COS, CS2 and SO 2 in aluminium smelter exhaust : The contribution of aluminium production to the global COS budget.

Measurements of carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbondisulfide (CS2) were carried out on samples drawn from a smoke stack of an aluminium smelter. Volume mixing ratios of 6 ppm COS and 0.1 ppm CS2 were measured for gases from the electrolysis unit that had previously passed an Al2O3 fluid bed reactor and electrostatic precipitators. Specific emissions of 1.6 kg COS and 0.03 kg CS2 per ton of primary aluminium were found. Extrapolating from this particular smelter's conditions to a world mix specific COS emissions of about 4 kg/t(Al) are calculated resulting in emissions of annually 0.08 Tg COS into the atmosphere due to electrolytic aluminium production in 1995. Besides the photochemical conversion of anthropogenic CS2 aluminium production is established to be the second major industrial source of COS probably exceeding automotive tire wear's and coal combustion's contributions.