Treatment of Bayer-Process Red Mud through Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 5
Abstract
Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) was used to treat Bayer-process red mud, a waste product of the aluminum industry. Changes in the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), calcium carbonate content and distribution, leaching of metal ions, pH value, and stress-strain characteristics were measured, and the effects of MICP on red mud were evaluated. The results showed that MICP was effective and efficient in red mud treatment. This method could overcome the adverse effects of complex mineral composition, fine particle size, strong alkalinity, and the presence of toxic and hazardous materials characteristic of red mud to produce urease to decompose urea, precipitate carbonate, and strengthen red mud. After treatment, the red mud experienced a significant increase in strength, whose UCS increased up to 1,395 kPa, and a transition from strain hardening to strain softening behavior was observed. In the process, the heavy metal ions in the red mud could also be fixed in the form of carbonate precipitation. Mechanistic studies suggested that the red mud changes were entirely due to the calcite, which were in a state of aggregation and had a relatively large volume. In addition, they acted as a framework to agglomerate red mud particles. Through the action of cementation, the red mud particles aggregated and changed from a loosely distributed (scattered) form to a tightly bound block morphology. This had nothing to do with the carbonation reaction of the active calcium minerals contained in the Bayer-process red mud.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51809139 and 51578293).
References
Amritphale, S. S., A. Anshul, N. Chandra, and N. Ramakrishnan. 2007. “A novel process for making radiopaque materials using bauxite—Red mud.” J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 27 (4): 1945–1951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2006.05.106.
Cakici, A. I., J. Yanik, S. Ucar, T. Karayildirim, and H. Anil. 2004. “Utilization of red mud as catalyst in conversion of waste oil and waste plastics to fuel.” J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manage. 6 (1): 20–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-003-0101-y.
Cao, W., and Q. Yang. 2015. “Properties of a carbonated steel slag-slaked lime mixture.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 27 (1): 04014115. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001049.
Carmona, J. P. S. F., P. J. V. Oliveira, and L. J. L. Lemos. 2016. “Biostabilization of a sandy soil using enzymatic calcium carbonate precipitation.” Procedia Eng. 143 (3): 1301–1308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.06.144.
Cengeloglu, Y., A. Tor, G. Arslan, M. Ersoz, and S. Gezgin. 2007. “Removal of boron from aqueous solution by using neutralized red mud.” J. Hazard. Mater. 142 (1): 412–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.08.037.
Choi, S., I. Chang, M. Lee, J. Lee, J. Han, and T. Kwon. 2020. “Review on geotechnical engineering properties of sands treated by microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) and biopolymers.” Constr. Build. Mater. 246 (Jun): 118415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118415.
DeJong, J. T., B. M. Mortensen, B. C. Martinez, and D. C. Nelson. 2010. “Bio-mediated soil improvement.” Ecol. Eng. 36 (2): 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.12.029.
DeJong, J. T., K. Soga, S. A. Banwart, W. R. Whalley, T. R. Ginn, D. C. Nelson, B. M. Mortensen, B. C. Martinez, and T. Barkouki. 2011. “Soil engineering in vivo: Harnessing natural biogeochemical systems for sustainable, multi-functional engineering solutions.” J. R. Soc. Interface 8 (54): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2010.0270.
Dimas, D. D., I. Giannopoulou, and D. Panias. 2009. “Utilization of alumina red mud for synthesis of inorganic polymeric materials.” Miner. Process. Extr. Metall. Rev. 30 (3): 211–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/08827500802498199.
Hamdan, N., E. Kavazanjian, B. E. Rittmann, and I. Karatas. 2017. “Carbonate mineral precipitation for soil improvement through microbial denitrification.” Geomicrobiol. J. 34 (2): 139–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2016.1154117.
Kehagia, F. 2008. “An innovative geotechnical application of bauxite residue.” Electron. J. Geotech. Eng. 13 (G): 75–84.
Liu, Y., and R. Naidu. 2014. “Hidden values in bauxite residue(red mud): Recovery of metals.” Waste Manage. 34 (12): 2662–2673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.09.003.
Liu, Z., and H. Li. 2015. “Metallurgical process for valuable elements recovery from red mud—A review.” Hydrometallurgy 155 (May): 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydromet.2015.03.018.
Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China. 2007. “Solid waste extraction procedure for leaching toxicity: Sulphuric acid & nitric acid method (HJ/T299). Beijing: China Environmental Science Press.
Mortensen, B. M., M. J. Haber, J. T. Dejong, L. F. Caslake, and D. C. Nelson. 2011. “Effects of environmental factors on microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation.” J. Appl. Microbiol. 111 (2): 338–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2011.05065.x.
Newson, T. A., T. D. Dyer, C. Adam, and S. Sharp. 2006. “Effect of structure on the geotechnical properties of bauxite residue.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (2): 143–151. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:2(143).
Soon, N. W., L. M. Lee, T. C. Khun, and H. S. Ling. 2014. “Factors affecting improvement in engineering properties of residual soil through microbial-induced calcite precipitation.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (5): 04014006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001089.
Sushil, S., and V. S. Batra. 2008. “Catalytic applications of red mud, an aluminium industry waste: A review.” Appl. Catal., B 81 (1): 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2007.12.002.
Sutar, H., S. C. Mishra, S. K. Sahoo, A. P. Chakraverty, and H. S. Maharana. 2014. “Progress of red mud utilization: An overview.” Am. Chem. Sci. J. 4 (3): 255–279. https://doi.org/10.9734/ACSJ/2014/7258.
Sutar, H., S. C. Mishra, S. K. Sahoo, A. Satapathy, and V. Kumar. 2012. “Morphology and solid particle erosion wear behavior of red mud composite coatings.” Nat. Sci. 4 (11): 832–838. https://doi.org/10.4236/ns.2012.411111.
Tor, A., N. Danaoglu, G. Arslan, and Y. Cengeloglu. 2009. “Removal of fluoride from water by using granular red mud: Batch and column studies.” J. Hazard. Mater. 164 (1): 271–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.08.011.
Vangelatos, I., G. N. Angelopoulos, and D. Boufounos. 2009. “Utilization of ferroalumina as raw material in the production of ordinary portland cement.” J. Hazard. Mater. 168 (1): 473–478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.02.049.
Wang, K., C. Qian, and R. Wang. 2016. “The properties and mechanism of microbial mineralized steel slag bricks.” Constr. Build. Mater. 113 (Jun): 815–823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.03.122.
Wang, S., H. M. Ang, and M. O. Tade. 2008. “Novel applications of red mud as coagulant, adsorbent and catalyst for environmentally benign processes.” Chemosphere 72 (11): 1621–1635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.05.013.
Zhao, Y., J. Yao, Z. Yuan, T. Wang, Y. Zhang, and F. Wang. 2017. “Bioremediation of Cd by strain GZ-22 isolated from mine soil based on biosorption and microbially induced carbonate precipitation.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 24 (1): 372–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7810-y.
Zhifang, X. U., S. U. Ailing, Z. Xinfeng, and W. Ke. 2010. “Comprehensive recovery and utilization status of alumina red mud.” Shandong Metall. 32 (3): 8–12.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 23, 2020
Accepted: Sep 28, 2020
Published online: Feb 24, 2021
Published in print: May 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jul 24, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.