Aliminyom se eleman nan metal ki pi komen yo te jwenn sou late, totalize sou 8% kwout late. Sepandan, aliminyom kom yon eleman se reyaktif ak se poutet sa pa rive natirelman – li bezwen rafine pou pwodwi metal aliminyom. Prensipal materyel la komanse pou raffinage aliminyom se Boksit, sous prensipal komesyal mondyal la nan aliminyom. Boksit se yon woch sedimante, e konsiste sitou nan mineral aliminyom yo gibbsite (Al(o)3), maren (γ-AlO(o)) e dyaspora (α-AlO(o)), e anjeneral melanje ak de oksid fe yo goethite ak emaye, kaolinite mineral la aliminyom ajil ak ti kantite ananataz (TiO2) e/oswa ilmenite (FeTiO3).
Depo Boksit yo gaye atrave lemond, sitou rive nan rejyon twopikal oswa subtropical. Malgre ke pwouve rezev nan Boksit yo espere pou denye pou anpil ane, bon jan kalite a nan rezev yo ki ka ekonomikman jwenn akse se dekline. Pou pirifikate, who are in the business of bauxite processing to make alumina, e evantyelman aliminyom metal, sa a se yon defi ak tou de enplikasyon finansye ak anviwonman.
Pwosesis la rafine metalurji Boksit nan aliminyom enplike entrain sa yo:
Outputs sa yo pwodwi:
Pwosesis chimik ki pi lajman itilize nan raffinage Boksit nan alumina, pwosesis Bayer la, enplike nan Al2O3 soti nan woch la Boksit ak soda rilan (Naoh) nan tanperati ki wo ak presyon. Fraksyon al2O3 nan Boksit la se fonn nan solisyon, to later be precipitated out as alumina. Sepandan, a high-grade bauxite contains up to 60% Al2O3, and many operating bauxite deposits are well below this, occasionally as low as 30-40% Al2O3. Because the desired product is a high purity Al2O3, the remaining oxides in the bauxite (Fe2O3, Sio2, TiO2, Organic material) are separated from the Al2O3 and rejected as alumina refinery resides (ARR) or red mud. In general, the lower quality the bauxite (ie lower Al2O3 content) the more red mud is generated per ton of alumina product. epi tou, even some Al2O3 bearing minerals, notably kaolinite, produce un-desirable side reactions during the refining process and lead to an increase in red mud generation, as well as a loss of expensive caustic soda chemical, a large variable cost in the bauxite refining process.
Red mud or ARR represents a large and on-going challenge for the aluminum industry. Red mud contains significant residual caustic chemical leftover from the refining process, and is highly alkaline, often with a pH of 10 - 13. It is generated in large volumes worldwide – according to the USGS, estimated global alumina production was 121 million tons in 2016. This likely resulted in more than 150 million tons of red mud generated during the same period. Despite ongoing research, red mud currently has few commercially viable paths to beneficial re-use. It is estimated that very little of red mud is beneficially re-used worldwide. Instead the red mud is pumped from the alumina refinery into storage impoundments or landfills, where it is stored and monitored at large cost.
The loss of expensive caustic soda (Naoh) ak jenerasyon an nan labou wouj yo tou de ki gen rapo ak bon jan kalite a nan Boksit yo itilize nan pwosesis la raffinage. In general, pi ba a Al2O3 kontni nan Boksit la, pi gwo volim labou wouj ki pral pwodwi, kom faz ki pa Al2O3 yo rejte kom labou wouj. epi tou, pi wo a kaolinite oswa reyaktif silica kontni nan Boksit la, yo pral pwodwi plis labou wouj. Kontni an silica reyaktif pa selman ogmante volim nan labou wouj, Men tou manje rilan soda reyaktif ak redui sede a nan Al2O3 refe soti nan Boksit la. Se poutet sa, gen tou de yon agiman ekonomik ak anviwonman yo dwe fet pou amelyore bon jan kalite Boksit anvan raffinage.
The STET dry separation process offers bauxite producers or bauxite refiners an opportunity to perform pre-Bayer-process upgrading of bauxite ore to improve the quality. This approach has many benefits:
An rezime, pwosesis sek ak separate STET a ofri opotinite pou jenere vale pou pwodikte Boksit ak pirifikate. Pre-pwosesis la nan Boksit anvan raffinage ap redwi depans chimik, pi ba volim labou wouj la pwodwi ak minimize pwosesis ove san.
Referans: