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> The downside is that the process is incredibly energy-intensive > But the key feature of this is the extremely low carbon emissions. The process is quite de

> The downside is that the process is incredibly energy-intensive > But the key feature of this is the extremely low carbon emissions. The process is quite dependant on a clean energy source if the ‘low carbon emissions’ thing is to be claimed.

defrost 3y ago
Their method relies on hydrogen and electricity, which can both be sourced from renewable power and extracts iron and potentially other metals from the waste. What's left behind may still be toxic but isn't as environmentally damaging. Green energy and green inputs are already being sourced in heavy mineral processing operations: Rio Tinto and Sumitomo to build Gladstone hydrogen pilot plant to trial lower-carbon alumina refining https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2023/rio-tinto-and-sumitomo-to-build-gladstone-hydrogen-pilot-plant-to-trial-lower-carbon-alumina-refining https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2023/rio-tinto-and... The project will consist of construction of a 2.5MW on-site electrolyser to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun refinery and a retrofit of one of Yarwun’s four calciners so it can operate at times with a hydrogen burner. The trial is expected to produce the equivalent of about 6,000 tonnes of alumina per year while reducing Yarwun’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 3,000 tonnes per year. Converting the entire plant to green hydrogen could reduce emissions by 500,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking about 109,000 internal combustion engine cars off the road. Driving the development of Australia’s largest solar farm at Gladstone https://www.manmonthly.com.au/rio-tinto-driving-development-of-australias-largest-solar-farm-at-gladstone/ https://www.manmonthly.com.au/rio-tinto-driving-development-... Rio Tinto is aiming to drive development of Australia’s largest solar power project near Gladstone, after agreeing to buy all electricity from the 1.1GW Upper Calliope Solar Farm to provide renewable power to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone operations.
- lostlogin 3y ago
  Maybe I’m too sceptical, but I don’t believe a thing Rio Tinto say or any claim they make. They have created a hell of a mess here in New Zealand and the tax payer looks set to fund the cleanup. They also engineer hostage situations with our power grid on a regular basis.
  - defrost 3y ago
    They routinely screwup like all large organisations, governments, churches, etc. and need to be watched with a razor eye. They're not markedly worse than run of the mill (for all their extreme f-ups in some places they have years of "as expected" somewhere else). My cousin has just exited New Zealand to work here thanks to (non Rio Tinto) Oil & Gas extracters going bankrupt and leaving the NZ taxpayer with a clean up bill. To clarify, that's the NZ-local operating arm of an international O&G energy Co. going locally bankrupt in NZ, not the parent company. That sucks. I blame the NZ Govt. (my apologies) for not getting up front { deposits | guarentees | meaningful bonds } to cover exit and rehabilition costs (which I understand they have recently introduced legislation to do so in future). All Corporations are Crooks! (in the sense that they will, at most, do the least they can). All that typed, here at least Rio is on the up and up in so far as they are in fact trialling solar power, hydrogen generation, and many things that are making running costs cheaper for Rio Tinto along with increased profits.
- stuaxo 3y ago
  A lot of the big push for hydrogen comes from fossil fuel companies, it's not green hydrogen they want to sell you, but "blue" - produced alongside and from fossil fuels.
  - defrost 3y ago
    Sure - gas companies such as Chevron, Woodside, Santos, et al have excess hydrogen to burn (that's the blue). Oddly mining resource companies running huge billion tonne per annum truck fleets are pushing for green hydrogen as a night time buffer for daytime solar in order to save money in the longer term. By sinking a billion or so into massive solar farms and hybrid truck fleets they save in the long run by paying less for energy to third parties (the Chevron, Exxon, et al. crowd). These are the company statements made to stockholders by the likes of Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, and others .. so they carry the weight of legally binding statements of intent at least. Still looking at a ten year transition, of course, but these a massive consumers of fossil fuel energy that are moving now to use renewables.

defrost 3y ago

Their method relies on hydrogen and electricity, which can both be sourced from renewable power and extracts iron and potentially other metals from the waste. What's left behind may still be toxic but isn't as environmentally damaging. Green energy and green inputs are already being sourced in heavy mineral processing operations: Rio Tinto and Sumitomo to build Gladstone hydrogen pilot plant to trial lower-carbon alumina refining https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2023/rio-tinto-and-sumitomo-to-build-gladstone-hydrogen-pilot-plant-to-trial-lower-carbon-alumina-refining https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2023/rio-tinto-and... The project will consist of construction of a 2.5MW on-site electrolyser to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun refinery and a retrofit of one of Yarwun’s four calciners so it can operate at times with a hydrogen burner. The trial is expected to produce the equivalent of about 6,000 tonnes of alumina per year while reducing Yarwun’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 3,000 tonnes per year. Converting the entire plant to green hydrogen could reduce emissions by 500,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking about 109,000 internal combustion engine cars off the road. Driving the development of Australia’s largest solar farm at Gladstone https://www.manmonthly.com.au/rio-tinto-driving-development-of-australias-largest-solar-farm-at-gladstone/ https://www.manmonthly.com.au/rio-tinto-driving-development-... Rio Tinto is aiming to drive development of Australia’s largest solar power project near Gladstone, after agreeing to buy all electricity from the 1.1GW Upper Calliope Solar Farm to provide renewable power to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone operations.

lostlogin 3y ago
Maybe I’m too sceptical, but I don’t believe a thing Rio Tinto say or any claim they make. They have created a hell of a mess here in New Zealand and the tax payer looks set to fund the cleanup. They also engineer hostage situations with our power grid on a regular basis.
- defrost 3y ago
  They routinely screwup like all large organisations, governments, churches, etc. and need to be watched with a razor eye. They're not markedly worse than run of the mill (for all their extreme f-ups in some places they have years of "as expected" somewhere else). My cousin has just exited New Zealand to work here thanks to (non Rio Tinto) Oil & Gas extracters going bankrupt and leaving the NZ taxpayer with a clean up bill. To clarify, that's the NZ-local operating arm of an international O&G energy Co. going locally bankrupt in NZ, not the parent company. That sucks. I blame the NZ Govt. (my apologies) for not getting up front { deposits | guarentees | meaningful bonds } to cover exit and rehabilition costs (which I understand they have recently introduced legislation to do so in future). All Corporations are Crooks! (in the sense that they will, at most, do the least they can). All that typed, here at least Rio is on the up and up in so far as they are in fact trialling solar power, hydrogen generation, and many things that are making running costs cheaper for Rio Tinto along with increased profits.
stuaxo 3y ago
A lot of the big push for hydrogen comes from fossil fuel companies, it's not green hydrogen they want to sell you, but "blue" - produced alongside and from fossil fuels.
- defrost 3y ago
  Sure - gas companies such as Chevron, Woodside, Santos, et al have excess hydrogen to burn (that's the blue). Oddly mining resource companies running huge billion tonne per annum truck fleets are pushing for green hydrogen as a night time buffer for daytime solar in order to save money in the longer term. By sinking a billion or so into massive solar farms and hybrid truck fleets they save in the long run by paying less for energy to third parties (the Chevron, Exxon, et al. crowd). These are the company statements made to stockholders by the likes of Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, and others .. so they carry the weight of legally binding statements of intent at least. Still looking at a ten year transition, of course, but these a massive consumers of fossil fuel energy that are moving now to use renewables.