Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), which owns and operates one of the world’s largest aluminium smelters, has engaged US-headquartered Rockwell Automation and its Global Solutions team to provide a commercial pot-control system for its proprietary DX+ Technology, currently being installed in the Phase II expansion at Emirates Aluminium (Emal) in Abu Dhabi.  The system is a major part of a multi-million-dollar project that will add 520,000 additional tonnes of capacity to Emal’s potlines, which convert alumina powder into molten aluminium. Once completed, Emal will be one of the largest single-site aluminium smelters in the world, with a total production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per year.

“We needed a flexible, robust and scalable commercial solution.  Rockwell Automation met our needs with its Logix-based architecture, and by showcasing its existing installed base in smelters around the world,” said Ali Hussain Ahmed M Al Zarouni, Dubal vice president, smelter operations. “This is a significant expansion, and it’s important that we can easily make upgrades and modifications.  We now have that capability with Logix.”  

Rockwell Automation employed a commercial off-the-shelf pot-control solution using EtherNet/IP, the scalability of its Logix control platform, its global resources and a 24/7 helpline capacity. The work includes hardware and network design, assembly, factory acceptance testing, project management and start-up procedures.

“This project is a great example of our ability to deliver a large turnkey solution using global resources,” said Terry Gebert, vice president and general manager, Rockwell Automation Global Solutions. “We are utilising engineering in the UK and France, assembly and testing in Poland, and commissioning and support in the UAE.  Our experience, domain expertise and global resources will help Dubal achieve its goal of building the required state-of-the-art pot control system for this project.”