Application Of LCA In Cleaner Production Audit Of Alumina Industry

With the development of industrialization and urbanization process, the problems such as resources exhaustion, energy crisis and environmental pollution are growing in intensity. The implementation of cleaner production and solution of resource and environment problem become the common pursuit of all over the world. What is more, this is also the important way to achieve sustainable development.As the essential materials of national economic, aluminum industry plays an important role in our society. With the development of national economy, the quantity demanded of aluminum is increasing which leads the develop of alumina as its raw materials. Because of large amount of resource consumption and waste emission, alumina industry has to develop cleaner production to guarantee its sustainable development. In China, cleaner production audit is one of the ways to implement cleaner production and to improve the cleaner production level and promote the development of alumina industry, it is necessary to study the process of cleaner production audit in alumina industry comprehensively and improve the effect of cleaner production audit.This paper reviewed the study on the theory and technique of Life Cycle Assessment applied to cleaner production. The results show that many scholars have carried out research work in this field, mainly focusing on theory and perspectives of the application which proved the feasibility of Life Cycle Assessment applied to cleaner production. In our country, the main way to implement cleaner production is Cleaner Production Audit. It is much better for the study of specific application of Life Cycle Assessment in Cleaner Production Audit. However, little research has been conducted yet.Through the investigation on the present situation of alumina industry in Shandng province, the production capacity, main resource consumption and waste emission were collected. After comparing with advanced level, the level of alumina industry in Shandng province was evaluated and the restraining factors were found This paper studied the combination of Life Cycle Assessment and Cleaner Production Audit, found out the similarities with each other and demonstrated the feasibility of application of Life Cycle Assessment in Cleaner Production Audit. According to the Life Cycle Assessment techniques, LCA model of Bayer process of alumina industry was structured. Software of eBalance was used to calculate the LCA results of alumina industry, and based on the results, emphasis and schemes of Cleaner Production Audit was proposed reasonably.At last, this paper used the LCA model in the process of Cleaner Production Audit in a case enterprise of alumina industry. According to the results of LCA, environmental effect from process of sedimentation and calcinations were larger than other production process, and when chose emphasis of Cleaner Production Audit, the two processes should be considered. Results of LCA also showed that the main environmental effects were emission of red mud and consumption of water, and schemes of Cleaner Production Audit should focus on reducing them. After application of LCA,5more schemes of Cleaner Production Audit were raised than before, and the investment and benefit were188,500RMB and530.100RMB. The implementation of schemes brought9000t red mud emission reduction which increased33.3%than before and0.22t SO2emission reduction which increased52.4%than before. What is more, consumption of natural gas was840,000m3and the total benefit increased15.72%than before.This paper studied the model and practice of applying LCA in Cleaner Production Audit, which become more clearly oriented. Theory of LCA and Cleaner Production Audit were combined which may bring out new thoughts to the research and has strong theoretical value. The model of LCA in alumina industry was established successfully applied to a case enterprise, which has high technology and demonstration value and will promote sustainable development in China.