Production of Soft Magnetic Materials Fe-Si and Fe-Si-Al from Blends of Red Muds and Several Additives: Resources for Advanced Electrical Devices

Rita Khanna (), Yuri Konyukhov, Dmitri Zinoveev, Kejiang Li, Nikita Maslennikov, Igor Burmistrov, Jumat Kargin, Maksim Kravchenko and Partha Sarathy Mukherjee
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Rita Khanna: School of Materials Science and Engineering (Ret.), The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Yuri Konyukhov: Department of Enrichment and Processing of Minerals and Technogenic Raw Materials, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow 119049, Russia
Dmitri Zinoveev: Department of Enrichment and Processing of Minerals and Technogenic Raw Materials, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow 119049, Russia
Kejiang Li: School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Nikita Maslennikov: Department of Enrichment and Processing of Minerals and Technogenic Raw Materials, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow 119049, Russia
Igor Burmistrov: Engineering Centre, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow 117997, Russia
Jumat Kargin: Technical Physics Department, G.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana 010008, Kazakhstan
Maksim Kravchenko: Moscow Power Engineering Institute, National Research University, Moscow 111250, Russia
Partha Sarathy Mukherjee: Independent Researcher, Bhubaneshwar 751013, India

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: The present study developed a novel approach for transforming red mud (RM) into soft magnetic materials (SMMs) for applications in advanced electrical devices in the form of Fe-Si and Fe-Si-Al alloys. A total of ten blends were prepared based on two RMs, three iron oxide additives (Fe 2 O 3 , black and red mill scales), alumina and carbonaceous reductants in a range of proportions. Carbothermic reduction of the blends was carried out in a vertical Tamman resistance furnace at 1600–1650 °C for 30 min in an argon atmosphere; synthetic graphite was used as a reductant. Reaction products were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Significant amounts of Fe-rich metallic droplets/regions of different grain sizes (0.5 to 500 μm) were produced in these studies. The formation of Fe-Si alloys with Si contents from 3.9 to 6.7 wt.% was achieved in 8 out of 10 blends; the optimal levels of Si for SMMs ranged from 3.2 to 6.5 wt.%. There was clear evidence for the formation of Fe-Si-Al (up to 1.8 wt.% Al) alloys in 4 out of 10 blends. In addition to lowering operating challenges associated with RM processing, blending of RMs with iron oxide additives and alumina presents a novel recycling approach for converting RMs into valuable SMMs for possible emerging applications in renewable energy, storage, electrical vehicles and other fields. Along with reducing RM stockpiles across the globe, this approach is expected to improve resource efficiency, mitigating environmental impacts while generating economic benefits.

Keywords: red mud; industrial waste; soft magnetic materials; recycling; additives; metal recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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