Applications

Utilisation of RM has been a subject of major scientific research. An astonishing high number of potential uses has been reported in the literature or patented. For the decade 1967-1977 only, there have been cited 193 published papers and patents [A. Kontopoulos et al]. The various uses include metallurgical ones (iron and steel production, titania, alumina and alkali, minor constituents recovery), production of building materials (constructional brick, light weight aggregates, bricks roofing and flooring tiles, cements etc), catalysis, ceramics (pottery, sanitary ware, special tiles and glasses, glazes, ferrites) and other miscellaneous direct uses (in waste treatment, as a filler, as a fertiliser, etc). Reviews on this subject have been also published.

Bibliography

Parekh, B. K., Goldberger W. M., “An assessment of technology for possible utilization of Bayer process Muds”, EPA 600/2-76-301, Washington D.C. (1976),

P. Amat di San Filippo, “Riutilizzo del Fango Rosso Del Processo Bayer”, Rendiconti–Seminario Della Facolta Di Scienza Della Universita Di Cagliari, Vol. 1, pp. 487-514, 1980,

A. Kontopoulos, L. Svertleva, A. Statheli, “Potentiality and Perspectives for Utilisation of Red Mud”, report for “Aluminium de Grece”, in Greek

Dr. R.S. Thakur & Dr. S.N. Das, “Red Mud Analysis and Utilisation”, NISCOM & Wiley Eastern Limited, ISBN 81-7236-093-2. ,

P. M. Prasad and J. M. Sharma, “Characterization of and applications for an Indian red mud”, Proc. of Electrometallurgy, pp. 12-23 (1986)

The citation of all published work is not practically feasible. However, the most important areas of research will be enlisted as well as a number of references for further reading.

Metallurgical uses

There have been reported many cases for successful recovery of major or minor constituents of RM. The economic are still not favouring and in most cases a disposal problem for the remaining quantity of RM still remains. For example:

Recovery of iron

Bibliography

Kumar R, Srivastava JP, Premchand. “Utilisation of iron values of red mud for metallurgical application”. Environmental waste management in non ferrous metallurgical industries. In: Bandopadhyay A, Goswami NG, Ramachandra Rao P, editors. Jamshedpur: NML; 29–30 January 1998. p. 108–19,

Prasad PM, Kachawha JS, Gupta RC, Mankhand TR, Sharma, JM. Light metal science and technology. Switzerland: Trans. Tech. Publication Ltd.; 1985. p. 31,

B. Das, B.P. Singh, R. Bhima Rao, Trans. Indian Inst. Met. 45 (3) (1992) 173, M.Fofana, S. Kmet, S. Jakabsky, S. Hredzak, G. Kunhalmi, Magn. Electr. Sep. 6 (1995) 243.

L. Piga, F. Pochetti, L. Stoppa, Thermochim. Acta 254 (1995) 337

Thakur R.S., Das, S.N., 2003 Red mud Analysis and utilisation of metal values, Publication and Information Directorate (CSIR) and Willy Eastern Ltd., New Delhi.

Recovery of iron, vanadium, chromium and aluminum oxide

Bibliography

Bhattacharaya SC, Pal DK, Philipose, CJ. Bauxite tailing—red mud. In: Wagh AS, Desai P, editors. Kingston: The Jamaican Bauxite Institute and the University of West Indies; 1987. p. 73.

CSIR News, January 1996, 46 (21)

Prasad PM, Kachawha JS, Gupta RC, Mankhand TR, Sharma, JM. Light metal science and technology. Switzerland: Trans. Tech. Publication Ltd.; 1985. p. 31

D. Luo and J. Liu, New process of utilizing red mud from aluminum treating plant to produce high quality direct-reduction iron, China Mining 11 (2002), pp. 50–53 (in Chinese)

Recovery of titanium dioxide, vanadium, rare earths

Bibliography

F. Vilem, “Production of Vanadium Slag from Bauxite Red Mud,” Technical Digest, pp. 443-44, (1967)

Patel, M., Padhi, B.K., Vidyasagar, P., Pattnaik, A.K., Extraction of titanium dioxide and production of building bricks from red mud, Research and Industry, v 37, n 3, p. 154, (1992)

T.K. Mukherjee, C.K. Gupta, High Temp. Mater. Processes 11 (1–4) 189, (1993)

R.G. Bautista, Miner. Met. Mater. Soc.: Warrendale, PA., 119, (1992)

M. Ochsentihn-Petropulu, Th. Lyberopulu, G. Parissakis, Analytica Chimica Acta 315 (1995) 231-37

Thakur, R.S. and B.R. Sant, “Utilization of Red Mud: Part II – Recovery of Alkali, Iron, Aluminum, Titanium, and Other Constituents and Pollution Problems,” Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, pp. 456-469, (1983)

Building Materials

Among the uses standing out, are those reported on the utilisation of RM for building materials production such as cement, bricks, roofing tiles and glass-ceramics. The introduction of RM in these processes would be threefold beneficial. The bulk production of building materials could eliminate the disposal problem. RM will be considered as a raw material, added value would be given to it and the economical aspects regarding industrial realisation would be more favourable. Finally, this solution could be employed in most countries and can be regarded therefore as an “easy to implement” and “universally applicable”.

Bibliography

Tauber, T., Hill, R. K., Crook, D. N. and Murray, M. J., Red mud residues from alumina production as a raw material for heavy clay products. J. Austr. Ceram. Soc., 7 (1), pp. 12-17 (1971)

Knight, J.C., Arun S. Wagh, and W.A. Reid, The Mechanical Properties of Ceramics from Bauxite Waste, Journal of Materials Science, 21, pp. 2179-2184 (1986)

Vincenzo M. Sglavo, S. Maurina, A. Conci, A. Salviati, G. Carturan, G. Cocco, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 20, pp. 245-52, (2000)

V. M. Stivanakis, Y. T. Pontikes, G. N. Angelopoulos, D. Boufounos, D. Fafoutis, “On the utilization of the Red Mud in the heavy clay industry in Greece”, 10th International Ceramics Congress & 3rd Forum on New materials, “CIMTEC”, Florence, pg. 187-194, E-Vol. 5, 2002

Kara, M., Emrullahoglu, O. F., Study of Seydisehir red mud wastes as brick and rooing tiles. In Fourth Euroceramics, Vol. 12, ed. I. Braga, S. Cavallini and G. F. Di Cesare, Faenza Editrice, Faenza, Italy, pp. 155-162, 1995

M. Romero and J.M. Rincon, The controlled vitrification/crystallisation process applied to the recycling of inorganic industrial wastes, Boletin De La Sociedad Espanola De Ceramica Y Vidrio, 39, pp. 155–63 (2000)

P.X. Zhang and J.Q. Yan, Infrared spectra of crystallization of glasses using red mud as raw materials, Journal of Inorganic Materials, 15, pp. 751–755. (2000)

P.N. Bhat, D.K. Ghosh and M.M. Desai, Immobilisation of beryllium in solid waste (red-mud) by fixation and vitrification, Waste Management, 22, pp. 549–556 (2002)

H.Z. Xu, Technological and economic feasibility study on producing building materials with red mud, Gold, 17, pp. 17–21 (1996)(in Chinese)

P.E. Tsakiridis, S. Agatzini-Leonardou and P. Oustadakis, “Red mud addition in the raw meal for the production of Portland cement clinker”, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 116, Issues 1-2, pp. 103-110 (2004)

V. M. Sglavo, S. Maurina, A. Conci, A. Salviati, G. Carturan and G. Cocco, “Bauxite ‘red mud’ in the ceramic industry. Part 2: production of clay-based ceramics”, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, v. 20, 3, pp. 245-252 (2000)

Nevin Yalçin and Vahdettin Sevinç, Utilization of bauxite waste in ceramic glazes, Ceramics International, v. 26, 5, pp. 485-93 (2000)

Patel, M., Padhi, B.K., Vidyasagar, P., Pattnaik, A.K., Extraction of titanium dioxide and production of building bricks from red mud, Research and Industry, v 37, n 3, p. 154 (1992)

Thakur, R.S. and B.R. Sant, “Utilization of Red Mud: Part I — Analysis and Utilization as Raw Material for Absorbents, Building Materials, Catalysts, Fillers, Paints and Pigments,” Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, Vol. 42, pp. 87-108 (1983)

Catalysis

The catalytic behaviour of RM has been another field of research. Research on this field is estimated to be around 12% of the total research carried on RM [Kara M. O. Faruk Emrullahoglu, 1995].

In a research performed by Kari Pirkanniemi and Mika Sillanpa in 2002 a number of works are cited on this topic. Sulfided RM was proved catalytically active in hydrogenation of pure organic compounds and hydrodechlorination of tetrachloroethylene (Ordonez et al., 2001a–d; Lopez et al., 2001), but it has also been studied as a support in catalytic wet oxidation of organic substances present in industrial wastewaters (patent: Hoang, 2000)

Bibliography

Kari Pirkanniemi, Mika Sillanpa, Chemosphere, 48 (2002) pp. 1047–60

Ordonez, S., Diez, F.V., Sastre, H., 2001a. Characterisation of the deactivation of platinum and palladium supported on activated carbon used as hydrodechlorination catalysts. Appl. Catal. B 31 (2), 113–122.

Ordonez, S., Diez, F.V., Sastre, H., 2001b. Hydrodechlorination of tetrachloroethylene over vanadium-modified Pt/ Al2O3 catalysts. Catal. Lett. 72 (3/4), 177–182, Ref. AN 2001:379282.

Ordonez, S., Sastre, H., Diez, F.V., 2001c. Catalytic hydrodechlorination of tetrachloroethylene over red mud. J. Hazard. Mater. 81 (1/2), 103–114.

Ordonez, S., Sastre, H., Diez, F.V., 2001d. Characterisation and deactivation studies of sulfided red mud used as catalyst for the hydrodechlorination of tetrachloroethylene. Appl. Catal. B 29 (4), 263–273.

Lopez, E., Ordonez, S., Diez, F.V., Sastre, H., 2001. Hydrodechlorination of chlorobenzene–tetrachloroethylene mixtures over a Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal. 133, 521– 526, Ref. AN 2001:394696.

Hoang M., PCT Int. Pat. WO 00/00285 (2000)

Other Uses (reference only)

RM has been used in the following applications:

Production of Al2O3-Fe2O3 ceramic fibres [M. Patel, B.K. Padhi, 1992], in agricultural situations for use in acidic soils (because of its alkaline nature), as a substitute for agricultural limestone, as an amendment for acidic sand belts, as a treatment for iron deficient soils, in sandy soils to increase phosphorous retention [R.N. Summers et al, 1993], to increase nitrogen and phosphorous removal from sewage effluent [G.E. Ho et al, 1992], as a flocculant in the treatment of dairy waste water [C. Namasivayam, K. Ranganathan, Res. Ind. 37 (1992) 165], as absorbent for removal of toxic heavy metals [A.I. Zouboulis, K.A. Kydros, 1993, A.I. Zouboulis et al, 1993, V. K. Gupta et al, 2001, H. Genç-Fuhrman et al, 2003], as a mean to reduce mobility of heavy metals in compost [H. Hofstede, G. Ho, 1991].

Bibliography

M. Patel, B.K. Padhi, Silicates Ind. 3-4 (1992) 39

R.N. Summers, N.R. Guise, D.D. Smirk, Fert. Res. 34 (1993) 85

G.E. Ho, K. Mathew, R.A. Gibbs, Water Res. 26 (3), (1992) 295

A.I. Zouboulis, K.A. Kydros, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 58 (1993) 95

A.I. Zouboulis, K.A. Kydros, K.A. Matis, Water Sci. Technol. 27 (10) (1993) 83

V. K. Gupta, M. Gupta and S. Sharma, “Process development for the removal of lead and chromium from aqueous solutions using red mud—an aluminium industry waste”, Water Research, Vol. 35, 5, 2001, pp. 1125-1134

H. Genç-Fuhrman, J. C. Tjell and D. McConchie, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 271, 2,2003, pp. 313-320

H. Hofstede, G. Ho, Trace Met. Environ. 1 (1991) 67

Text written by Y. Pontikes. Reflects only personal opinions. Last updated March 14, 2005