Potential routes to obtain value-added iron-containing compounds from red mud

Gu, H., Hargreaves, J.S.J. , Jiang, J.-Q. and Rico, J.L. (2017) Potential routes to obtain value-added iron-containing compounds from red mud. Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy, 3(3), pp. 561-569. (doi: 10.1007/s40831-016-0112-2)

Abstract

Red mud, an aluminum industry large-scale waste, was used as a precursor to prepare sodium ferrate(VI) and sodium ferrite following different reaction pathways. Ferrous oxalate extracted from red mud has been used as an intermediate for the preparation of these compounds. The conversion rate to sodium ferrate(VI) from ferrous oxalate was as high as 64% in sodium hydroxide solution with sodium hypochlorite. Furthermore, sodium ferrite was formed after performing the solid–solid reaction at 600 °C using a 1:1 weight ratio of iron oxide (prepared via the ferrous oxalate extraction route from red mud) and sodium peroxide. In contrast, sodium iron silicon oxides were formed when red mud was reacted directly, following similar experimental procedures. These results present an interesting alternative to convert an environmentally unfriendly waste to new value-added products. It is envisaged that sodium ferrate(VI) might be of great interest in terms of wastewater treatment, whereas sodium ferrite and NawFexSiyOz might be of interest in the development of new materials for energy storage.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41402039), and H. Gu is thankful to the China Scholarship Council.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Rico Cerda, Dr Jose Luis and Hargreaves, Professor Justin and Gu, Dr Hannian
• Authors: Gu, H., Hargreaves, J.S.J., Jiang, J.-Q., and Rico, J.L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 2199-3823
• Published Online: 21 December 2016