UAE aluminium refiner to test converting waste to soil

UAE aluminium refiner to test converting waste to soil

Abu Dhabi-headquartered Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has started constructing a pilot plant to convert bauxite residue, a waste from alumina refining, into manufactured soil for use in landscaping. Construction follows five years of scientific research and development in collaboration with a consortium of global research partners, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Detailed […]Abu Dhabi-headquartered Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has started constructing a pilot plant to convert bauxite residue, a waste from alumina refining, into manufactured soil for use in landscaping.

Construction follows five years of scientific research and development in collaboration with a consortium of global research partners, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Detailed engineering work was undertaken last year.

The pilot plant will use technology to neutralise caustic bauxite residue into an environmentally benign raw material in hours called “Turba” (Arabic for soil).

The pilot, expected to be completed in 2024, will allow large-scale trials to test plant growth using the manufactured soil.  

The plant will produce up to six tonnes per day of optimised bauxite residue. 

Located at EGA’s site in Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi, the plant will cover an area of 900 sq m, containing 230 tonnes of steel, more than two km of piping, and