Partial Replacement of Cement with Red Mud in Concrete—A Review

Indian aluminium industry generates a significant amount of solid waste such as red mud. Red mud is produced during the refining of alumina by Bayer’s process. It is estimated that for production of 1 tonne of alumina, about 1.0–2.5 tonne of red mud is generated. Annually, more than 4 million tonnes of red mud is produced in India. As red mud contains some toxic elements, dumping of red mud contaminates the soil and water and also covers valuable land. By taking cementitious behaviour of the red mud into account, it can be used in mortar and concrete technology for construction practices by partially replacing cement. The use of red mud with partial replacement of cement proves to be economical because red mud, a by-product of alumina industry is available free of cost. The present study recapitulates the research on utilization of red mud as partial replacement of cement and its effect on mechanical and durability properties in mortar and concrete. Based on data given by different researchers, equations have been formulated for compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of mortar and concrete.