ALUMINUM ALUMINUM ALUMINUM ALUMINUM ALUMINUM 
Project Fact Sheet 
TECHNOLOGY FOR CONVERTING SPENT POTLINER 
BENEFITS 
APPLICATIONS 
(SPL) TO USEFUL GLASS FIBER PRODUCTS 
ü Potential to eliminate the treatment 
and landfilling of up to 100,000 
metric tons of SPL annually in the 
U.S. 
ü Potential for over one trillion Btus of 
energy savings in the U.S. aluminum 
and fiberglass manufacturing 
industries 
ü Reduced SPL disposal cost in excess 
of $20 million annually for the U.S. 
aluminum industry 
The successful completion of this 
project and the subsequent commercial 
implementation of the CMS™ will 
provide the U.S. aluminum industry 
with a technology to produce commercial 
quality glass fiber and aluminum 
fluoride products from SPL. 
RECYCLING OF WASTE PRODUCTS WILL PRODUCE VALUEFlue 
Gas 
Feed Tank Water/Air Additive 
Natural 
Evaporative Batch Gas 
Cooler Air Fluoride Filter 
Reactor 
Vortec Natural 
Recuperator CMSTM Fluoride Gas 
Air 
Co-Product 
Storage Glass 
FD Fan 
Fiber Product 
ADDED PRODUCTS 
U.S. Aluminum smelters produce up to 100,000 tons of SPL annually, which 
could cost an estimated $33 million for treatment and landfill disposal; while nine 
hundred billion British thermal units (Btu) of natural gas are consumed annually 
for SPL treatment alone. 
Vortec Corporation, in cooperation with Alcoa Incorporated/Alcoa-Mt. Holly, 
Hoogovens Technical Services, Inc., CertainTeed Corporation, and the New York 
State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, will perform a pilot-scale experimental 
testing project to evaluate the feasibility of converting SPL from aluminum 
smelting plants to commercial quality glass fiber and aluminum fluoride products 
using Vortec’s Cyclone Melting System (CMS™) and wheel fiberizing technology. 
The CMS™ is a patented, fossil fuel-fired, suspension heating and melting 
technology developed for rapid and efficient glass melting and industrial waste 
vitrification. SPL contains many of the chemical oxides typically used in the 
manufacture of glass products. Adjusting the concentration of these oxides by 
blending the SPL with raw materials and heating the feedstock materials in 
suspension with reaction gases in the CMS™, provides the potential for tailoring 
glass compositions as may be needed for making specific commercial products. 
VORTEC INTEGRATED SPL RECYCLING SYSTEM 
SPL 
Mill 
Metals SPL Additives 
Recovery 
Weighing & 
Blending 
Vortec CMSTM process for conversion of SPL to useful glass fiber products. 
OFFICE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY ü U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 
Stack 
ID Fan
Project Description 
Goals: Provide the U.S. aluminum industry with a cost-effective means of converting its 
SPL waste to commercial quality glass fiber products and recover high value fluorides, 
which are research priorities identified in the Aluminum Industry Technology Roadmap. 
The project, initiated in September 1997, will be performed during a 24-month period and 
will include the following activities: 
1. Design, fabrication, and installation of pilot-scale glass fiberizing and flue gas filtration 
and analysis equipment into Vortec’s existing pilot-scale CMS™ testing facility; 
2. Pilot-scale SPL vitrification test to produce glass fibers from feedstock containing 
greater than or equal to 40 percent of SPL; 
3. Testing and analysis of fibers from the pilot-scale test with respect to commercial 
quality specifications; 
4. Testing and analysis of fibers with respect to fiber respiratory effects in humans; 
5. Sampling and analysis of flue gas from the pilot-scale CMS™ to remove sodium 
fluoride (NaF) to less than or equal to 0.05 grains per standard cubic feet per minute 
(scfm); and, 
6. Preliminary design of a commercial-scale air pollution system for aluminum fluoride 
production. 
Progress and Milestones 
ü Design and installation of all pilot-scale components have been completed. 
ü Vitrification and fiberizing trials have been initiated. 
ü Pilot-scale testing of the system is currently being conducted. 
ü Glass fiber qualification testing has been initiated and is expected to be completed by 
Spring/Summer 1999. 
Commercialization Plan 
Vortec Corporation has formed strategic alliances with organizations with complimentary 
abilities to build and operate recycling facilities to service the aluminum industry. 
PROJECT PARTNERS 
Alcoa Incorporated 
Alcoa-Mt. Holly 
Goose Creek, SC 
CertainTeed Corporation 
Valley Forge, PA 
Hoogovens Technical Services, Inc. 
Ontario, Canada 
New York State College of Ceramics 
at Alfred University 
Alfred, NY 
Vortec Corporation 
Collegeville, PA 
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, 
PLEASE CONTACT: 
Ramesh Jain 
Office of Industrial Technologies 
Phone: (202) 586-2381 
Fax: (202) 586-1658 
ramesh.jain@ee.doe.gov 
http://www.oit.doe.gov/IOF/aluminum 
Please send any comments, 
questions, or suggestions to 
webmaster.oit@ee.doe.gov. 
Visit our home page at 
www.oit.doe.gov 
Office of Industrial Technologies 
Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy 
U.S. Department of Energy 
Washington, D.C. 20585 
January 1999