Re-using bauxite residues: benefits beyond (critical raw) material recovery
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Authors
Ujaczki, Eva
Feigl, Victoria
Molnar, Monika
Cusack, Patricia
Curtin, Teresa
Courtney, Ronan
Ronan, Lisa
Davris, Panagiotis
Evangelou, Michael
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2018
Typ of student thesis
Course of study
Collections
Type
01A - Journal article
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Parent work
Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
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Series number
Volume
93
Issue / Number
9
Pages / Duration
2498-2510
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Wiley
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
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Abstract
Since the world economy has been confronted with an increasing risk of supply shortages of critical raw materials (CRMs), there has been a major interest in identifying alternative secondary sources of CRMs. Bauxite residues from alumina production are available at a multi-million tonnes scale worldwide. So far, attempts have been made to find alternative re-use applications for bauxite residues, for instance in cement / pig iron production. However, bauxite residues also constitute an untapped secondary source of CRMs. Depending on their geological origin and processing protocol, bauxite residues can contain considerable amounts of valuable elements. The obvious primary consideration for CRM recovery from such residues is the economic value of the materials contained. However, there are further benefits from re-use of bauxite residues in general, and from CRM recovery in particular. These go beyond monetary values (e.g. reduced investment / operational costs resulting from savings in disposal). For instance, benefits for the environment and health can be achieved by abatement of tailing storage as well as by reduction of emissions from conventional primary mining. Whereas certain tools (e.g. life-cycle analysis) can be used to quantify the latter, other benefits (in particular sustained social and technological development) are harder to quantify. This review evaluates strategies of bauxite residue re-use / recycling and identifies associated benefits beyond elemental recovery. Furthermore, methodologies to translate risks and benefits into quantifiable data are discussed. Ultimately, such quantitative data are a prerequisite for facilitating decision-making regarding bauxite residue re-use / recycling and a stepping stone towards developing a zero-waste alumina production process.
Keywords
waste treatment and waste minimization, hydrometallurgy, life-cycle assessment (LSA), metals recovery, sustainable processing
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ISBN
ISSN
1097-4660
0268-2575
0142-0356
1935-181X
0268-2575
0142-0356
1935-181X
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
License
Citation
Ujaczki, E., Feigl, V., Molnar, M., Cusack, P., Curtin, T., Courtney, R., Ronan, L., Davris, P., Hugi, C., Evangelou, M., Balomenos, E., & Lenz, M. (2018). Re-using bauxite residues: benefits beyond (critical raw) material recovery. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 93(9), 2498–2510. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5687