in Norway (which exists only because of cheap, reliable hydropower - the bauxite is shipped in from Australia, mostly), I was told the last-ditch measure to avoid such a situation was a metric shitload of gravity-fed kerosene burners with redundant fuel supplies located at the critical (that is, hard and expensive to replace) parts of the line.
They really, really didn't want to look at a solidified production line.