Vedanta, India's largest aluminium producer, has achieved a significant breakthrough in bauxite refining, a pivotal step in aluminium production.
In a collaborative effort with the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP), the company has developed an innovative method to substantially reduce the generation of bauxite residue, commonly called red mud.
This pioneering process stands out for its remarkable accomplishment as it reduces bauxite residue by 30 per cent.
It achieves this by eliminating iron values while simultaneously enhancing the yield of alumina. Moreover, this approach significantly reduces the total organic content in bauxite during the alumina refining process, ultimately curbing energy consumption.
Vedanta Aluminium has been actively engaged in finding ways to minimise bauxite residue and explore avenues to extract value from it. The company's groundbreaking process has not only been successfully validated in the laboratory but has also been patented.
Vedanta Aluminium's Research & Development (R&D) department spearheaded this research project in partnership with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. Special support came from the Lanjigarh, Odisha unit, which houses Vedanta's world-class alumina refinery.
Currently, the company is focusing on establishing a pilot plant to implement and assess the practicality of this innovative method, along with identifying its potential advantages.
Mr. GG Pal, Deputy CEO of Alumina Business at Vedanta Ltd., highlighted the company's commitment to operational efficiency and sustainability, emphasising their focus on in-house R&D initiatives to address industry challenges.
Dr. Amit Chatterjee, Chief Research & Development Officer for the Aluminium Business at Vedanta Ltd., expressed excitement about implementing this groundbreaking process in bauxite residue management within their refinery operations. He said, "We look forward to implementing our groundbreaking process in bauxite residue management in our refinery operations. This is a significant milestone that will offer a pathway to enhanced resource efficiency and energy conservation and contribute towards reshaping the global aluminium industry.”
Dr. Chenna Rao Borra, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, praised Vedanta Aluminium's dedication to sustainability. He noted that reducing bauxite residue has been a longstanding challenge in the aluminium industry, and the collaborative process developed with IIT Kharagpur promises not only to improve residue management but also to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the process.
Vedanta Aluminium is known for its commitment to sustainability, including its pioneering achievement of achieving Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) by extracting all the water from bauxite residue slurry and recycling it back into operational use. The remaining bauxite residue is compactly stored in a scientifically managed concretised area, preventing leaching into the groundwater. With the new process implementation, the generation of bauxite residue will be further reduced.
Furthermore, Vedanta Aluminium collaborates with research institutes to develop innovative technologies for utilising bauxite residue. These technologies include the beneficiation of bauxite residue to enrich Rare Earth Elements (REEs), the recovery of alumina and iron values, and processes for extracting and separating valuable metals such as titanium and REEs like Scandium. This effort is essential as bauxite residue contains valuable elements, including iron, alumina, REEs, and titanium dioxide.
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