Bauxite database offers new insight into residue management

BRaDD (Bauxite, Residue and Disposal Database) provides a comprehensive data platform for meta-analysis of trends and successes in bauxite residue processing technologies and storage practices used worldwide in the alumina industry.
“When we looked at the problem of residue management, it was clear that global trends in bauxite residue disposal, storage and management practices are largely undefined,” said Dr Craig Klauber, who leads the CSIRO research team in Western Australia who have developed BRaDD.
“The first step in addressing the residue problem was to understand it. The database is an essential assessment tool to define current practices and determine future trends.”
The nature of bauxite ores, the processing and treatment technologies, the method used for disposal and the design of the storage area all influence bauxite residue characteristics and the potential options available for re-use.
“Our aim is to develop treatment and storage strategies tailored to suit the needs of refineries and their local communities, and re-use strategies that are synergistic with local industries,” said Dr Markus Gräfe, the senior research scientist responsible for creating BRaDD.
“By using BRaDD to collect and collate data, we create a baseline for knowledge about bauxite residues. We can then find correlations that help identify optimal treatment and storage practices for residues.”
As the researchers populated the database with information, they noticed that publicly available data on bauxite residue disposal, storage and management practices provided only 25-30 per cent of the total possible data entries.
The remaining information represents a critical knowledge gap for the effective re-use and remediation of bauxite residues.
“We’re asking bauxite refiners and managers of residue disposal areas, as well as researchers in the area, to contribute data and information to ensure that BRaDD is as comprehensive as possible,” said Dr Gräfe.
“We feel that BRaDD is a critical stepping-stone in the direction of sustainable bauxite residue disposal, remediation and utilisation methods.”
“Good information is essential for good decisions, and that is what we want BRaDD to deliver.”
Industry representatives, scientists, legislators and communities will all be able to rely on this information in order to make informed decisions.
BRaDD is available online to the alumina refining industry and research community as an initiative of CSIRO Light Metals Flagship in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), and was formally presented at the recent APP Bauxite Residue Workshop in Nagpur, India.
BRaDD was originally developed to assist with a major research study undertaken for APP, of the alumina industry’s bauxite residue disposal, storage and management practices.
The potential for trend identification in such a complex area led to the expansion of the database to include additional information about bauxite and residue, and the eventual decision to request input from the wider industry community.
BRaDD includes information about:
. the origin and characterisation of the bauxite ore;
. the way it has been processed and neutralised;
. the disposal method and design of the disposal area; and
. the reuse or rehabilitation options used for each residue area.
Future expansion of the database will include detailed compositional information on residues.

For more information visit: http://www.csiro.au/products/Bauxite-residue-database.html