"Transforming Waste into Green Steel: Innovative Methods for Sustainable Production"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Nature.com
Red mud, a by-product of aluminium production, is a major environmental issue due to its accumulation and disposal. A new study proposes using hydrogen plasma to directly extract iron from red mud, offering a sustainable and carbon-neutral method for steel production. The process involves exposing red mud to a lean hydrogen thermal plasma, resulting in the production of liquid iron without the need for prior treatment. This innovative approach not only extracts valuable iron but also renders the residual material into a neutral product suitable for other industries, addressing both the issue of red mud waste and the production of iron without direct CO2 emissions.