Bhubaneswar, Nov 7: Vedanta Aluminium has announced the development of a groundbreaking process to significantly reduce the generation of bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud, in the alumina refining process.
Vedant sources here said the process reduces bauxite residue by a remarkable 30 percent by eliminating iron values while simultaneously recovering a higher alumina yield, reducing the total organic content from bauxite during the alumina refining.
The process significantly enhances resource efficiency and curbs energy consumption during refining. The research project was led by the company’s Research & Development (R&D) department in collaboration with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP), with special support from the Lanjigarh, Odisha unit, home to Vedanta’s world-class alumina refinery.
This cutting-edge development will enhance the company’s operational excellence and have a sustainable impact on the global aluminium industry.
Bauxite is the primary ore for aluminium, and it undergoes an intermediate refining stage, known as the Bayer process, to produce alumina, which is then subjected to electrolysis to produce aluminium.
This refining process generates bauxite residue as a by-product. To produce 1 kg of aluminium, it requires 2 kg of alumina, which consumes 6 kg of bauxite, leaving behind 4 kg of bauxite residue.
Vedanta Aluminium was actively engaged in minimising bauxite residue and exploring avenues to extract value from it.The company has developed a revolutionary process, which has been successfully validated in the laboratory and patented.
Vedant Aluminium, the company is focusing on establishing a pilot plant to implement and assess the process, along with determining its potential advantages.
Vedanta Aluminium Limited Chief Research & Development Officer Amit Chatterjee said this is a significant milestone which will offer a pathway to enhanced resource efficiency and energy conservation and contribute towards reshaping the global aluminium industry.
