Researchers seek metals harvest from primary aluminum byproduct

Researchers in Europe are devising methods to harvest marketable metal portions from the “red mud” created as a byproduct during the production of primary aluminum.

According to an online article on the  EuroNews website, at sites in Belgium and Germany, research scientists are “trying to recycle waste from primary aluminum production in a more efficient and sustainable way.”

The smelter byproducts are often mixed with carbon and then melted at extreme temperatures. Known as “red mud,” the mixture can include several elements that can be used as feedstock or alloys in the production of steel.

Researcher Bernd Friedrich is quoted by EuroNews as identifying aluminum, iron, titanium, rare earth metals and scandium as among the metals that can be found in red mud.

Currently, according to the same researcher, some 150 million tons of red mud are produced annually, with only two percent being processed for recyclable materials.

Friedrich and fellow researchers are seeking alternatives to the current high-temperature, energy-intensive methods to recycle the red mud.

The researchers say if they can find a more energy-efficient process with reduced carbon emissions, it could help increase the recycling of red mud “five-fold in the next decade.”