THE ENEXAL BAUXITE RESIDUE TREATMENT PROCESS: INDUSTRIAL SCALE PILOT PLANT RESULTS

摘要

The main by-product of the Bayer process is the bauxite residues(BR), a red slurry consisting of the un-dissolved portion of thebauxite ore. On a dry basis BR are produced at an almost 1:1 massratio with alumina, amassing to a total of 100 to 120 million tonesper year globally. Due the lack of an economically viableprocessing method all BR are disposed in artificial ponds orlandfills. A novel process for treating BR has been developed;Through EAF carbothermic smelting the BR are fully convertedinto two marketable products: pig iron and mineral wool fibers.No solid or liquid by-products are produced. This novel processhas been applied for more than a year in an industrial scale pilotplant housing a 1MVA EAF and a melt fiberizing line. The massand energy balance of the process, along with a preliminary scaleup calculations are presented in this paper.