Environment

The environmental impacts of copper fabrication and finishing processes are minimal. Luvata’s latest technologies are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than competing processes.

Copper cathodes, scrap and alloying metals are melted in the foundries and cast to be further processed. Off-gases of furnaces are led to filtration, and where necessary, to afterburning. The recovered dusts are recycled to up-stream smelters. Cooling waters, that are directly in contact with cast products are treated to remove particles and recirculated.

The modern casting processes that Luvata has developed are environmentally more sustainable than conventional processes. The processes are continuous, and produce sheet, wire rod or tube that are by their dimensions already closer to final products. Further processing stages are reduced, and thus energy consumption and scrap circulation are reduced. These processes are also clean what comes to emissions to air or discharges to water.

The cast shapes are further processed to semi-finished products in several different types of mills. Common to this fabrication stage is, that the environmental impacts are small, and mainly have to do with surface finishing processes. Oxidized surface is often removed by pickling with sulphuric acid liquid. The pickling liquids are recycled or treated as well as flushing waters containing some copper. In some cases the oxide scale is removed mechanically, either by milling or sand blasting.  Here the removed copper particles and dust are separated from the gas stream and recycled. Emulsions are used as cooling and lubricating agent in several fabrication processes. Used emulsions are either recycled through ultrafiltration or destroyed by evaporation. The small amount of oil residue is sent to hazardous waste treatment plants.