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Recovery of alkali and alumina from Bayer red mud by the calcification–carbonation method

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Abstract

Red mud produced in the Bayer process is a hazardous solid waste because of its high alkalinity; however, it is rich in valuable components such as titanium, iron, and aluminum. In this study, a novel calcification–carbonation method was developed to recover alkali and alumina from Bayer red mud under mild reaction conditions. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the potential effects of important parameters such as temperature, amount of CaO added, and CO2 partial pressure on the recovery of alkali and alumina. The results showed that 95.2% alkali and 75.0% alumina were recovered from red mud with decreases in the mass ratios of Na2O to Fe2O3 and of Al2O3 to Fe2O3 from 0.42 and 0.89 to 0.02 and 0.22, respectively. The processed red mud with less than 0.5wt% Na2O can potentially be used as a construction material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ecological Utilization of Multi-metal Intergrown Ores of the Ministry of Education, School of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Xiao-feng Zhu, Ting-an Zhang, Yan-xiu Wang, Guo-zhi Lü & Wei-guang Zhang

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  1. Xiao-feng Zhu
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  2. Ting-an Zhang
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  5. Wei-guang Zhang
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Correspondence to Ting-an Zhang.

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Zhu, Xf., Zhang, Ta., Wang, Yx. et al. Recovery of alkali and alumina from Bayer red mud by the calcification–carbonation method. Int J Miner Metall Mater 23, 257–268 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-016-1234-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-016-1234-z

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