5. Conclusions

The comprehensive utilization of iron-rich bauxite and red mud is still a worldwide problem. At current levels of technology and practice, the capacity of consumption and secondary utilization is seriously insufficient. A large number of ironrich bauxite and red mud have not been used effectively. The industrial stockpiling is not a fundamental way to solve the problems of iron-rich bauxite and red mud. As to the recovery of valuable metals from iron-rich and red mud, there are a lot of technical and cost problems, which cause serious impediments to industrial development. Therefore, we must decrease the recycling process costs and energy consumption, promote the industrialization of valuable metals recovery processes, optimize complex processes and develop new processes. Applying red mud as construction materials like cement, soil ameliorant applications, face the problem of Na, Cr, As leaching into the environment. However, the high-temperature reduction, smelting and alkaline leaching process is a feasible method to recover iron and alumina from iron-rich bauxite and red mud. Due to the simple process, low cost, it is worth promoting its application in the field of iron and steel industry and aluminum industry.

#### Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFB0603800 & 2017YFB0603802) and the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Exchange Projects of China (No. 2013DFG50640).

Author details

PR China

27

Anhui Province, PR China

Yingyi Zhang1,2\*, Yuanhong Qi3 and Jiaxin Li<sup>1</sup>

Steel Research Institute, Beijing, PR China

provided the original work is properly cited.

\*Address all correspondence to: zhangyingyi@cqu.edu.cn

1 School of Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan,

Aluminum Mineral Processing and Metallurgy: Iron-Rich Bauxite and Bayer Red Muds

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78789

2 College of Material Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing,

3 State Key Laboratory of Advance Steel Processes and Products, Central Iron and

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

Aluminum Mineral Processing and Metallurgy: Iron-Rich Bauxite and Bayer Red Muds DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78789
