Tecno-Soil: A Sustainable Alternative for Bauxite Beneficiation and Environmental Rehabilitation
摘要
The aluminumAluminum industry faces challenges, including reducing tailings disposal and water consumption. In bauxiteBauxite beneficiation, the goal is to adjust particle size, increase available aluminaAlumina, and reduce reactive silicaSilica, often found in fineFines clay-rich fractions. Traditional processes discard these finesFines into dams. This study proposes an alternative that eliminates tailings generation by transforming the fineFines fraction into a coproduct—Tecno-soil. Clay minerals are dewatered, combined with organic and mineral inputs, and applied directly to mined areas. Tecno-soil supports soil restoration by enhancing microbial activity, aggregation, water infiltration, and carbonCarbon sequestration. Initial trials using a closed-circuit mobile plant for bauxiteBauxite disaggregation and classificationClassification produced finesFines residue (RCO) with poor aggregation and low water infiltration. Organic amendmentsOrganic amendments and cover crops isolated or combined were insufficient to improve RCO water infiltration, although some improvement in RCO aggregation was observe with a grass cover crop was planted. An RCO amended with chemical and organ ameliorators was used in the subsoil of soils constructed on top of the mine sterile (Tecno-soils) in order to improve the rehabilitation of mined sites. Field experiments showed improved corn growth with increasing doses of amended RCO in the subsoil (greater Tecno-soil thickness). Even though the site has recently being mined, maximum corn gran yields were above the State and National corn grain yield. Through improvements in a new round of tests in the mobile bauxiteBauxite beneficiation plant, disaggregation and washing were enhanced, yielding a coarser finesFines fraction. This amended material will serve as basis to create better Tecno-soils and further improve the field-scale rehabilitation projects in the future.