LNG for the restart of the former Alcoa in Sardinia

Last April, the authorization process for the modernization and reactivation of the aluminum production plant of the former ALCOA (now Sider Alloys) in Portovesme was started at the Sardinia Region. The revamping of the plant and the supply of production processes will use LNG, as there is no adequate natural gas distribution network on the island.

LNG will replace the previous foundry feeding systems (burners and preheating casting equipment and, until its decommissioning in 2009, the Ehlaus homogenization furnace) and Rodding (preheating nipples) based on LPG and fuel oil for feeding of the burners of the ovens. The construction of an LNG depot (which will replace the two abandoned tanks of 110 m3 each of LPG) and of a new internal liquid methane distribution system is planned.

The news was given by the specialized newspapers Quotidiano Energia and Staffetta Quotidiana, after the publication on the Region's website of the project and the related environmental documentation, necessary to obtain the start of the works, expected in 28 months. An employment peak of 200 people is expected during the construction phase. In the operating phase, there will be 375 direct people and a variable number of indirect people for a total of about 450 people.

The documentation also refers to the project to restart the nearby Eurallumina, another plant that has been stopped for years, which provides for the LNG supply of the calcination furnaces and the construction of a cogeneration plant also powered by LNG.