Sustainable Offering for Customers

Outotec has a strong portfolio of world-class technologies for the entire value chain of processing ore to refined metals. We develop and deliver solutions which utilize resources efficiently,  reduce energy and water consumption, produce less waste and emissions, and minimize the plant’s life- time ecological impact and operating costs. Through our vast experience and in-house research centers, we have the ability  to test and scale up processes for varied and increasingly  complex raw materials, as well as develop new processes and tailor solutions for their processing.

 

 

Resource-efficient solutions based on deep technological know-how
 

Our most significant contribution to abating climate change and the world’s environmental challenges is made through our products and services, enabling our customers to run environmentally sound, profitable and socially acceptable businesses. It means that our handprint – or our positive effect in terms of sustainability – is bigger than our footprint. In other words, the impact of our own operations on the environment is small compared to what we can achieve by providing innovative solutions to our customers.

 

Our long-term target relates closely to our handprint – we must be able to offer more sustainable technologies and services to our customers with less harmful impacts on the environment. We measure our success on the basis of the emissions avoided through the use of five Outotec technologies, aiming at 20 percent less CO2 emissions compared to the industry average.

 

We also aim to keep the share of environmental goods and services (EGS under OECD definitions) in our order intake permanently above 90 percent. This means that we always seek to sell our latest and best available technology to customers. According to our self assess- ment, as much as 90 (2013: 87; 2012: 89) percent of our order intake qualified as EGS in 2014. The assessment method has been verified by a third party. These products and services measure, pre- vent, limit, minimize or correct environ- mental damage to water, air and soil, as well as problems related to waste, noise and eco-systems. EGS represent, in Outotec’s case, cleaner technologies that reduce environmental risk and minimize pollution and resource usage. For example, Outotec’s sulfuric acid plant, when used to produce acid from a smelter, is clearly EGS technology. However, an acid plant burning elemental sulfur is defined as ‘maybe EGS’ and the final category depends on the latest features of acid production technology that are used in the particular project.

 

REDUCING CO2  EMISSIONS IN METALS PROCESSING
 

In metallurgical processing, energy is the most significant cost item and the main reason for CO2 emissions. Outotec designs sealed processes that utilize the energy contained within the raw materials.

 

The annual emissions avoided by the metallurgical industry through the use of five Outotec technologies amounted to 5.9 (2013: 5.4; 2012: 4.6) million tonnes of CO2 equivalency (CO2-e). These technologies are ferrochrome process, copper flash smelting, alumina calcination, ceramic filters, and co-generation of electricity in the ferrochrome process. Outotec’s CO filter enables the use of process gas in direct electricity generation. In addition, the figure includes a small amount CO2 avoided by the use of coated titanium anodes from the Republic Alternative Technologies business that Outotec acquired in 2014.

 

In 2014, the Outotec ferrochrome process received the ICDA Chrome Industry Environmental Award for its energy efficiency.

 

IMPROVING WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE MINING INDUSTRY
 

The way in which water is perceived in the mining industry has changed from considering it only in terms of “water treatment” to seeing it as a valuable resource that needs proper management. The management of this resource needs to involve the optimization of water usage in the entire mine including concentrator site, minimizing fresh water consumption and waste generated by water treatment as well as implementing water reuse and recycling practices.

 

In many mining regions such as Chile and Australia, the quantity and quality of water pose problems, as companies’ water demands can result in conflicts with local communities that depend on the same resources. Waters in the mining industry are very complex and always site specific, as the composition of impurities is related to the ore itself and to the processing of the ore. Typical impurities in  wastewaters are metals, arsenic, sulfate and chloride. Due to the complexity of the waste waters and the high concentration of sometimes toxic impurities, expertise is needed not only in water treatment technologies but also in mineral processing technologies when developing water management solutions. Firstly, the treated water should be of high enough quality so that it can be recycled back to the mineral processing and therefore reduce fresh water consumption. Secondly, the selected water treatment process should be efficient and reliable so that the mining company can securely meet the requirements of environmental permits.

 

Outotec has developed several solutions for managing the aforementioned challenges in the metals and mining industry. They consist of patented processes and equipment for reactors and dewatering. These elements together with high-quality engineering and automation systems enable reliable and safe water treatment processes.

 

Outotec’s offering combines mineral processing know-how built up over several decades with water treatment expertise to develop optimized and tailor-made solutions for customers. However, the proportion of  these solutions in our sales is still relatively small. Our long-term target is to achieve 50 percent reduction in fresh make-up water consumption per tonne of ore in non-ferrous metals concentrators through Outotec technologies

and solutions.

 

Outotec offers paste plant technology for mineral concentrators and effluent treatment solutions, for example. In addition, we have developed a process for managing sulfate, which is a common and growing challenge in the industry. The Outotec Ettringite process precipitates sulfate and calcium, thereby lowering the scaling potential and total dissolved solids (TDS) content in the treated water while also removing many other impurities, such as metals within the two to three step process. Companies that struggle with sulfate within their processes or in their environmental discharge streams are able to flexibly control the sulfate content with this new process and thereby affect the TDS content in their waters.

 

MORE ENERGY FROM WASTES
 

To abate climate change, substituting fossil energy sources with renewable ones is crucial. Outotec’s long-term target is to achieve an annual reduction in use of fossil fuels by power plants that is equal to 80 MWe and by steam boilers that is equal to 60 MWth.

 

Sewage sludge, when adequately processed, presents another important source of phosphorus and energy. We offer waste-to-energy systems that can treat over 200 different biomass fuels - from waste wood to lignin sludge from

bio-ethanol production.

 

In addition, we have developed an efficient solution to exploit the energy and nutrient potential of a certain part of farmyard waste and sewage sludge. The solution combines Outotec’s fluidized-bed-based biomass incineration technology and the ASH DEC process, which cleans the ash from biomass/ sludge incineration and converts the phosphate into a bio-available fertilizer compound.

 

For example, in the St. Petersburg region in Russia alone, more than twenty million chickens, pigs and cattle annually produce over 600,000 tonnes of nutrient-rich litter and manure. This waste biomass is a source of energy and nutrients if appropriately managed. Nutrient run-off from large-scale animal farms has become among the main threats of pollution for the sea and for groundwater reservoirs. In addition, harmful atmospheric emissions are derived from improperly managed manure.