Gramercy Alumina Refinery

Gramercy Alumina Refinery is an aluminium smelter in United States with a reported capacity of 1,200,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. By capacity it ranks #1 of 9 aluminium smelters tracked in United States. It emits about 610,790 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 142,375 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 76% below the median aluminium smelter.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43764993.

В контексте: как это предприятие сравнивается

На мощности 1,200,000 t of alumina/aluminum Gramercy Alumina Refinery — это значительно выше медианная aluminium smelter в United States (187,000 t of alumina/aluminum). Его выброс CO₂ на единицу мощности примерно на 76% ниже медианной aluminium smelter. Подсектор: aluminum. Как aluminium smelter, оно требует высокотемпературного технологического тепла (обычно 600–900°C) для основных промышленных операций — тепла, которое должно подаваться котлами, печами или прямым сжиганием, и потери через неизолированные сосуды и трубопроводы представляют потраченное впустую топливо. Съёмная модульная теплоизоляция может снизить эти потери на 80–96%, охладив поверхность оборудования до ≤45°C, с окупаемостью часто менее 2 лет. Алюминиевые плавильни используют большие электрические токи для рафинирования глинозёма в расплавленный алюминий выше 900°C, и расплавленный металл должен течь через тигли и литейное оборудование.

Сравнение производительности и интенсивности CO₂ рассчитано на основе данных промышленных объектов Climate TRACE; роль сектора основана на инженерных справочниках.

What 610,790 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 United States

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

Local climate

Gramercy Alumina Refinery sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 30.1°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 9 aluminium smelters in United States by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Louisiana Sugar Refining, Llc · Food & Beverage · 115,396 t CO₂
• ATLANTIC ALUMINA, GRAMERCY OPERATIONS · Metals Plant · 801,697 t CO₂
• EVONIK CORPORATION · Chemical Plant · 40,142 t CO₂
• AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS INC - GARYVILLE · Chemical Plant · 802,345 t CO₂
• Marathon Garyville Refinery · Refinery · 5,993,065 t CO₂
• Mosaic Uncle Sam Facility · Chemical Plant · 106,867 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 30.05885, -90.66761. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

A aluminium smelter like this runs hot equipment that sheds heat continuously: alumina calciner, casthouse furnaces, hot ducting (electrolysis itself is electric) (surface/process temperatures around 150–1,000 °C). These surfaces lose energy to the air year-round; removable modular insulation cuts that loss, brings outer surfaces to ≤45 °C, and unclips for inspection.

electrolysis is mostly electricity (Scope 2) + anode process; on-site combustion small - insulation mainly relevant to alumina refining/casthouse.

Indicative recoverable energy

On an already-insulated site (pipes & valves in cladding / jackets), closing the remaining gaps, flanges and damaged sections and switching to removable covers indicatively recovers about 2,200 MWh/yr (≈ 440 t CO₂/yr) — scaled to this site's reported CO₂ within its sector. Bare or damaged surfaces recover several times more.

See Inzonex insulation → Estimate your site →

Indicative, not a measurement. Conservative floor for an already-insulated plant; a TIPCHECK on-site audit gives a measured figure. Industry context: EiiF TIPCHECK — industrial insulation can save ~14 Mtoe/yr in EU, payback typically <2 years.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Bare hot surfaces here exceed the touch-safe limit (EN ISO 13732-1); insulation to ≤45 °C is a worker-safety and compliance win. And before electrification, fuel-switching or CCS, eliminating surface heat loss is the cheapest, fastest, lowest-risk step — audit the bare spots first, rip-and-replace later.

United States: funding & obligation

Funding. Investment tax credit up to 30% of qualified investment incl. industrial decarbonization; open to small/medium/large manufacturers.

Obligation. None at federal level (voluntary). Some states have their own programs. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we don't hold this site's metered energy use).

Verified 2026; confirm current scheme terms before applying.

Frequently asked questions