PyroGenesis Inc. has completed the installation of seven Drosrite aluminium dross recovery systems at a purpose-built plant in Saudi Arabia, closing out its original contract with Radian Oil and Gas Services Company. The deployment, announced on October 15, 2026, gives the facility a combined processing capacity of up to 45,000 tonnes of aluminium dross per year.
The final four units were installed and operational at the plant, which sits inside what PyroGenesis describes as the world's largest vertically integrated aluminium production complex. Those four systems comprise two 5,000-tonne-per-year units and two 10,000-tonne-per-year units. According to the Montreal-based technology provider, the larger pair are the first 10,000-tonne units it has deployed anywhere.
Original contract now fulfilled
Radian originally engaged PyroGenesis to design, engineer, install and commission seven Drosrite systems for aluminium dross processing. The first three, each rated at 5,000 tonnes per year, entered full commercial operation in April 2022 at a temporary facility while the permanent plant was being engineered and built. All three have since been relocated to the new facility, where they now operate alongside the four newly commissioned systems.
The company said the completion fulfils the original seven-system contract, and noted that additional dross processing requirements could arise as the wider aluminium complex continues to expand.
How Drosrite treats aluminium dross
Aluminium dross forms when oxygen comes into contact with molten aluminium and solid impurities rise to the surface to be skimmed off. PyroGenesis states the material can contain up to 80 per cent metallic aluminium, mixed with oxides, salts, fluxing agents and other contaminants. The company estimates smelters can lose between 2 and 10 per cent of their annual aluminium melt production through dross, and notes the material has traditionally been landfilled or reprocessed using salt or chemicals.
PyroGenesis says its patented Drosrite process can recover up to 98 per cent of the aluminium contained in dross, with lower operating costs and energy consumption than some conventional routes. The salt-free method is also designed to avoid generating hazardous salt cakes that require disposal, allowing dross to be processed on-site.
President and CEO P. Peter Pascali said growing aluminium demand was increasing the need to manage production by-products effectively. He added that poorly processed or landfilled dross represents both a loss of recoverable material and an environmental challenge for the industry.
Dross volumes track aluminium growth
The deployment comes as global aluminium consumption and production continue to rise. Industry figures cited in the announcement put total aluminium usage, including primary and recycled metal, at 100.8 million tonnes in 2024, up from 82 million tonnes in 2016. Smelter output climbed from 59.9 million tonnes to 72.9 million tonnes over the same period.
The announcement also points to estimates that aluminium dross generation could grow by 3 to 4 per cent annually. Roughly 4.78 million tonnes of dross was generated in 2024, though some estimates place annual generation as high as 8 million tonnes once smaller facilities and downstream operations are counted. An estimated 30 to 40 per cent of dross, particularly from the secondary aluminium sector, is still landfilled.