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(THE GIST OF PIB) Red Mud

[November-2022]

CSIR- Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI) has recently converted red mud into X-ray shielding tiles.

It has converted red mud into X-ray shielding tiles in a green and economically viable manner through a ceramic route by adding a certain weight percentage of high Z material and binder with it.
These tiles can be used to build radiation shielding structures in diagnostic X-rays, CT scanner rooms, Cath labs, bone mineral density, dental X-rays, etc., instead of the toxic lead sheet to protect the public from radiation hazards.

Red Mud is the waste generated in the Bayer process of alumina production from bauxite.
It is also known as bauxite residue.
Red Mud is defined as a “High Volume Low Effect Waste”.
Nearly 1 to 1.5 tonnes of RM is being generated while producing one tonne of alumina from the bauxite ore through the Bayer process.
It is considered to be toxic due to its extreme alkalinity and heavy element leaching.
Annually about 175 million tonnes of red mud have been generated globally and stored in a specially designed clay-lined pond.
Among that India is producing nearly 9 million tonnes of red mud every year.
The clay-lined ponds often broke out and pollute soil, groundwater, and air and become fatal for both humans and wildlife.
Red mud is one of the underutilized industrial wastes and getting accumulated over the years due to an increase in alumina production as well as inadequate technologies for its large-scale utilization.
The red mud contains 30 – 55% of Fe2O3, which is suitable for attenuating high-energy ionizing radiations like X- and gamma rays.