Environmental Protection at the Sites

Environmental protection at Aurubis Italia, Avellino site

Aurubis Italia, the only copper rod producer in southern Italy, is located in Avellino. In 2022, a total of around 90 employees produced about 180,000 t of rod and about 3,000 t of wire for special applications.  

Aurubis Italia has been under an IPPC permit since 2009 (IPPC refers to the EU Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control). The high efficiency of Aurubis Italia’s production lines enables nearly 100 % of the raw materials used to be processed into products.  

Modern cleaning and filter facilities keep off-gas and wastewater to a minimum. Wastewater is continuously monitored before entering the sewer system thanks to an automatic water sampling system. A service started for cleaning roads and yards at the Avellino site with a street sweeper, which has reduced the metal load in the water discharge.  

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the rolling mill were significantly reduced by lowering the use of isopropyl alcohol. The VOCs are collected and treated with a scrubber system. The fugitive emissions in the smelting area were considerably reduced due to a vacuum system and hoods on the launders and holding furnace. Dust emissions and POPs from the shaft furnace have been drastically reduced. Many small energy-saving initiatives have been implemented during the last few years thanks to continuous improvements in the production process. Aurubis Italia successfully achieved the EMAS registration in July 2019. 

The main focuses of Aurubis Italia Srl are to: 

  • Continuously improve environmental performance, in particular energy consumption and material efficiency 

  • Demonstrate compliance with environmental regulations with maximum transparency 

  • Publicly provide its environmental strategy, environmental program, environmental management system, and key environmental performance data 

  • Openly engage with interested parties (employees, local authorities, suppliers, etc.)  

Environmental Protection Avellino - facts & figures
Air emissions - Dust

In 2011, Aurubis Italia installed a pilot plant first and then installed an inert dosing system to reduce dust and POPs. The higher dust emissions in 2021 were caused by the lower efficiency of the old baghouse filters from the dust treatment system of the shaft furnace. Actions have been initiated to reduce dust emissions again. The baghouse filters were replaced.

Dust [g/t wire rod production]
Water emissions - Metal content in sewer

Aurubis Italia has increased the efficiency of its wastewater treatment plant.

Metal load [g/t wire rod production]
Disposal and recycling of production waste

Disposal and recycling of production waste [t]
Environmental measures that have been implemented
Revamping treatment of exhaust fumes from the off-gas treatment plant

Description of measure:

  • Replaced the air heat exchanger with a higher-performance one

Date of completion:

  • August 2018
Improving collection and reuse of surface run-off water and fully eliminating water discharge in river

Description of measure:

  • Replaced the old rainwater lifting pump station with a more efficient one

Date of completion:

  • February 2018
Improving wastewater treatment system to reduce the amount of hazardous waste disposed

Description of measure:

  • Installed a specific treatment for casting machine cooling water to reduce surfactants

Date of completion:

  • September 2019
Improving wastewater treatment system to reduce the amount of waste disposed

Description of measure:

  • Improved wastewater treatment system

Date of completion:

  • May 2017
EMAS registration

Description of measure:

  • EMAS registration successfully achieved: IT-001951 on July 29, 2019

Date of completion:

  • July 2019
Water emission: Implementing filter press system for wastewater treatment plant

Description:

  • Reduced waste sludges 

Status:

  • Completed in September 2020 
Air Emission: Reducing isopropanol consumption

Description:

  • Revamping emulsion filtration system: Reducing isopropanol consumption, TVOCs ducted, and fugitive emissions by revamping emulsion filtration system 

Status:

  • Completed in September 2022 
Air Emission: Revamping shaft furnace dust treatment plant

Description:

  • Replaced with higher performance models:  
    • Air heat exchanger 
    • Heat recovery system for off-gas from shaft furnace 
    • Bag house filters 

Status:

  • Completed in August 2022 
Current important environmental targets and measures
Investigations in order to reduce emissions and reduce energy consumption

Status:

  • Start of feasibility study to capture off-gas from the rolling mill (containing isopropyl alcohol) as oxidation air and pass it as comburent to the burners of the shaft furnace. 

  • Completion expected August 2023 
Improving water stream collection network to reduce pollutants

Status:

  • Feasibility study ongoing 
  • Completion expected September 2023
IPPC permit renewal according to the new NFM-BREF (Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Non-Ferrous Metals Industries)

Status:

  • Conferences Service Meeting approved Aurubis Italia’s proposal. Waiting for the official EIA Decree 
  • Completion expected March 2023 
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Contact
Giuseppe Marino
Giuseppe Marino

EHS, Quality & TM Manager

Phone +39 3460221751
Send e-mail
Gianpaolo Antonacci
Gianpaolo Antonacci

Maintenance Engineering & RSPP Manager

Phone +39 3487069545
Send e-mail