Aston University has created a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Midlands-based casthouse technology specialists to create a suite of energy-efficient aluminum recycling systems that are predicted to lower energy usage by up to 50%.
Image Credit: Aston University
The company’s first relationship with Aston University, which produced a more intelligent design process for furnaces and associated equipment for the worldwide aluminum sector utilizing complicated design automation techniques and algorithms, was completed before entering into this new partnership with Mechaterm International Ltd.
A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner, and a highly skilled researcher known as a KTP associate.
Mechatherm International Limited is a market leader in customized casthouse equipment for the aluminum sector.
Aluminum production from ore is becoming less commercially feasible due to rising energy prices, prompting several manufacturers to reduce primary aluminum production. However, world consumption of aluminum is increasing, as is the recycling of aluminum scrap. Existing methods have high running costs due to inadequate thermal management, emphasizing the critical need for energy-efficient recycling alternatives.
This collaboration will allow Mechatherm to gather crucial information in thermal management processes to create and commercialize a variety of cost-effective solutions that enhance energy efficiency through waste heat use.
Dr. Ahmed Rezk and Dr. Muhammed Imran, senior lecturers in mechanical and design engineering at Aston University, will guide the team. Their research is to develop unique thermal energy systems to enhance energy performance through modeling and optimization, thermodynamics, and heat and mass transfer.
This partnership will allow us to access Aston University’s expertise to develop a range of energy-efficient recycling solutions which meet environmental and system performance targets and react quickly to market and regulatory changes.
Alan Burrows, Managing Director, Mechatherm International Ltd
“This is an exciting opportunity to leverage the knowledge Dr. Rezk and I have with thermal processes and energy management. It will enable Mechatherm to deliver the next generation of aluminum recycling technology, which is important for supporting business growth in the aluminum recycling industry,” concludes Dr. Imran, senior lecturer in mechanical and design engineering at Aston University.