The metal technology of Enviro-Source and the solar evaporation expertise of Reilly Industries will be combined.
EnviroSources is based in Stamford, Conn., and Reilly in Indianapolis.The joint venture, Solar Aluminum Technology Service, will be located in Wendover, Utah, near Reil-ly's brine chemical facility, to recycle salt cake, a byproduct from aluminum processing, into commercially valuable products. Salt cake is currently discarded by aluminum processors and is disposed of in landfills.
George Fuehrer, senior vice president for planning at EnviroSource, said, "We will turn a solid waste into useful and needed products. SALTS will improve aluminum recycling, making it one of the most efficient processes in American industry."
SALTS will remove the potassium and sodium chloride from the salt cake. Reilly will reprocess the chlorides at the brine facility near Wen-dover and IMSAMET, the aluminum division of EnviroSource, will recycle the aluminum metal into finished aluminum ingot.
The final component of the salt cake, the aluminum oxide, will be marketed as a cement additive, as construction material and for other similar industrial applications.
Plant construction will begin soon and should be completed by autumn. It will provide 15 new permanent jobs in the Wendover area and local suppliers and contractors will be used during construction, company officials said.