| Abstract Scope |
The valorization of bauxite residue generated by the Bayer process is a major challenge for the alumina industry. Iron oxides, mainly goethite and hematite, represent 20 to 50% of the bauxite residue content. Many reports describe a reduction of these species to magnetic ones, followed by magnetic separation, but no commercial success has been reported to date. The initial steps of our study on such magnetic separation process, using a home-made lab-scale disc magnetic separator, allowed for the quantification of key parameters, such as solids concentration, feed flow rate, rotation velocity, etc. In order to properly evaluate the various parameters’ influence, and the efficiency of the separation process, an ideal mixture of magnetic and non magnetic material was prepared and submitted to the disc magnetic separator. The collected material is enriched to more than 90 wt.% magnetic content, from an initial 30 wt.%. |