The technological progress of China's aluminum industry advances by leaps and bounds

40 years of reform and opening up China's aluminum industry has made rapid technological progress

From the upstream to the middle and lower reaches of the industrial chain, aluminum oxide, electrolytic aluminum, aluminum processing, each link China has the world's top technology.

First look at alumina production technology. China's independent research and development of low-grade bauxite to produce alumina technology is enough to make the world "mountain rest." There is an iconic indicator to measure the grade of bauxite, called the ratio of aluminum to silicon. The simple understanding is the ratio of aluminum to silicon content in the ore. Bauxite with a high aluminum-silicon ratio means that the aluminum output is large and the alumina production efficiency is high. The World Aluminum Association takes the aluminum-silicon ratio equal to 7 as a critical point, and the aluminum-silicon ratio is lower than 7, such bauxite is considered to be waste ore with no economic exploitation value. However, the technical personnel of China Aluminum Industry has developed a technology for efficiently producing alumina using low-grade bauxite with an aluminum-to-silicon ratio of less than 7, and the utilization of low-grade ore has continued to expand downward from the aluminum-to-silicon ratio of 7, breaking even 7 At present, bauxite with an aluminum to silicon ratio of less than 3 can also be used in the production of alumina. This technology is far ahead in the world. This application technology is leading the world. Not only is the technical and economic significance significant, but the more important significance is that it has greatly improved the utilization rate of the earth ’s resources and the service life of the mine. From the perspective of the history of human development, this is what China ’s aluminum industry has done to humans. Great contribution. The reason why China can support less than 3% of the world's bauxite reserves accounts for 56% of the world's alumina production, low-grade bauxite application technology has made great contributions. Although it is said that domestic aluminum and silicon have little more than 7 ore, the research and development of low-grade bauxite utilization technology is a frustrating move forced by resource conditions, but technological leadership is leading, this is a fact that exists, not active research or passive Judging and defining by research and development, the hero does not ask for the source, only the result of success or failure.

Look at the production technology of electrolytic aluminum. Taking the R & D and application of extra-large current electrolyzer technology as an example, it can reflect the advanced nature of China's electrolytic aluminum technology progress. At the beginning of reform and opening up in 1979, Guizhou Aluminum Plant imported 80,000 tons of 160 kiloamps intermediate-cut pre-baked electrolytic cells from Japan. Taking this as a starting point, China's electrolytic aluminum prebaked electrolytic cell technology has undergone innovative research and development on the basis of absorption and digestion, and has continuously made major breakthroughs.

In the 1990s, the 280 kA large prebaked electrolytic cell technology developed by Zhengzhou Research Institute won the first prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award. Marked by the export of 320 kA electrolytic cell technology jointly developed by Pingguo Aluminum and Guiyang Aluminum Magnesium Design and Research Institute to China, China's aluminum industry has achieved a historic leap from technology importing country to technology exporting country. In the 21st century, China's large-scale pre-baked electrolytic cell technology continues to advance by leaps and bounds, successively overcoming the three major barriers of 400 kA, 500 kA and 600 kA. In the same period, it was comparable to the technological progress of the electrolytic cell. Only China's high-speed rail technology has also overcome the three speeds of 200 km / h, 300 km / h, and 400 km / h. However, the technological progress of China's aluminum industry is different from that of China's high-speed rail technology. China's high-speed rail technology is not alone. In the same period, the speed of high-speed rail in Germany and Japan is comparable to that of China's high-speed rail; while the technology of large-scale pre-baked electrolytic cells in China It has already left the world's peers far behind. When China's 600 kA electrolytic cell technology has been put into production, only 350 kA electrolytic cell technology is in operation abroad. China's electrolytic aluminum technology is as far ahead of the world as alumina technology.

Look at aluminum processing technology. The world's largest aluminum alloy rocket calcined rings with a diameter of 9 meters and a level of 10 meters are all made in China. This type of aluminum processing technology is firmly in the leading position in the world. Another world's first "Chinese Sky Eye", with a diameter of 500 meters, its reflective surface is a curved aluminum alloy material. Due to its huge surface, it is affected by factors such as the gravity of the earth, the force of the geomagnetic field, the change of seasons, the change of weather, sunshine and rain, etc. Under the joint action of, it is easy to cause parameter changes, and the technical requirements for material accuracy, smoothness, curvature, and deflection are particularly high. The technical difficulty of developing such curved aluminum alloy materials is particularly difficult, and it is a roadblock on the construction road of "Sky Eye" . Chinese aluminum processing technicians have overcome many difficulties and successfully completed the task of developing aluminum alloy curved surface reflective materials. Since the establishment of the world's largest radio telescope, new celestial bodies have been continuously discovered in the distant universe, constantly receiving mysterious pulse signals from suspected extraterrestrial civilizations, which shocked the world. In his speeches on New Year's Day in 2017 and 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping cited 7 and 8 items of a total of 15 major scientific and technological achievements, 12 of which contributed to the aluminum industry; General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report of the Party's 19th National Congress Zan's Tiangong, Jiaolong, Tianyan, Wukong, Mozi, and big planes are all equipped with domestic aluminum processing materials. This fully shows that China's aluminum processing technology has entered the world's advanced ranks in the field of high-end new materials. In addition to major scientific and technological projects, China ’s aluminum industry has provided nearly 40 million tons of aluminum processing materials for various industries in the national economy, accounting for more than 50% of the global aluminum processing materials. China ’s aluminum processing technology Economic construction provides advanced technology as support and guarantee for the needs of aluminum materials.

Of course, compared with the world's leading level, China's aluminum industry technology is still lagging behind in some individual items, such as intelligent technology, 3D printing technology, high-end aluminum processing technology, etc. Especially some high-end aluminum alloy materials still rely on imports, but from In general, the technological progress of China's aluminum industry in the past 40 years of reform and opening up has been rapid, visible and proud.