Alkalinity recovery and neutralisation

Red mud is dangerous primarily because it is strongly alkaline. Neutralising it is the difference between a perpetual liability and a usable material.

Rather than simply diluting or capping the residue, the alkalinity is recovered so that its chemical value is not thrown away. The neutralised solid becomes the feedstock for the recovery steps that follow.

This is the first step in the NeoX™ sequence, and it is what makes everything downstream possible.