The Value of Integrated Production Planning for Two-Stage Aluminum Recycling Operations

Recycling low-quality scrap and dross is of great interest in the aluminum industry due to its economic and environmental benefits. However, using these raw materials in alloy production requires reprocessing prior to the re-melting stage, leading to two-stage blending operations. In addition, there are energy saving opportunities through 1) immediately processing hot dross collected from alloy production and 2) delivering reprocessed scrap and dross as liquid to produce final alloys. This presentation will describe developing integrated production planning models that determine batch plans for reprocessing and re-melting stages simultaneously. Also, key drivers that maximize the benefits of integrated production planning will be presented. The results suggest that this approach enables aluminum producers to maximize incorporation of reprocessed low-quality raw materials.