Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) welcomed a group of engineering students from Bahrain University for an extensive tour of its petroleum coke calciner and seawater desalination plants.

The students were given a tour of the plants and briefed on the processes involved in importing the raw materials crucial to the production of aluminium.

They were also taken to the marine terminal and its two jetties where green petroleum coke and alumina are imported from different countries.

Calciner and marine superintendent Siva Prasad Rao met the students who were accompanied by mechanical engineering department chairman professor Ahmed Youssef Abdulla and professor of manufacturing systems and processes Saad Suliman.

"Alba encourages such close interaction with Bahrain's student community and values the opportunity to share our experience and expertise with them," chief executive Laurent Schmitt said.

"Over the years, Alba has had a long and fruitful association with the university's College of Engineering," he added.

"We trust that this educational tour by the engineering students will have proved beneficial to their understanding of the aluminium production process and, hopefully, motivate them to consider career prospects in the aluminium industry," he said.

Alba is one of two aluminium smelters in the world to have a dedicated petroleum coke calciner plant.

Built over 140,000 square metres of reclaimed land at the marine terminal in May 2001, the smelter produces 550,000 metric tonnes of calcined petroleum coke per annum.

Integral to the calciner plant is the seawater desalination plant that produces and supplies 41,000 cubic metres of potable water per day.

Over the years, Alba has maintained a steady support towards the university in recognition of its status as Bahrain's only national university.

Recently, Alba presented the first of three instalments of its BD150,000 ($397,830) donation towards the purchase of eco-friendly LED lights at the university's Sakhir campus.-TradeArabia News Service