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Aluminum production is among the most energy-intensive industries and accounts for one percent of total global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The ongoing increase in world aluminum demand means that this industry’s energy use and CO2 emissions will continue to grow. There is significant incentive to develop, commercialize and adopt emerging energy efficiency and CO2 emissions-reduction technologies for aluminium production. Although studies from around the world have identified a wide range of energy efficiency technologies applicable to the aluminum industry that have already been commercialized, information is limited and/or scattered regarding emerging or advanced energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies that are not yet commercialized. This report consolidates available information on 10 emerging aluminum industry technologies, with the intent of providing a well-structured database of information on these technologies for engineers, researchers, investors, aluminum companies, policy makers, university students, and other interested parties. For each technology included, we provide information on energy savings and environmental and other benefits, costs, and commercialization status; we also identify references for more information.

Eco-cities have attracted international attention from governments, corporations, academics and other actors seeking to use sustainable urban planning to reduce urban environmental impacts. China has devoted significant political will and economic resources to the development of new-build eco-city projects, reflecting the Chinese government's goals to build a 'harmonious society' in which environmental sustainability and social stability are mutually reinforcing. We critically analyse the case of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin eco-city to demonstrate that the eco-city's ecologically modernizing visions of eco-urbanism construct a protective environment for its residents that constrains broader consideration of social sustainability. Through analysis of the marketing and presentation of specific domestic and other spaces of the eco-city, we examine the application of ecologically modernizing construction and technology to the design of the city. We argue that the eco-city is discursively constructed as ecologically beneficial for its inhabitants rather than for the broader socio-environmental landscape. Our analysis of residential spaces in Tianjin eco-city introduces the question of what 'eco' means when considering the construction of eco-urban environments for the city's residents.