Application of microbial mineralization in the treatment of sintering red mud

Abstract

Red mud is a highly alkaline solid waste with very fine particles produced in the production of alumina from bauxite, which is difficult to utilize comprehensively. In this paper, microbial mineralization is applied to the treatment of sintering red mud, and the mineralized products with good cementation characteristics generated in the reaction process are used to cement and solidify the red mud, so as to realize the purpose of using red mud to produce building materials and foundation filling materials. The test shows that mineralizing bacteria can overcome the characteristics of strong alkalinity, high salinity, and fine and uniform particles of red mud, the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the red mud sample can reach about 3 MPa and the maximum amount of the newly formed carbonate is 27%. Moreover, due to the unique microstructure characteristics of red mud, it is difficult for mineralizing bacteria to adhere to the surface of red mud particles and their aggregates, thus they are suspended in pores. Therefore, most of the formed calcium carbonate crystals form aggregates, showing a stacking state. Based on this, a new microbial mineralization and cementation mechanism is established, which is suitable for fine particulate matter.

Keywords

microbial mineralization / red mud / solid waste / microbial calcite / mechanism analysis

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