| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eng Editorial Office | -- | 206 | 2026-09-26 15:45:22 |
Red mud valorization denotes the set of processes by which red mud—the highly alkaline, iron-rich solid residue generated when bauxite is digested with hot sodium hydroxide in the Bayer process for alumina production—is converted from a waste stockpile into a resource of recoverable or useful materials rather than being simply disposed of [1]. The residue is dominated by iron oxides, titanium-bearing minerals, undigested alumina phases, sodium aluminosilicates, and residual caustic soda, together with minor valuable metals such as scandium and other rare earth elements. Valorization therefore comprises hydrometallurgical routes such as acid leaching, alkali treatment, and solvent extraction for metal recovery, pyrometallurgical reduction for iron recovery, and the use of the neutralized residue as a raw material in construction, cement, ceramics, adsorbents, or catalysts [2]. Because the composition is dominated by stable iron and titanium oxides that resist dissolution in caustic liquor, the valorization pathway is governed by the mineralogy of these phases, the removal of residual sodium alkalinity, and the selective separation of valuable constituents from the bulk oxide matrix [3]. The concept is defined as the resource-oriented recovery and reuse of a Bayer-process by-product.