Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area

Without some form of mitigation control bauxite residue disposal areas in Mediterranean climates can be subject to large-scale dust lift-off events during summer, with significant environmental impact. Intuitively dust formation relates simply to the process of drying. However, whilst wet solids wil...

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Main Authors: Klauber, Craig, Harwood, N., Hockridge, R., Middleton, C.
Format: Book Chapter
Published: 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52286
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author Klauber, Craig
Harwood, N.
Hockridge, R.
Middleton, C.
author_facet Klauber, Craig
Harwood, N.
Hockridge, R.
Middleton, C.
author_sort Klauber, Craig
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Without some form of mitigation control bauxite residue disposal areas in Mediterranean climates can be subject to large-scale dust lift-off events during summer, with significant environmental impact. Intuitively dust formation relates simply to the process of drying. However, whilst wet solids will not produce dust, the converse is not always true. Both the rate of drying and the composition of the bauxite residue are critical factors in determining whether a potential dust event will occur. In this work a dust formation mechanism is proposed in which caustic salts transport and effloresce along with a changing phase composition in the brine solids from sodium bicarbonate through to trona and then to carbonate monohydrate. The efflorescence leads to a white dust event, but the carbonate phase change and the associated reduction in sodium molar volume critically breaks inter-particulate bonding between the residue particles leading to a more severe underlying red dust event. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. All rights reserved.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-522862019-09-10T06:25:46Z Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area Klauber, Craig Harwood, N. Hockridge, R. Middleton, C. Without some form of mitigation control bauxite residue disposal areas in Mediterranean climates can be subject to large-scale dust lift-off events during summer, with significant environmental impact. Intuitively dust formation relates simply to the process of drying. However, whilst wet solids will not produce dust, the converse is not always true. Both the rate of drying and the composition of the bauxite residue are critical factors in determining whether a potential dust event will occur. In this work a dust formation mechanism is proposed in which caustic salts transport and effloresce along with a changing phase composition in the brine solids from sodium bicarbonate through to trona and then to carbonate monohydrate. The efflorescence leads to a white dust event, but the carbonate phase change and the associated reduction in sodium molar volume critically breaks inter-particulate bonding between the residue particles leading to a more severe underlying red dust event. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. All rights reserved. 2013 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52286 10.1002/9781118647868.ch132 restricted
spellingShingle Klauber, Craig
Harwood, N.
Hockridge, R.
Middleton, C.
Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title_full Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title_fullStr Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title_full_unstemmed Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title_short Proposed Mechanism for the Formation of Dust Horizons on Bauxite Residue Disposal Area
title_sort proposed mechanism for the formation of dust horizons on bauxite residue disposal area
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52286