A group of scientists from Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Australia has developed a method for recycling aluminum production waste — red sludge — into useful magnetic alloys. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
Researchers have proposed an innovative way to recycle toxic aluminum industry waste into soft magnetic alloys based on iron and silicon. The new materials may find application in electric vehicles and renewable energy devices.
The production of aluminum oxide generates a by-product — red sludge, which is a clayey sediment with a characteristic color. More than 200 million tons of this sludge are generated annually worldwide, of which less than 10% is recycled. Most of the waste accumulates in special storage facilities and can harm the environment due to its high content of alkali, heavy metals, and radioactive elements.
Scientists have proposed using carbothermal reduction to recycle red sludge into soft magnetic materials, which are in demand in electrical engineering. The results of their work were published in the journal Sustainability.
We studied 10 different mixtures based on two types of sludge. As a result of the experiments, we obtained alloys that are close in chemical composition to soft magnetic materials and can be used in the production of electric motors, transformers, and other electrical devices.
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