Integrated Red Mud Processing Project
Integrated processing of red mud
The essence of the project
Creation of a hydrometallurgical production facility for processing red mud (aluminum production waste) with the extraction of strategically important metals: scandium, yttrium, vanadium, as well as titanium, aluminum and iron-containing products.
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Topicality
Red mud is a highly aggressive waste from the Bayer process and requires special storage.
About 4 billion tons have been accumulated in the world, with an annual increase of up to 170 million tons.
The dumps pose a constant environmental threat, including the risk of accidents (notably the 2010 accident in Hungary). Significant volumes have also accumulated in Turkey, Montenegro, Ukraine and other countries.
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Problem
Existing technologies are mainly aimed at reducing environmental risks and recycling iron-containing components (40–70%), which is economically inefficient and does not solve the problem of waste accumulation.
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Decision
It is proposed to introduce a technology for selective extraction of valuable components based on fluoride chemistry.
The developments were carried out by Met Promlit LLC (Zaporozhye) using experience in ilmenite processing and obtaining titanium products.
Red mud dumps are considered a man-made deposit of strategic metals.
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Production parameters
• Processing volume: up to 5,000 tons/year
• Raw material base: dumps of the Zaporizhia Aluminum Plant
• Format: hydrometallurgical production
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Financial indicators (preliminary)
• Capital expenditure: USD 50–100 million
• Sc₂O₃ content: 0.12–0.17%
• Scandium oxide yield: 5.6–7.9 tons/year
• Scandium revenue: 6.7–9.5 million USD/year
Taking into account the sale of other products:
• Total revenue: 14–19 million USD/year
• Payback period: 3–5 years
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Necessary implementation steps
To prepare the project, it is necessary to conduct research and development work:
• assessment of the volume of accumulated sludge
• determination of the concentration of target components
• development of selective extraction technology
Parameters:
• Budget: UAH 5.8 million
• Term: 6–9 months
• Equipment: 20 l reactor, suction filters, vacuum pumps
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Project initiator
LLC "Met Promlit", Zaporizhzhia