Materials sustainability for environment: Red-mud treatment

Abstract

Bayer’s process revolutionized the extraction of aluminum from the bauxite ores. However, the hydrothermal extraction of alumina is associated with the generation of a byproduct, red-mud consisting of undissolved solids composed of iron oxides, sodium alumino silicates, titania, silica and rare earth elements. The accumulation of red-mud (or bauxite residue) in the world is 30 billion metric tons produced at a rate of 125 million tons per annum (2013). Utilization of red-mud for constructional purposes, wastewater treatment, metallurgical products, and pigments are listed. Metallurgical processing efforts of red-mud to generate various value added products such as pig iron, direct reduced iron slag wool, magnetite, titania, iron carbides are presented in the article.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

red-mud processing / waste management / sustainability / valorization

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Dr. Brajendra Mishra is the Kenneth G. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Metal Processing Institute at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute [WPI]. Dr. Mishra is the Director of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Resource Recovery & Recycling. Brajendra received his Bachelor of Technology degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Prior to joining WPI, Mishra was a Professor of Corrosion and Physico-chemical Processing in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines [CSM] where he now serves as a University Emeritus Professor. Dr. Mishra has over twenty seven years of research experience in materials recovery and recycling, molten salt pyrometallurgy and electrochemistry and has many contributions to the application of these technologies to materials development and processing. Dr. Mishra has authored over 500 technical publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings. He holds nine patents and has authored/edited 19 books. Dr. Mishra is a member of TMS, ASM International, and NACE. He is a Fellow of ASM (2001) and TMS (2016). Mishra received the Distinguished Service Award from the Minerals Metals & Materials Society (2010) and the highest award of Honorary Membership form the Indian Institute of Metals (2008). Brajendra served as the 2006 President of The Mineral, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) of AIME and the 2011 President of Amer. Institute of Mining, Metallurgical & Petroleum Engineers. Dr. Mishra received the Presidential Citation of AIME in 2015 and the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award from AAES (2016).

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