Journey Towards World-Class Operational Effectiveness at DUBAL (EGA Jebel Ali) Paste Plant

Abstract

Over the last decade, metal production at DUBAL (also known as EGA Jebel Ali) has increased by 358 000 tonnes, through expansion and capacity creep, resulting in the plant’s anode requirement exceeding the Paste Plant capacity. This increase was supported by anode procurement at premium from the global market. To handle these challenges, DUBAL Paste Plant embarked on a journey towards best-in-class operational effectiveness where paste plant throughput was increased and the conventional maintenance systems were revolutionized. The Plant throughput was increased by 9 % above the design capacity and an improvement of 19 % in Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP) was achieved, while continuously improving anode quality. As a result, anode procurement was reduced by more than 85 000 anodes per year, reducing dependency of the smelter on purchased anodes and resulting in significant financial benefits.