Red mud futures: repurposing one of the world's largest industrial waste by-products

The nine chapters presented in this volume, all of which have been derived from peer-reviewed published research studies, examine alumina refinery residue (red mud) from a variety of different chemical, technical and operational perspectives, and provides analyses of how its adverse chemical and physical properties can be effectively neutralized and modified; the book also explains how the latent beneficial properties or red mud can be utilized for the long-term benefit of society and industry. This “benefit” includes rectification of many of the world’s most important contamination problems, ranging in scope from the removal of heavy metals and phosphate from industrial and municipal wastewater, to the neutralization of acid and sequestration of heavy metals in mining waste and the addition of micro- and macro-nutrients in agriculture, to the immobilization and degradation of organic and inorganic contaminants in soil and industrial solids. While it would not be true to say that the application of neutralized red mud is a solution to all industrial and municipal waste problems, its intelligent and systematic reuse, especially when applied in conjunction with other agents and technologies, can certainly alter the adverse effects of many of them. This is the story of repurposing red mud to create a sustainable future for the alumina industry, for environmental science and remediation, and for society as a whole