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 company said the final four units are now installed and operational alongside three earlier systems that were relocated from a temporary site.
The Montreal-based technology provider announced the milestone on October 15, 2026. The completed installation comprises two systems rated at 5,000 tonnes per year and two rated at 10,000 tonnes per year; the larger units are the first of their capacity that PyroGenesis has deployed anywhere. Together the seven systems can process up to 45,000 tonnes of aluminium dross annually. The facility sits within what the company describes as the world's largest vertically integrated aluminium production complex.
From a temporary site to full contract
Radian originally engaged PyroGenesis to design, engineer, install and commission seven Drosrite systems for dross processing. The first three units, each with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year, entered full commercial operation in April 2022 at a temporary facility while the new plant was being engineered and built. Those three systems have since been moved to the purpose-built plant, where they now operate alongside the four new units, bringing the site's total annual processing capacity to 45,000 tonnes.
The completion fulfils the original seven-system contract. PyroGenesis said additional dross processing requirements could emerge as the wider aluminium complex continues to expand.
Recovering metal from dross
Aluminium dross forms when oxygen meets molten aluminium and solid impurities rise to the surface to be skimmed off. According to PyroGenesis, the material can contain up to 80 per cent metallic aluminium mixed with oxides, salts, fluxing agents and other contaminants. The company estimates that smelters can lose between 2 and 10 per cent of their annual aluminium melt production through dross.
Dross has traditionally been landfilled or reprocessed using salt or chemicals, although appropriate treatment can recover valuable metal and other materials for reuse. PyroGenesis says its patented Drosrite technology can recover up to 98 per cent of the aluminium contained in dross, with lower operating costs and energy consumption than some conventional processes. The company describes the method as salt-free, designed to avoid hazardous salt cakes that require disposal and to allow 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.
Rising output lifts dross volumes
The deployment comes amid growth in global aluminium consumption and production. Industry figures cited in the announcement put total aluminium use, including primary and recycled metal, at 100.8 million tonnes in 2024, up from 82 million tonnes in 2016. Smelter output rose from 59.9 million tonnes to 72.9 million tonnes over the same period.
The announcement also cites estimates that dross generation could grow by 3 to 4 per cent a year. Roughly 4.78 million tonnes of dross was generated in 2024, while some estimates place annual generation as high as 8 million tonnes when smaller facilities and downstream operations are included. An estimated 30 to 40 per cent of dross, particularly from the secondary aluminium sector, is still landfilled, figures that underline the potential role of recovery technologies as aluminium production expands.