San Ciprian alumina refinery

San Ciprian alumina refinery is an aluminium smelter in Spain with a reported capacity of 1,600,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by Alcoa Corp. By capacity it ranks #1 of 3 aluminium smelters tracked in Spain. It emits about 1,860,213 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 433,616 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 44% below the median aluminium smelter.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43765130.

En contexto: cómo se compara esta instalación

Con 1,600,000 t of alumina/aluminum, San Ciprian alumina refinery está muy por encima de la mediana de aluminium smelter en Spain (66,508 t of alumina/aluminum). Su CO₂ por unidad de capacidad es aproximadamente 18% por debajo de la mediana de aluminium smelter. Subsector: aluminum. Como aluminium smelter, requiere calor de proceso intenso (típicamente 600–900°C) para sus operaciones industriales centrales — calor que debe ser suministrado por calderas, hornos o combustión directa, y las pérdidas a través de recipientes y tuberías sin aislar representan combustible desperdiciado. El aislamiento modular desmontable puede reducir esas pérdidas en un 80–96%, enfriando superficies a ≤45°C, con amortización a menudo inferior a 2 años. Las fundiciones de aluminio utilizan grandes corrientes eléctricas para refinar alúmina en aluminio fundido por encima de 900°C, y el metal caliente debe fluir a través de crisoles y equipos de colada.

Comparación de capacidad e intensidad de CO₂ calculada a partir de datos de instalaciones industriales de Climate TRACE; papel del sector basado en referencia de ingeniería.

What 1,860,213 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Spain

Reported capacity (t of alumina/aluminum), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Alcoa Corp. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

San Ciprian alumina refinery sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), at 43.7°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #1 largest of 3 aluminium smelters in Spain by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• San Ciprian aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 20,116 t CO₂
• ALUMINIO ESPAÑOL, SA · Metals Plant · 403,000 t CO₂
• Megasa Siderúrgica Narón steel plant · Steel Plant · 70,159 t CO₂
• Grupo Empresarial ENCE S.A. Divisíon de Celulosa - Pulp Mill Navia · Pulp & Paper Mill · 209,957 t CO₂
• Lugo Province · Aluminium Smelter · 94,176 t CO₂
• ALCOA INESPAL, S.A. - LA CORUÑA · Metals Plant · 112,000 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 43.69697, -7.45774. View on OpenStreetMap.

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