Guiyang aims to help enterprises with red mud

The Guiyang Red Mud Comprehensive Utilization Research Institute, jointly built by the Guiyang Aluminum Industry Technology Innovation Center and Guizhou Huajin Aluminum Co, was recently unveiled. It marks a key step forward in driving the green coordinated development of the red mud comprehensive utilization industry and alumina industry in Guiyang.

Red mud is an industrial solid waste discharged after refining alumina from bauxite and cannot be used directly. At present, the comprehensive utilization rate of domestic red mud is less than three percent, causing pollution to soil, water sources, and the atmosphere.

Guizhou Huajin is the largest alumina enterprise in Southwest China's Guizhou province, producing about 2.3 million metric tons of red mud every year, accounting for about 30 percent of the province's total. Red mud solid waste storage has been restricting the sustainable development of alumina enterprises such as Guizhou Huajin.

"We focus on the reduction and recycling of red mud to reduce harm to the environment. We carry out the application of roadbed materials and research on the extraction of valuable metals from red mud so as to allow for the comprehensive utilization of red mud," said a higher-up at Guizhou Huajin.

Key technological research on red mud roadbed application carried out by the enterprise and Guizhou Expressway Group is currently progressing smoothly.