Alkalinity stabilization behavior of bauxite residue:Ca-driving regulation characteristics of gypsum

Alkaline anions,include CO3^2–,HCO3^–,Al(OH)4^–,OH^–,continuously released from bauxite residue(BR),will cause a potential disastrous impact on surrounding environment.The composition variation of alkaline anions,alkaline phase transformation pathway,and micro-morphological transition characteristics during the gypsum addition were investigated in an attempt to understand alkalinity stabilization behavior.Results demonstrated that alkaline anions stabilization degree in leachates can reach approximately 96.29%,whilst pH and alkalinity were reduced from 10.47 to 8.15,47.39 mmol/L to 2 mmol/L,respectively.During the alkalinity stabilization,chemical regulation behavior plays significant role in driving the co-precipitation reaction among the critical alkaline anions(CO3^2–,HCO3^–,Al(OH)4^–,OH^–),with calcium carbonate(CaCO3))being the most prevalent among the transformed alkaline phases.In addition,XRD and SEM-EDX analyses of the solid phase revealed that physical immobilization behavior would also influence the stability of soluble alkali and chemical bonded alkali due to released Ca^2+from gypsum which aggregated the clay particles and stabilized them into coarse particles with a blocky structure.These findings will be beneficial for effectively regulating strong alkalinity of BR.

Improvement of alkaline electrochemical characteristics of bauxite residue amendment with organic acid and gypsum

Neutralization of alkaline properties of bauxite residue(BR)by using organic acid and gypsum additions may effectively improve electrochemical properties and alleviate physicochemical barriers to ecological rehabilitation.Mineral acids,citric acid and hybrid acid–gypsum additions were compared for their potential to transform and improve zeta potential,isoelectric point(IEP),surface protonation and active alkaline-OH groups,which are critical factors for further improvement of physicochemical and biological properties later.Isoelectric points of untransformed bauxite residue and six transformed derivatives were determined by using electroacoustic methods.Electrochemical characteristics were significantly improved by the amendments used,resulting in reduced IEP and-OH groups and decreased surface protonation for transformed residues.XRD results revealed that the primary alkaline minerals of cancrinite,calcite and grossular were transformed by the treatments.The treatments of citric acid and gypsum promoted the dissolution of cancrinite.From the SEM examination,citric acid and gypsum treatments contributed to the reduction in IEP and redistribution of-OH groups on particle surfaces.The collective evidence suggested that citric acid and gypsum amendments may be used firstly to rapidly amend bauxite residues for alleviating the caustic conditions prior to the consideration of soil formation in bauxite residue.