Call for proposals: COLLECTION OF CROSSFIELD AND PREPARATION OF OTHER PURPOSES FOR COMPLEX USE OF THE VEGETABLE SITE
Contract number: GINOP-2.2.1-15-2017-00106
Start of project implementation: 01.03.2018.
Deadline for physical completion of the project: 30.09.2023.
Contracted amount of aid: 1 002 862 630 HUF
Aid intensity: 67,73 %
Consortium member level grant amount: 242 773 459 HUF
Consortium member level support rate: 100%
Consortium members:
- Martin Metals Trading Limited Liability Company
- Bay Zoltán Applied Research Public Benefit Nonprofit Limited Liability Company
- GEOVOL Bulk Carrier and Excavator Limited Liability Company
- WSP Hungary Consulting Zrt.
- PANNON UNIVERSITY
Project brief
Red mud, a by-product of alumina production, is one of the largest industrial wastes worldwide, amounting to more than 3 billion tonnes. Around 35 million tonnes of red mud are stored in Ajka. The dam bursting at sludge lagoon X on 4 October 2010 highlighted the ecological risks associated with its storage. The basic objective of the project is to develop new types of technologies and product manufacturing processes. The iron content of the red mud can be used in the iron mining industry, and the red mud and residues from the processing can be used as building materials. A key objective of the project is the recovery of the scandium content of the red mud and other rare metals. The recoverable rare metal component is of strategic importance and there is a significant demand for it on the world market, which makes complex recovery profitable. The project aims to use the red mud for the treatment of other wastes. The proposed technological development does not aim to develop a single method or technology, but a complex process and innovative solutions.
Domestic development has repeatedly attempted to reuse red sludge. Implementation has not gone beyond the level of attempts, mainly for economic reasons. The situation is similar in international areas where, in the end, it has mostly proved cheaper to landfill than to reuse. Failures have generally been due to the high energy intensity of the solutions. The present research and development advocates a lower energy solution.
Bay Zoltán Applied Research Nonprofit Ltd. Research priority – Investigating the potential of bioleaching from red mud and by-products of red mud processing. In biotechnological processes (bioleaching, biosorption), we will investigate the effect of natural (biodegradable) metal chelating substances and plant extracts, which are the end products of specific microbial metabolism, on the recovery-reduction (mobilisation) and then transformation into a recoverable form, and reprecipitation (immobilisation, biosorption) of metal ions.
- Iron reduction and magnetite formation by bacteria.
- Iron reduction and magnetite formation by phytochemical (plant chemistry) methods.
- Biosorption of dissolved metal ions.
- Generation of metal sulphide precipitates by sulphate-reducing bacteria.
Based on the results of the experiments, a pilot scale testing of the biotechnology process will be carried out in the 4th year of the project in collaboration with the project partners. The resulting knowledge and toolbox will allow testing the applicability of bioleaching processes to different feedstocks (ores, tailings, electronic and other metallic waste).
Bay Zoltán Applied Research Nonprofit Ltd. Research priority – Recovery of scandium (Sc) from red mud. Scandium is a rare and very expensive metal, which is of great importance for industrial use. It is used in high-strength metal alloys, ceramics, optical, electronic and navigation devices, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and other advanced materials. The project involves the extraction of scandium by acid treatment of red mud, the recovery of dissolved rare earths and other metal components by ion exchange processes, the separation of scandium-containing material, liquid-liquid extraction using organic extractants. To support the chemical process, biosorption experiments are performed for the controlled extraction of Sc. Economical recovery of scandium, other rare earth elements from red mud will be integrated into the process of red mud complex recovery.
The project was supported by the Hungarian State and co-financed by the European Union.