Study on Application of Red Mud Adsorption to Remove Contaminants of Aqueous Environments

Study on Application of Red Mud Adsorption to Remove Contaminants of Aqueous Environments

Red mud (RM) is the major waste material produced during alumina production following the Bayerʹs process. Depending on the quality of the raw material processed, 1~2.5 tons of RM is generated per ton of alumina produced. Each year, about 90 million tons of RM are produced globally and may be harmful for environment (because of its alkaline nature and large volumes of production). The comprehensive utilization of RM divided into three aspects: the effective recycling of components, resource utilization and application in the field of environmental protection. RM acquires new environmentally application in water and wastewater treatment to remove heavy metal ions, inorganic anions (e.g. nitrate, fluoride, and phosphate), as well as dyes and pigments from aqueous environments. In this paper, applications of RM waste as an adsorbent (for water treatment) is studied. Physical and chemical properties, method of preparation and activation of adsorbent, capacity of adsorption and confirmation with adsorption isotherms were discussed.