Comalco Aluminum Limited

Comalco Aluminium Limited

William H Andrews

David J Milne

Ronald W Moyle

James P Peters

A process for production of useful materials including a product of similar composition to nepheline involves contacting a slurry of red mud with sulphur dioxide to dissolve components of the red mud that are soluble in sulphurous acid, removing residual undissolved solids by filtration, and recovering a filtrate containing soda, alumina and silica values, removing free water from the filtrate to produce a crystallized residue, and calcining the crystallized residue.

Production of useful materials including synthetic nepheline from Bayer

A superior proppant having very high permeability at formation pressures up to 20,000 psi, very high compressive strength, low specific gravity, and good acid resistance, is produced by a process comprising: (a) separating a fine fraction from a naturally occurring bauxite containing same; (b) pelletizing the separated fine fraction in the presence of water; (c) treating the pellets produced in step (b) to remove water therefrom; and (d) sintering the product of step (c) to produce a low density material suitable for use as a proppant.

Bauxite proppant

A leaching process employing acidic chloride solutions, whereby the iron content of aluminous materials such as lower grade iron-containing bauxite ores is reduced, enabling the obtention of valuable products such as metallurgical grade alumina and refractory grade bauxite, previously obtainable only from higher grade low-iron aluminous materials.

Growing community of inventors

Mt. Waverley, Australia

William H Andrews