Solid-State Reduction Studies for Recovery of Iron from Red Mud

Abstract

Red mud or bauxite residue can be regarded as a by-product of aluminum extraction process since it contains a significant amount of iron and some valuable elements. Therefore, the treatment of red mud has been a hot topic for some decades. Last year, the authors started a laboratory-scale project dealing with stepwise recovery of valuable elements from red mud of Seydisehir Aluminum Plant, Turkey. The first step is related to the recovery of iron and pyrometallurgical methods (solid-state reduction and smelting) are currently being performed. Nonferrous metals will then be selectively leached in the second step. In TMS 2019, the authors outlined the literature related to the smelting studies for iron recovery from bauxite residue. In the extent of the present work, a literature review relevant to the solid-state reduction studies for recovery of iron from red mud was presented.