RRA™ Red Mud Flocculants

Productivity advantages of RRA and RX flocculants include: 

• Increased alumina production
• Increased mud compaction and alumina recovery
• Improved security filtration, operation, capacity & efficiency
• Fewer scale related outages and extending settling and washing vessel life
• Fewer organics introduced Facilitate efficient red mud disposal 

Total Cost of Operations advantages of Nalco Water flocculants include: 

• Improved cost in use Lower dose requirement
• Reduced alumina and soda losses to the mud
• Reduced scaling - extending settling and washing vessel life
• Lower energy consumption
• Reduced evaporation requirements
• Reduced labor & maintenance
• Fewer scale related outages

In Bayer process production of alumina, bauxite ore is digested in a high temperature, highly caustic solution. Remaining red mud residue, which does not digest, is left suspended in the resulting saturated sodium aluminate solution. This red mud residue must be removed prior to further processing of the saturated solution to ultimately precipitate a purified alumina trihydrate product. Red mud removal requires the use of flocculants effective in bridging and entrapping fine red mud solids to rapidly separate the solids from the saturated liquor. This separation process occurs via decantation and subsequently in multiple counter current washing stages to reclaim soluble alumina and soda.