Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Resources, Conservation & Recycling

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec

Review

Recovery of valuable products from hazardous aluminum dross: A review T

⁎
Arunabh Meshram , Kamalesh Kumar Singh
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221005, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Aluminum dross is a toxic industrial waste generated in large quantities in aluminum smelter plants. The pre-
Aluminum dross sence of leachable salts like NaCl and KCl in aluminum dross aggravates the environmental crisis, whereas the
Pyrometallurgical treatment metallic aluminum entrapped in the matrix of alumina can be used as raw material for metal extraction.
Hydrometallurgical treatment Pyrometallurgical methods, like rotary salt furnaces and salt-free technologies, are industrially applied for re-
Hydrogen
covery of aluminum. Many hydrometallurgical technologies have been patented that consume aluminum dross
Utilization
to produce aluminum alum and other industrially applicable products. Newer applications of aluminum dross
include its direct utilization in the production of zeolites, ion exchangers, refractories, composites, cement and
concrete products and generation of gases like hydrogen, ammonia, methane. This review paper discusses the
generation of aluminum dross, its environmental impacts, the industrial methods for recovery of metal from it
and recent developments in its utilization.

1. Introduction to aluminum dross
The world production of metallic aluminum in 2016 was 58,890
thousand metric tons with a daily average of 160.9 tons (International
Aluminum Institute, 2017). The rise of secondary aluminum production
has been evident as the utilization of waste products and scraps have
increased in recent years. The overall production of secondary alu-
minum reached nearly 60% of primary aluminum production in 2003 in
European continent (Blomberg and Söderholm, 2009; Grimaud et al.,
2017) with an annual increase of 2.4%, whereas it was reported by
Nakajima et al. (Nakajima et al., 2007) that secondary aluminum ingot
production in Japan reached 1257.7 × 103 tons. Nearly 413 million
tons of secondary aluminum reserves were available globally in the
year 2010 (Maung et al., 2017), a major proportion of which amassed in
the landfill sites. Although newer technologies like severe plastic de-
formation (SPD) and powder metallurgy (P/M) have been designed to
utilize aluminum scraps (Wan et al., 2017), primary and secondary
aluminum smelting are still the eminent processes for the recycling of
bulk aluminum scrap wastes.
Such rise in the secondary aluminum production implies higher
production of aluminum dross, both in primary and secondary smelters.
The primary and secondary smelters generate 1.5–2.5% and 8–15% of
white and black dross per ton of molten metal produced, respectively
(Mankhand, 2012). According to Gil et al. (Gil and Korili, 2016), nearly
200,000 tons of salt cakes and white dross is produced in the UK
whereas the cost of waste disposal amounted to nearly 80 million Euros.
Dai et al. (Dai and Apelian, 2016) reported that nearly 5 million tons of
dross is generated annually. Owing to the large annual production of
dross and its economic impacts, proper recycling and utilization of
aluminum dross become mandatory.
The recycling of aluminum consists of sorting, salt fluxing and re-
melting of various products of aluminum like ingots, beverage cans,
utensils, scraps, wastes etc. During the process of remelting, which is
performed in a smelter plant, molten aluminum comes in contact with
the atmosphere. Therefore surface oxidation takes place, forming a
semisolid skim over the molten metal. After tapping the molten metal,
this skim is removed (Schlesinger, 2007). This mixture, called alu-
minum dross, essentially consists of aluminum oxide, metallic alu-
minum, magnesium spinel (MgAlO4), periclase (MgO), quartz (SiO2)
and salt fluxes with small traces of aluminum carbides and nitrides
(Jafari et al., 2014; Mankhand, 2012; Schlesinger, 2007). Carbides and
nitrides are formed due to the reactions that take place after the re-
moval of aluminum dross from the remelting furnace (Manfredi et al.,
1997; Schlesinger, 2007).
The types and composition of aluminum dross produced are de-
scribed in Table 1 (Manfredi et al., 1997; Mankhand, 2012). Primary
smelters usually produce white dross with higher percentages of me-
tallic content (15–80%) because the raw material for smelting is chiefly
aluminum ingot, whereas the secondary smelters produce black dross
because aluminum wastes, scraps are used as raw materials. The re-
melting process requires fluxing of salt, which reduces the metallic
content (7–50%) in the black dross. The salt cakes generated post re-
melting is weakly concentrated in aluminum content (3–10%)
(Manfredi et al., 1997; Mankhand, 2012).

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: arunabhmeshram@gmail.com (A. Meshram), kksingh.met@itbhu.ac.in (K.K. Singh).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.11.026
Received 25 September 2017; Received in revised form 27 November 2017; Accepted 27 November 2017
0921-3449/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
Table 1
Types and composition of aluminum dross (Manfredi et al., 1997; Mankhand, 2012).
Type of dross % Metallic aluminum % Aluminum Oxide % Salt Flux
White dross 15–80 20 − 85 <5
Black dross 7 − 50 30 − 50 30 − 50
Salt cake 3 − 10 20 − 60 20 − 80
Due to variation in operation schemes, a variation of composition in
terms of the metallic content of aluminum is found in aluminum dross
samples from primary and secondary smelters. Sorting of raw material
feed for production of secondary aluminum is one of the key steps in
smelting process (Brommer, 2013). Operation parameters such as speed
of dross removal and depth of dross removal alter the chemical com-
position in the dross removed. The higher speed of dross collection
results in the breaking of the continuous film of oxide over the surface.
This leads to the removal of aluminum along with the dross, decreasing
the efficiency of the process gradually. Similarly, greater depths for
collection would result in the loss of metal and fall in efficiency
(Maropoulos et al., 2015). Dispinar et al. (2011) have shown that re-
cycling of coated aluminum sheets leads to larger loss of metal to alu-
minum dross, as compared to uncoated metal sheets. Hence metal loss
can be prevented by controlling the operation parameters.
1.1. Environmental impacts of aluminum dross
Environmental impacts of aluminum dross are detrimental. When
dross comes in contact with water, hazardous gases are released in-
cluding ammonia, which pollutes the atmosphere (Peng et al., 2013).
Aluminum nitride finds its application in ceramic industry, as it is used
as high thermal conductive refractories (Saito et al., 1994), but when
dross containing aluminum nitride comes in contact with water, nitride
gets decomposed and ammonia gas is released. The effluents produced
in the tertiary aluminum treatment industries that recycle aluminum
dross contain chemical species like Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and N-NH3
(Shinzato and Hypolito, 2016). Heavy metal precipitation results when
these effluents are disposed into aquatic bodies. Moreover, ammonia
oxidation declines in the reducing conditions at the bottom of water
bodies, leading to unionized accumulation of ammonia (NH3), which is
highly toxic to aquatic organisms. The contamination of soil and
groundwater is also evident in the proximity of these tertiary aluminum
treatment plants (Shinzato and Hypolito, 2016). The pH of the
groundwater drops down to 4 due to the action of bacteria that break
down ammonia, which is highly unfavorable and the disposal of non-
metallic products (NMP) in the soil increases the percentage of alu-
minum in the form of Al(OH)3.
Toxic chemical compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-di-
oxins and furans (PCDD/DF) and Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins
and furans (PBDD/DF) exist around the secondary aluminum smelter
plants. The largest quantity of these toxic chemicals is detected in the
fusion feeding stage of processing aluminum waste products. At this
stage, the raw materials are fed to the furnace and fusion takes place.
Alloying elements, as required, are added and fusion of these materials
is achieved (Wang et al., 2016). Due to incomplete combustion of
compounds in this stage, these toxic chemicals are released. It has been
mentioned that pretreated aluminum scrap decreases the amount of
PBDD/F and reduces the impact on the environment. These chemicals
are produced due to the presence of salt fluxes used in the smelter plant
processes (Wang et al., 2016). The incomplete combustion of salts and
the organic compounds lead to the production of such harmful com-
pounds. The presence of such hazardous compounds is enough to in-
dicate the effect of aluminum dross on human health and environment.
Therefore aluminum dross needs proper recycling to minimize the en-
vironmental pollution by a large margin.
According to Gil (Gil, 2007), landfilling of salt slags obtained from
96
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
secondary aluminum industries leads to severe environmental pollu-
tion. The amount of toxic leachable salts is quite high in saline slags and
salt cakes, which makes these wastes potential water pollutants. Due to
the disturbance in water composition around the landfilling sites, flora
and fauna get disturbed, further upsetting the ecological balance (Gil,
2007). Landfilling of aluminum waste products can be done only when
leaching of waste is avoided by sealing the waste products properly
(Calder and Stark, 2010). Therefore proper measures are necessary
while disposing of aluminum waste materials.
1.2. Properties of aluminum dross
When the metallic aluminum present in white dross is above 53%,
granular dross particles tend to form. In case of lower metallic content,
the formation of oxide is predominant (Manfredi et al., 1997). Metal
losses due to entrapment of liquid metal and agglomeration of oxide
films are quite significant in the assessment of the physical properties of
dross. The density of dross is 0.828–1.118 tons/m3 for granular parti-
cles and 2.396–2.528 tons/m3 for compacted particles (Manfredi et al.,
1997). The density of the pressed dross can be determined using Ar-
chimedes’s principle as well as fully automatic gas pyknometer. Mor-
phological changes of particles take place from porous to compact when
there is a rapid rise in density with around 50–60% free metallic con-
tent in the dross (Kevorkijan, 2002). Gas evolution of about
0.25–1.17 L/kg of granular dross takes place when brought into contact
with water, whereas compact dross leads to no gas evolution (Manfredi
et al., 1997).
In order to determine the free aluminum content in white aluminum
dross, dissolution of weighed aluminum dross samples into 6 N HCl is
carried out. After 2 h of dissolution and vacuum filtration, the weight of
the residue is collected and weighed. The difference gives the total
metallic content in the dross (Kevorkijan, 2002). On the other hand,
according to a theoretical model, the proportion of metallic aluminum
is taken as a function of the density of pressed skull, the density of non-
metallic phase and volume fraction of closed pores (Kevorkijan et al.,
2013). The macrostructural and microstructural investigations using
SEM justify the presence of metallic content in varying degrees.
Physical properties like volume shrinkage, bulk density, cold-crush
strength and permeability of aluminum dross can be evaluated by
producing bricks of aluminum dross and using them for experiments.
Brick samples using 50–90% of white aluminum dross, 10–50% ben-
tonite with a proportional amount of water are dried and sintered at
varying temperatures from 303 K to 723 K for varying duration of time
(8–24 h). Bricks with particle size nearly 105 μm depict highest volume
shrinkage of approximately 15% with a peak bulk density is 1.9 g/cm3
which is fair enough to serve as refractory bricks. The cold crushing
strength of the bricks reaches around 940 kn/m2, advocating the ap-
plicability of bricks, replacing the medium fireclay refractories.
Permeability indicates the extent of resistance towards slag, melt or gas
attack and penetration in-service period. Lower permeability implies
higher resistance to slag attack (Berger, 2010). The permeability varied
from 85% of 105 μm to 70% of 185 μm, which normally indicates that
permeability increases with a decrease in the particle size (Adeosun
et al., 2014).
The prime objective of this review paper is to study the preproces-
sing, treatment and utilization of aluminum dross. Many routes of
processing dross have been successfully applied industrially while
newer alternatives have been designed recently. For instance, utiliza-
tion of white aluminum dross for generation of value-added products,
such as hydrogen, presents itself as a new horizon of research. This
review paper shall cover various aspects of utilizing aluminum dross to
convert it into more eco-friendly products like refractories, composites,
ion-exchangers.
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
2. Preprocessing of aluminum dross
Prior to selection of any route for extraction of aluminum and
generation of its by-products, the initial important steps are cooling the
hot dross, crushing, grinding and downsizing. Hot dross post skimming
when subjected to mechanical agitation liberates liquid metal, the solid
residue left over is crushed, sorted ground and milled for further re-
covery of metallic aluminum (Lorber and Antrekowitsch, 2010). After
these mechanical operations, approximately 30–50% metallic content
still remains in the dross (Kevorkijan, 2002). Fig. 1 shows the pre-
processing and further operations of white aluminum dross.
The modern method employed for the cooling of dross is the use of
dross pans and cooling hoods. Inert gas cooling is provided which uti-
lizes Argon gas at a high flow rate (Whiteley et al., 1991). The main
objective behind the cooling hood is to reduce the amount of oxide
produced in the dross. Normally the exposure to atmosphere leads to
the further oxidation of metallic content in the dross. The formation of
dross could be reduced if the molten metal surface disturbances are
precisely controlled. This efficient approach to cool the dross aims at
putting an end to conventional cooling practices in which the dross is
spread on the floor for cooling.
Homogenization of ground particles leads to the ease in the ex-
traction of metal and further processing thereby liberating the metallic
content entrapped in the matrix to some extent. This proportion of
metal could be separated by physical methods. For the rest of the ex-
tractable metallic percentage, pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical
routes are adopted.
Crushing of aluminum dross into smaller particles usually displays
the heterogeneity inherent in the dross. Due to the higher viscosity of
metallic aluminum as compared to other brittle oxides and nitrides, the
size of the crushed particles of metallic content remains larger. Brittle
fracture is evident when oxide percentages dominate in powder, but
some particles may show signs of ductile fracture, as the metallic
content may be higher in the particular agglomerate. Higher the par-
ticle size after crushing, higher is the metallic content whereas lower is
the percentages of nitride and chlorides (Hiraki and Nagasaka, 2014).
Other variations in pretreatment procedures include the formation of
solutions in hot water, crystallization, drying, and treatment of gases.
Metal oxide fractions that remain after the pretreatment can be em-
ployed for inert filling for construction, road paving, mortar compo-
nents (Gil and Korili, 2016). It can be realized that larger particles of
white aluminum dross can be processed further for metal extraction
whereas smaller particles can be utilized in other applications.
Mechanical operation procedures for the treatment of dross to lib-
erate metallic aluminum have recently employed eddy current separa-
tors. Eddy current separator (ECS) utilizes eddy currents to separate
non-ferrous metal fractions from powdered mixtures. ECS primarily
consists of a conveyer belt, where powdered mixtures are fed and an
eddy current rotor, which separates non-ferrous metal fractions
(Settimo et al., 2004). ECS technology can be employed to both the
categories of dross (white and black), from various aluminum smelter
97
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
Fig. 1. Preprocessing of white aluminum dross and
its utilization (Gil and Korili, 2016; Hiraki and
Nagasaka, 2014).
units for coarse metallic aluminum recovery. Hwang et al. have crushed
and downsized samples of white and black dross and subjected the
powdered products to ECS. White dross particles that fall in the range of
6–10 mesh show extensive recovery of aluminum as compared to that
of the black dross of similar size (Hwang et al., 2006). Therefore ECS
technology can be seen as an alternative to the conventional method of
pretreatment to remove metallic aluminum.
Material flow analysis of white aluminum dross conducted by
Nakajima et al. (Nakajima et al., 2007) in Japan for domestic produc-
tion and consumption of dross in Japan showed that nearly 234 × 103
tons of aluminum is recovered from aluminum dross, while 215 × 103
tons of residue (after removal of aluminum) is generated, which is
mostly used in steelmaking industries. Aluminum dross residue is
consumed for generation of hydrogen gas (Nakajima et al., 2007). With
proper pretreatment of white aluminum dross and salt cakes produced
after industrial operations, the efficiency of metal recovery increases
manifold.
In the next section, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical routes
of recycling of aluminum dross will be described. The pyrometallurgical
route is the conventional method of treating dross, liberating metallic
aluminum in the liquid state, whereas hydrometallurgical route extracts
aluminum from dross by converting it into aluminum salts and com-
pounds.
3. Treatment of aluminum dross
Aluminum dross is industrially treated to extract valuable products
by both pyrometallurgical processes and hydrometallurgical processes.
Metal extraction using pyrometallurgical route gives good metal re-
covery. In case of lower metallic content in dross, the hydro-
metallurgical route can be preferred. In this section, the industrially
applicable processes are discussed, along with newer research in the
field of treatment of aluminum dross.
3.1. Pyrometallurgical route
Various pyrometallurgical methods are available for extracting va-
luable metallic content from white aluminum dross. Salt fluxing for
metal recovery is the conventional method whereas utilization of
plasma arc rotary furnace are the newly developed technologies
(Gomez et al., 2009). Rotary salt furnaces (RSF) are oil or gas fired
furnace charged with aluminum dross with salt flux about 50% that of
dross weight, on the other hand, the newly designed salt-free furnaces
consume minimum or nearly no salt fluxes to recover metallic alu-
minum. Fig. 2 describes the pyrometallurgical methods used for alu-
minum extraction from aluminum dross. Table 2 describes various
pyrometallurgical technologies that have been developed, patented and
used to recycle aluminum dross, extractive metallic aluminum and
generate other by-products.
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
3.1.1. Rotary salt furnaces
As mentioned earlier, rotary salt furnaces have been used to liberate
aluminum from its dross and other wastes generated during melting and
remelting of ingots and scraps. Understanding the importance of fluxing
and impact of variation of fluxing parameters like the temperature of
fluxing and composition of fluxing justifies the need of new methods for
treatment of dross.
The main objectives of fluxing of the wastes during refining pro-
cesses are the prevention of melt oxidation, recycling of metallic alu-
minum from dross and inclusion removal. Majidi et al. (Majidi et al.,
2007) have examined the refining characteristics and found that re-
fining is not very effective below the temperature of 973 K, while ab-
sorption of hydrogen in the fluxes require temperature as high as
1063 K. According to Majidi et al., approximately 1013 K is the op-
timum temperature for fluxing of molten aluminum for refining (Majidi
et al., 2007).
Mixtures of NaCl and KCl are good fluxing salts for refining and
recycling of aluminum. Molten flux initiates and controls the destruc-
tion of aluminum oxide net that has aluminum entrapped in it (Soares
Tenorio and Romano Espinosa, 2002). Salt oxide interaction is en-
hanced as the rotation of the furnace is commenced. Finally, the
breakage of continuous net leads to coalescence of aluminum drops,
which sink to the aluminum bath. Aluminum oxides develop a chain
microstructure, a high specific area that traps metallic aluminum. This
metallic portion is released when the molten salt is introduced to the
surface of aluminum oxides, which attacks the links and causes lib-
eration of aluminum. Fluorides such as MgF2, CaF2 are also efficient in
this releasing process (Soares Tenorio and Romano Espinosa, 2002).
During melting, following reactions take place, giving rise to various
chemical compounds like Al2O3, Al4C3, and AlN (Gil, 2005):
4 Al + 3 O2 → 2 Al2O3 (1)
2 Al + N2 → 2 AlN (2)
2 Al + 3 H2O → Al2O3 + 3 H2 (3)
6 Al + 3 CO → Al4C3 + Al2O3 (4)
4 Al + 3 SiO2 → 2 Al2O3 + 3 Si (5)
Altering the composition of fluxing salts can lead to the extensive
liberation of metallic aluminum. For instance, AlF3–NaF–BaCl2 flux has
been used for liberation of aluminum from its oxide particles from
aluminum casting dross samples at 1073 K (Ueda et al., 2005). Complex
salt combinations like that of NaCl, KCl, and KF have been investigated
by Masson et al. (Masson and Taghiei, 1989). According to Masson
et al., a high melting layer at the interface of metal and salt affects the
coalescence of metal droplets in the molten salt layers. The oxide layer
present on the surface of the feed is easily removed due to the inter-
actions of molten salts (Masson and Taghiei, 1989). The salt layer
contains combinations of KMgF3 and K2NaAlF6, depending on the
amount of magnesium in the feed. Besson et al. (Besson et al., 2011)
have described the attack of salts like Na3AlF6 and chlorides on the
layers of aluminum oxide. The first stage is the development of crack in
98
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
Fig. 2. Aluminum dross processing by pyr-
ometallurgical route(Reuter et al., 2004; Ünlü and
Drouet, 2002; Xiao et al., 2005; Xiao and Reuter,
2002).
the oxide film, after which salt penetration into the interface takes
place. Due to various factors like viscosity, the density of salt flux used,
interfacial tensions between surfaces, dissolution of oxides is enhanced
and metal recovery increases. Such molten salt combinations can be
employed for efficient extraction of aluminum from dross and scrap
wastes.
Recycling of secondary aluminum in rotary salt furnaces in presence
of salt fluxes comprising NaCl, KCl, and Cryolite has been examined by
Xiao et al. (Reuter et al., 2004; Xiao et al., 2005; Xiao and Reuter,
2002). When the amount of salt fluxes is increased during melting and
remelting of aluminum, generation of aluminum dross also increases,
although metal recovery is improved. Reuter et. al (Reuter et al., 2004)
have described a holistic method to treat the dross and salt slags con-
taining chlorides and fluorides. According to them, separation of me-
tallic content from dross is the primary step, followed by leaching and
filtration to form salts and residues. To regenerate and reuse the salts,
crystallization of salt fluxes should also be carried out. Finally, proper
heat treatment should be provided to reuse the non-metallic residues
that remain post recycling operations. In this way, salt slags and dross
containing fluorides and chlorides can be treated. Slag viscosity affects
the metal entrapment in the slag matrix. Fine sized non-metallic content
in the raw feed leads to a lower recovery of aluminum and higher
amount of slag generation (Xiao et al., 2005). However, Hiraki et. al
(Hiraki et al., 2014) have reported that extraction of elements like Ca,
Ce, Dy, Dg, Ho, La, Li, Mg and Sr from secondary aluminum using salt
fluxes (45 mol% NaCl–45 mol% KCl–10 mol% AlCl3 and 35 mol%
NaCl–35 mol% KCl–30 mol% AlCl3) is thermodynamically feasible and
chlorination reactions play important role in removal of these elements
from the molten aluminum metal.
Although the addition of salt flux leads to metal recovery, some
metallic values are also lost in the salt slag. This salt slag is hazardous,
as the content of harmful ions like chloride and fluoride is quite high
(Tsakiridis, 2012). Also, salt fluxes generate salt slags and cakes that
require separate disposal method, which in turn adds to the cost of
production, thereby affecting the economy of the process. Therefore,
salt-free technologies have been designed to ensure minimal loss of
metallic values and reduction in by-product generation.
3.1.2. Salt-Free technologies
Rotary salt furnaces (RSF) have been the primary means of recycling
aluminum dross in the yesteryears. Recently, Plasma Technology has
taken up the challenge of processing aluminum dross to liberate me-
tallic aluminum entrapped in it, recycling hazardous aluminum wastes
with minimum harm to the environment. These technologies do not
require the addition of salt fluxes to facilitate the extraction of alu-
minum from dross. Salt free processes that dominate the operations of
treatment of dross are namely Alcan plasma torch dross treatment
process, Hydro-Quebec DROSCAR graphite arc process, ALUREC pro-
cess, ECOCENT process and PyroGenesis DROSRITE process. All these
advanced technologies ensure salt-free operation and better metal re-
covery. An insight into these processes develops the idea of environ-
ment friendly approach to deal with the hazardous waste dross
 Table 2
Development in pyrometallurgical technology to treat aluminum dross.

Technology Raw Materials Characteristic Features Products and by-products References

Salt cake processing method and apparatus Salt cakes, skim, dross After recycling aluminum, the salt fluxes are recovered by Salt flux, brine solution, and Papafingos and Lance (1978)
dissolving in water, evaporation, and crystallization aluminum
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh

Aluminum Dross Reclamation White aluminum dross Pelletizing aluminum dross without free water and calcining Calcined aluminum oxide Gower et al. (1985)
the pellets at 1255 K refractory
Recovery of non ferrous metals from dross White aluminum dross Plasma torch is directed to rotary furnace with dross feed in Metallic aluminum Dube et al. (1990); Lavole and
presence of N2 and Ar gases to 1273 K Dube (1991); Ünlü and Drouet
(2002)
Recovery of aluminum from dross using the plasma White aluminum dross, lime flux Stationary furnace with DC transferred plasma arc used in Metallic aluminum with slag Gens (1992)
torch inert gas environment to temperature above 1673 K
Method and apparatus for treating aluminous metal Aluminum dross skim Rotary container with peripheral gaps used to separate Metallic aluminum with Singleton (1979)
skim material and by-products of said method aluminum at temperature above 813 K residual portion used as
foaming agent
Process for recovery of free aluminum from aluminum Aluminum dross and scrap Application of plasma torch to melt the charge material with Metallic aluminum and Non- Lindsay (1995)
dross or aluminum scrap using plasma energy with consecutive application of pure oxygen in the furnace metallic product (NMP)
oxygen second stage treatment
Salt-based melting process Aluminum scraps skim with salt fluxes Heating of the feed by AC electrical resistance and salt Metallic aluminum and Stewart et al. (1991)
circulation in the molten product chlorides of other metal
impurities
Process for using dross residue to produce refractory Aluminum dross with residual amounts of After mixing the raw materials in required proportions to Refractory products Brisson et al. (1992)
products aluminum nitride and magnesium oxides, produce the refractory material, the mixture is calcined to
silicon oxide, calcium oxide etc. high temperatures (1273–2573 K)
Process for preparing calcium aluminate from aluminum Non-metallic product and source of CaO After removal of aluminum, NMP is blended with CaO and Calcium aluminate Pickens and Morris (2001)
dross heated to high temperatures (1366–1466 K) agglomerates
Process for the preparation of calcium aluminates from Aluminum dross residues and CaO, CaF2 Aluminum dross mixed with CaO, CaF2 is sintered at Sintered calcium aluminate Breault et al. (1995)
aluminum dross residues 1523–1573 K

99
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
material.
Alcan plasma torch dross treatment process employs plasma torch to
provide the heat for melting the charge in the rotary furnace, raising the
temperature of the charged dross to around 973–1073 K. Controlled
atmosphere of the furnace is always maintained to minimize the oxi-
dation of the metal. High voltage applied across the electrodes causes
the establishment of electric arc. Gradual rotation of the furnace while
operation results in rupture of oxide layer; leading to better extraction
of aluminum, leaving behind non metallic product (NMP) as the residue
(Boulos, 1996; Neuschutz, 1996; Ünlü and Drouet, 2002). Temperature
range of the arc in this process easily reaches 4273–6273 K. The exhaust
gas contains either N2 or air. The average process efficiency may be as
high as 85%, which takes into account all the different categories of
dross, namely Mg-free, low-Mg, high-Mg, foundry dross, alloy dross.
This process has the minimal use of the salts and economic disposal of
the output residue, reducing the problem of salt fluxing by a large
margin (Lavole and Dube, 1991; Ünlü and Drouet, 2002).
In Hydro-Quebec DROSCAR graphite arc process direct current
powers the furnace. It utilizes the energy of the radiation from arc and
conduction between the charge and the heated refractories of the fur-
nace. There are various types of electrodes, consumable and non-con-
sumable, between which the arc is established. After the melting of the
charge takes place, the separation of metallic aluminum is carried out,
leaving behind the residue, which is removed from the furnace.
Mechanical stirring of the furnace reduces the tendency of hot spots in
the furnace during operation and enhances the energy efficiency. No
salt flux is added to the charge. Argon gas is also purged into the fur-
nace such that further oxidation of the molten metal is reduced
(Abdulkarim and Abu Hassan, 2015; Drouet et al., 1994; Ünlü and
Drouet, 2002).
At high temperatures (above 1123 K), aluminum reacts extensively
with nitrogen and forms aluminum nitride. Aluminum nitride is un-
desirable product and its production should be avoided because alu-
minum nitride leads to the formation of ammonia, when it comes in
contact with water. Therefore, argon gas is used to prevent the for-
mation of aluminum nitride (Dube et al., 1990).
DC electric arc processes have been famous for their applications in
dross treatment. Mechanical operations like crushing and sizing are
necessary prior to the feeding of dross charge into the DC electric arc
rotary furnace. The temperature of the operations is usually maintained
in the range 973–1023 K. Various parameters for the procedure are,
namely, rotation speed, consumption of protective gas, retention time
and the presence of refractory crushing bodies (Tzonev and Lucheva,
2007). In both the types of charge, granular and compact, the rotation
speed of 4 rpm is optimized; nearly 75% metal recovery can be
achieved. The consumption of argon gas can be more than 1000 L/hr
with a rotation speed of 4 rpm, as with lower flow rates of argon gas the
metal recovery is lower as compared to higher flow rates. The metal
recovery reaches nearly 80% when the retention time in the furnace
before casting the product is 10 min. The presence of refractory
crushing bodies in the rotary furnace during the processing of alu-
minum dross increases the recovery of metal by 10%. With variation in
the above-mentioned parameters, the overall recovery of aluminum
reaches around 70–80% (Tzonev and Lucheva, 2007).
ALUREC process utilizes the purging of oxy-fuel into the rotating
furnace, leaving non-metallic product (NMP) aside and liberating me-
tallic content from the dross charge. The furnace is tilt able such that
the mixing of the charge is appropriate, leading to transfer of energy
within the charge material. The temperature of the furnace may reach
nearly 1273 K, which is sufficient enough for the charge to melt com-
pletely. Direct radiation from the oxygen fuel also contributes to
heating. It is reported by Ünlü et al. (Ünlü and Drouet, 2002) that
ECOCENT process is a single step process for recycling hot dross that is
obtained after remelting of aluminum scraps. The centrifugation of hot
dross leads to homogenization and separation of liquid metal from its
oxides and other impurities. The heat energy of the charged feed
100
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
provides for the energy requirement for melting of extractable alu-
minum entrapped in dross.
Similarly, PyroGenesis DROSRITE process is one of the established
processes that also utilize the salt-free processing technology. Argon gas
purging is the crucial step involved in this process while tumbling ac-
tion is carried out for 15–30 min. No external energy source is required
for heating the furnace. Only O2 supplied in precise amount is utilized
to maintain the temperature around 973–1073 K. The exothermic re-
actions of the residue provide the necessary heat. The heterogeneous
nature of the dross directs the separation of aluminum from its oxide,
which forms the major constituent of the matrix. Droplets of metal are
extracted as the temperature is held above the melting point of alu-
minum. This process can be applied for both, white and black dross. The
efficiency of aluminum extraction from dross was around 40% for black
dross and 60% for white dross. Also, final purging of Argon is carried
out to minimize oxidation of dross. The economic impact is that this
process shows high energy efficiency, with minimum or no use of salt
fluxes. Various other metals are also extracted from the dross in small
quantities. The attractive aspect of the DROSRITE process is the
minimum liberation of CO2 or NOX gases into the atmosphere as com-
pared to the conventional rotary salt furnaces (RSF), which consume
eutectic mixture of NaCl and KCl and liberated gases that polluted the
environment (Drouet et al., 2000; Ünlü and Drouet, 2002).
ALUR process has a furnace under operation for aluminum dross
treatment, which uses marine oil as fuel and oxygen supply for the ease
of processing. The furnace applies the technology from ALUREC pro-
cess, consuming oxygen and marine oil as the source of fuel for heating
the furnace to a high temperature so that melting of the charged dross is
possible. The furnace capacity is nearly 5 m3 while the power con-
sumption can be nearly 200–300 kWh per ton of dross. Flue gas re-
leased in this process is mostly CO2 while the residue is taken as NMP,
as compared to RSF, where the flue gas contained CO2, CO and NOX and
the solid residue is mainly salt cake, rich in salts like NaCl and KCl. This
technology has been brought under the umbrella of industrial opera-
tions, as it provides extraction of aluminum in an economic manner
while releasing NMP as the output, with minimum cost burden (Ingason
and Sigfusson, 2014). According to Gil (Gil, 2005), Zaragoza based
company IDALSA focuses on processing secondary wastes from alu-
minum industries. The technology adopted includes the oxy-combus-
tion, pretreatment of the wastes, use of 18 ton tilting rotary furnace and
processing of salt cakes using electromagnetic and mechanical separa-
tion.
In order to analyze the intricate delicacies in operation parameters
for rotary furnaces, numerical modeling is utilized, as the accurate
measurement of parameters is not possible in many cases. Observations
of a large number of aluminum recycling plants have shown that
crushing and charging on to the furnace to boil off paints and coatings
are main operations done as pretreatment. According to Khoei et al.
(Khoei et al., 2003), operation parameters like plate shell thickness,
refractory lining thickness, the rotation speed of the furnace during
operation, flame positions for the operations affect the operation
scheme. Numerical modeling, using finite element method helps in
better analysis of the furnace operation.
Similarly, Carmona et al. (Carmona and Cortés, 2014) have per-
formed simulation experiments for designing a plasma arc furnace for
treating aluminum dross. Simulation of heat conduction in the solid
parts, convection effects in gases and molten aluminum are performed
to get a better insight into the functioning of the furnace. Other physical
parameters such as refractory temperatures, load temperatures are also
calculated and estimated. Due to the absence of complete model that
can describe the operation of the furnace, absolute calculations are
usually very difficult. It can be deduced that simulation and modeling
of metal recovery furnaces can provide better insight in the process of
melting and liberation of metal from aluminum dross.
Black dross contains a larger amount of salt flux containing mainly
NaCl and KCl, as compared to white dross. Beheshti et al. (Beheshti
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108

et al., 2014) have used stationary resistance furnace and laboratory

Huckabay and Skiathas

Yerushalmi and Sarko

scale rotary furnace to heat such dross samples in the range

Pickens and Waite

Park et al. (2001)
1200–1523 K. The optimum temperature of the operation for treating

Garrett (1982)
dross is nearly 1373 K. By reducing the pressure to the range of 20 Pa,

References
the removal of chloride is achieved. The recovery of the chlorides from

(1982)

(2000)

(1995)
the dross is reported as high as 95%, majorly due to high temperature
and decreased pressure. Presence of nitrogen is common in small
quantities in dross, but nitrogen remains as aluminum nitride (AlN), the

Aluminum sulfate solution, binary salt

oxidation of which can also be possible. Due to the presence of trace

Aluminum hydroxide and metallic

Aluminum hydroxide, magnesium

amounts of magnesium in the industrial black dross (Beheshti et al.,

Fired inorganic, ceramic product

2014), the oxidation product formed comes out as MgO·Al2O3, as it can

aluminum ammonium sulfate

containing Al2O3, and SiO2

Products and by- products
get combined chemically with alumina molecules that are abundant in
the dross. Such products may be expected while treating black dross.

hydroxide, and spinel

In other experiments conducted by Beheshti et. al (Beheshti et al.,

Aluminum sulfate
2016), the sintering process is employed for the purpose of designing a
ladle fluxing agent using black dross as it is a rich source of alumina.

aluminum
Sintering of black dross at around 1523 K performed with calcium oxide
produces phases like aluminate (C3A) and Al2O3. CaO/Al2O3 ratio of
around 0.94 is maintained to form a product that meets the standard for
the ladle fluxing agent. Prior to sintering, the samples of black dross can

Slurries from aluminum dross to be prepared, with additions of Al2O3,

Water washed tailings of aluminum dross leached in with 30–99 wt.%

leach NMP, pH of the solution obtained to be increased to precipitate

Acids like sulfuric, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric and phosphoric used to
be heated to 1473 K for nearly 6 h at a reduced pressure of about 20 Pa

Waste oxide containing impurity metals like Cu, Cr, Mn, and Pb is
Particles greater than 1 mm subjected to remelting, finer particles
(Beheshti et al., 2016). This ensures proper sintering of dross as the raw

SiO2, alkaline and acidic materials and heating the slurries to

materials bind with each other perfectly. Therefore it can be inferred
that black dross can be treated in furnaces so as to produce sintered
ladle fluxing agent.
Wang et al. (Wang et al., 2008) have extracted the metallic content
from the dross of alloy A380 and found that density, chemistry and
tensile properties of the recovered alloy are comparable to that of the

leached in 10–20 wt.% NaOH solutions

die-cast A380 alloy. For the liberation of metallic values, Wang et al.
(Wang et al., 2008) used electrical furnaces with 2.6 kW, 50/60 Hz
specifications, where the maximum temperature reaches 1473 K. The
microstructure confirms the presence of parent phases in the recovered
product. leached with sulfuric acid
Characteristic Features

It can be inferred that Alcan, Hydro-Quebec DROSCAR, DC electric

arc process, ALUREC, ALUR have either plasma arc technology or ex-
concentration

1253–2199 K
ternal fuel like oxy-fuel or marine oil for heating the feed, whereas
processes like ECOCENT and DROSRITE use the heat available in the
products
Patented Industrial Technologies employed to recycle aluminum dross using hydrometallurgical processes.

hot dross. Rotation of the furnace provides homogenization and en-

hances liberation of liquid metal from solid dross. Also, in all of these
processes, the metal recovery reaches about 70–80% with a minimal
Aluminum dross, NaOH, Ca(OH)2, Na2B4O7,
Aluminum dross tailings and concentrated

metal loss in residues. Since these processes are salt-free, the residue
Aluminum oxide by-product waste and

has a minimum amount of salts. Also, the gases released in these are less
Aluminum dross and alkaline solution

Non-metallic products obtained from

H2SO4, HNO3, HCl, Al2O3 and SiO2

polluting as compared to RSF processes. Although the energy require-

ment is higher than RSF processes, the overall advantages of salt-free
technologies dominate RSF processes, advocating their application in
metal recovery.
solution of H2SO4

3.2. Hydrometallurgical routes

aluminum dross
Raw Materials

sulfuric acid

Just like the pyrometallurgical routes, hydrometallurgical routes

have also provided extensive results, making hydrometallurgy as eco-
nomically viable alternative means for treatment of dross. Alteration in
media, such as alkali media and acidic media along with leaching
Aluminum Sulfate manufacture from aluminum

parameters variations, such as time and temperatures provide variety of

Process for recycling waste aluminum dross

Products derived from aluminum dross

results. Table 3 describes the patented industrial technologies that have

Recovery of products from Non-Metallic

Method of recycling aluminum dross

been employed to recycle aluminum dross.

Process for production of sulfates

3.2.1. Alkaline leaching

Alkaline leaching of the dross can lead to the dissolution of alu-
minum into the leach liquor, from which various chemicals can be
Patented Technology

produced. A necessary pretreatment of the dross that is carried out

includes crushing, grinding to fine particles and mechanical separation.
For instance, below 100 μm sized particles can be produced following
dross

this scheme. Apart from sizing operation, water leaching can also en-
Table 3

hance the metal dissolution, as the soluble content of the dross will be
leached. Details of alkaline leaching experiments conducted by various

101
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
Table 4
Details of alkaline leaching experiments conducted by various researchers.
Raw material Particle size Leaching medium Concentration of
medium
Black dross –100 μm Aqueous Distilled water
Black dross –100 μm Alkaline sol. NaOH 180–280 g/L
Salt cakes –2 mm Aqueous Distilled water
Salt cakes –2 mm Alkaline sol. NaOH 16% w/v
Black dross –100 μm Carbonated aqueous sol. Saturated sol.
White and black -0.25 mm Aqueous copper chloride 1 M solution
dross sol.
researchers are given in Table 4.
Tsakiridis et al. (Tsakiridis et al., 2013) report that nearly 80% and
85% of sodium and potassium present in the dross in the form of salts
can be leached into water at 363 K. Post water leaching, when dissolved
in NaOH solution of 260 g/L at 513 K for 100 min at high pressure,
aluminum dissolution reaches nearly 57% (Tsakiridis et al., 2013). α-
Al2O3, MgAl2O4 (spinel), NaAl11O17 (diaoyudaoite) and CaAl12O19 are
the main constituents of the leached residue. The dross residue so ob-
tained is mixed with other raw materials like limestone, clay, bauxite,
and sand, shaped into small spheres and subjected to sintering at
1273 K and 1723 K, in order to produce cement clinker. When 4 wt%
substitutions of dross leached residue are made in the raw materials, the
amount of calcium aluminate phase (C3A) is increased. The clinker so
produced meets the standards of the regular cement clinker and black
dross leached residue proves to be an alternative raw material for ce-
ment clinker (Tsakiridis et al., 2014).
Jafari et al. (Jafari et al., 2014) have studied the effect of con-
centration of NaOH on the leaching of aluminum waste products
(white, black dross and salt cakes) and found that 1–2 M NaOH solution
is sufficient to give rise of hydroxide ions that can react with metallic
aluminum in the dross. According to Zauzi et al. (Zauzi et al., 2016),
aluminum dross when leached with NaOH for a period of 60 min at
temperatures of 298–343 K, precipitated with 30% hydrogen peroxide
solution and calcined at 873 K for 3 h, the resultant product (aluminum
dross residue) shows the variation in the surface area. At lower tem-
peratures of leaching (298 K) and at lower time of stirring during
leaching, the surface area of aluminum dross residue increased (Zauzi
et al., 2016), making it suitable for catalysis and absorber applications
in waste management industries.
Kinetics of alumina recovery from aluminum dross after fusing it
with NaOH was studied by Sultana et al. (Sultana et al., 2013). NaOH
was fused with aluminum dross in ratios 2: 4, at temperatures
773–1023 K for 60 min, after which the fused product was dissolved in
distilled water. A complexometric method using EDTA was used to
determine the amount of alumina extracted with this process. Avarami-
Erofeev equation (Eq. (6)) suited best to describe the kinetics of alu-
mina recovery (Sultana et al., 2013), with an activation energy of
6.452 kJ/mol.
m
-ln (1-α) = (kt) (6)
α is the reacting particle, k is specific reaction constant, t is time for
fraction of reaction and m = 3/2
Salt cakes are also rich sources of ions and other extractable com-
ponents. According to Bruckard et al. (Bruckard and Woodcock, 2007),
in the salt cakes, 12 major metals and 19 identifiable phases show
presence with approximately overall 37% aluminum, distributed in
various phases. Aqueous leaching leads to the dissolution of around
89% chloride ions whereas nearly 58% of sodium and 43% of potassium
can be leached. Around 40% residual alumina can be extracted by
102
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
Maximum value leached into Temperature K Time hrs. References
solution
Na 80%, K 85% 363 1 Tsakiridis et al. (2013)
Al 57.5% 433–533 2 Tsakiridis et al. (2013)
Cl 86–89% 298 and 333 4 Bruckard and Woodcock
(2007
Na 54–58%
K 37–43%
Al2O3− 42.9% 298 and 333 4 Bruckard and Woodcock
(2007)
NaCl − 95% 291 3 Li et al. (2012)
KCl − 95%
Aluminum oxychloride 298 1.5 Lucheva et al. (2003)
concentrated NaOH leaching. Nitride decomposition is also possible but
only in case of hot alkaline leaching with finely ground salt cake.
Salt slags obtained from secondary aluminum industries are usually
subjected to leaching and calcination for the separation of dissolved
salts and conversion of residual metallic content into metal oxides and
hydroxides (Shen and Forssberg, 2003) so that the end product is either
Al2O3 or Al2O3.MgO. Jody et al. (Jody et al., 1991) have discussed the
possibility of using various techniques for leaching salt from salt cakes
and slags, including freeze crystallization, solvent/anti solvent extrac-
tion, use of concentrated HCl to precipitate salts, high pressure and
temperature leaching (573 K). Similarly, Graziano et al. (Graziano
et al., 1996) have used electrodialysis process, apart from high tem-
perature and solvent/anti-solvent process. Electrical driving forces are
applied to the incoming salt solution stream, after which alternating ion
exchange membranes selectively precipitate the salts dissolved in the
solution. These methods lead to enhanced extraction of salts from salt
cakes, thereby leaving residue with minimum salt content and small
proportions of aluminum and alumina (Graziano et al., 1996; Jody
et al., 1991).
Toxicity characteristics leaching procedure has been followed by
Huang et al. (Huang et al., 2014), to examine the toxicity threat posed
by salt cakes. They have used two extraction fluids for leaching, fluid 1
(1.14% glacial CH3CH2OOH-NaOH, pH 4.95) and fluid 2 (1.14% glacial
CH3CH2OOH, pH 2.88). It was found that the concentration of toxicity
metals (Ag, As, Ba, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Se) was lower than the corre-
sponding toxicity characteristic limits (Huang et al., 2014).
In order to counter the problem of AlN interaction with water that
produces NH3 gas, Li et al. (Li et al., 2012) used CO2 saturated water for
leaching to absorb in situ formed ammonia. This serves the dual pur-
pose of salt dissolution, as well as that of ammonia absorption. When
the pulp ratio is kept 1:20, the temperature of 291 K for 3 h, a max-
imum extraction of 95.6% and 95.9% of sodium and potassium metals
is achieved. Also with around 40 mL/ min CO2 dissolution into the
solution at 1 MPa pressure, the saturation can be attained. With CO2
saturation, the amount of ammonia that escapes from the dissolution
decreases rapidly, due to the formation of NH4HCO3, as shown in the
following reactions (Eqs. (7)–(9)):
CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3− (7)
NH3 + H2O → NH4+ + OH− (8)
NH4+ + HCO3− → NH4HCO3 (9)
In this way, the liberation of undesirable ammonia can be controlled
(Li et al., 2012). Aluminum nitride gets decomposed into Al(OH)3 in
presence of various solutions. According to Fukumoto et al. (Fukumoto
et al., 2000), the hydrolysis reaction is more efficient in aqueous so-
lutions of HCl and NaOH, as compared to deionized water. Also, Bowen
et al. (Bowen et al., 1990) have extensively studied the degradation of
aluminum nitride in aqueous environments and found that formation of
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
amorphous AlOOH takes place and after 16 h, the crystalline hydroxide
Al(OH)3 forms.
AlOOH, Al2O3, and Al(OH)3 are the primary phases present in dross
after hydrolysis. The small quantity of magnesium that is already pre-
sent in dross can be used in producing structural refractory material
containing spinel. According to Hashishin et al. (Hashishin et al., 2004),
Eq. (10) dictates the partial oxidation of nitride:
x SiO2 + (1-x) MgO + [1- (x/3) Al2O3] + 2 x/3 AlN → (Mg1-
xSix)Al2O4 + x/3 N2 (g)
Other applications of the residue containing AlOOH include utili-
zation in paper industry (David and Kopac, 2012).
Lucheva et al. have studied copper chloride solution for leaching of
aluminum dross to produce aluminum oxychloride (Lucheva et al.,
2003). Aluminum oxychloride can be used in waste-water treatment,
paper making and as a refractory mixture. 1 mol solution of copper
chloride can be used to dissolve both white and black dross, leading to
the formation of Al(OH)Cl2, Al(OH)2Cl and Al2(OH)5Cl as described in
Eqs. (11)–(13).
3 Al +3 CuCl2 +3 H2O = 3 Al(OH)Cl2 +3 Cu +1.5 H2
3 Al +1.5 CuCl2 + 6 H2O = 3 Al(OH)2Cl +1.5 Cu + 3 H2
6 Al +1.5 CuCl2 +15 H2O = 3 Al2(OH)5Cl +1.5 Cu +7.5 H2
In order to maintain the forward reaction, hydrochloric acid has
been used in the proper amount. In this way, a hydrometallurgical
method was designed to treat white and black dross. Lucheva et. al
(Lucheva et al., 2005) have also tried to use secondary aluminum dross,
obtained after treating primary white flux-less aluminum dross. A
process similar to the Bayer Process was used, in which the secondary
dross was leached with 10% NaOH with Na2O: Al2O3 = 2. The sodium
aluminate solution obtained was subjected to carbon dioxide. This step
alters the alkalinity of the solution, making sodium aluminate unstable.
Aluminum hydroxide formed in the above reaction was used to produce
Al2(OH)5Cl, which can be used as a coagulant. The reactions taking
place are Eqs. (14)–(15) (Lucheva et al., 2005):
2 NaOH + CO2 → Na2CO3 + H2O
NaAlO2 + 2 H2O → Al(OH)3 + NaOH
It can be observed that exposing aluminum dross and salt cakes to
alkaline conditions lead to leaching of aluminum and salts, along with
the formation of alumina in the residue. Depending on the leachant
used, valuable products like AlOOH, Al(OH)3, Al2O3 and Al2(OH)5Cl
can be produced, avoiding generation of harmful gases like NH3.
3.2.2. Acidic leaching
There are many examples of acid leaching experiments that have
been conducted in the past. A wide variety of results is available; chiefly
due to the variety of the parameters opted for leaching. Just like al-
kaline leaching acidic leaching process also requires pretreatment like
crushing, grinding, sizing and water washing operations. Table 5 shows
the details of acidic leaching of aluminum dross.
Dash et al. (Dash et al., 2008) report that around 85% extraction of
alumina is achieved using sulfuric acid when sufficient water to
Table 5
Details of acidic leaching experiments conducted by various researchers.
Raw material Particle size Leaching medium Concentration of medium
White dross –850 μm H2SO4 20 and 40% (v/v)
White dross –850 μm Acidic H2SO4 15–40% (v/v)
White dross –1 mm Acidic H2SO4 30–96% (w/w)
White dross –1 mm Acidic H2SO4 5–12.5%
Black dross –45 μm Acidic HCl 1–6 mol/L
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
maintain the solution particle size of 2–5 μm is ensured. Dissolution is
performed at 363 K and the duration of the experiment is 3 h. With
higher concentrations of the acid leachant, and the presence of ample
water to maintain the solution, the effective dissolution of the dross can
be achieved. When the salts are removed, the effective dissolution
shows an increase (Dash et al., 2008), reaching up to 85%, with 15%
acid concentration (H2SO4). Water washed dross provides around 95%
dissolution, with the removal of salts from the dross.
Not only the aluminum entrapped in the dross, other chemical
(10)
species also get influenced due to sulfuric acid leaching. According to
Amer (Amer, 2010, 2002), metallic content and carbides are converted
into sulfates whereas aluminum nitride produces aluminum sulfate and
ammonium sulfate. The temperature during the reaction is 373 K, for
5 h while the pulp ratio can be maintained at 0.1. After the primary
leaching with dilute H2SO4, which removes impurities, pressure
leaching is opted using concentrated H2SO4. The results show max-
imum leaching of aluminum at 60 min period with 96% output (Amer,
2010). Maximum extraction of aluminum is usually achieved at neu-
tralization point between acid and dross.
Following reactions take place when aluminum dross comes in
(11) contact with H2SO4 (Garrett, 1982):
(12) Al2O3 + 3 H2SO4 → Al2(SO4)3 + 3 H2O (16)
(13) Al4C3 + 6 H2SO4 → 3 CH4 + 2 Al2(SO4)3 (17)
2 AlN + 4 H2SO4 → Al2(SO4)3.(NH4)2SO4 (18)
Another reaction between aluminum nitride and water is shown as
under:
AlN + 4 H2O → Al(OH)3 + NH4OH (19)
Ammonium hydroxide produced in the above reaction reacts with
aluminum sulfate in the solution to form ammonium-aluminum alum as
under (Amer, 2002):
10 NH4OH + 3 Al2 (SO)4 → Al6(OH)10(SO)4.5 H2O + 5 (NH)4SO4 (20)
Recovery of approximately 88.5% of both aluminum and nitrogen
as ammonium-aluminum alum is possible, through this process.
(14)
Therefore, acidic leaching also takes care of carbides and nitrides,
(15) giving products less harmful to the environment.
Das et. al (Das et al., 2007) have produced η-alumina, a specific
phase of alumina from aluminum dross, after pretreatment, leaching in
sulfuric acid and calcination operations. Washed samples of dross are
better dissolved of dross (80%), as compared to unwashed samples
(70%). After the leaching process, the leached liquor is allowed to react
with 10% aqueous ammonia solution, which is introduced into the li-
quor dropwise. This produces aluminum hydroxide, which on heat
treatment at various temperatures produces different phases of alumina
(Das et al., 2007). At 1173 K, η-alumina forms, while at 1373 K, α-
alumina forms. η-alumina is highly activated alumina, used in catalytic
applications and as an adsorbent.
Not only sulfuric acid, but corrosive acids such as hydrochloric acids
are also utilized as the leaching medium. Since the corrosive nature of
HCl is well known, pretreatment procedure may be omitted. Sarker et.
al (Sarker et al., 2015) report that extraction of alumina shows hike
with increasing in leaching temperature, time and acid concentration,
Maximum value leached into solution Temperature K Time hours. References
Al2O3 95% 363 1 Dash et al. (2008)
Al2O3 84% 363 3 Das et al. (2007)
Al and Nitrogen 88.5% 373 1 Amer (2002)
Al 96% 433–513 5 Amer (2010)
Al2O3 71% 373 4 Sarker et al. (2015)
103
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
with a maximum of 71% at 4 mol/L HCl, 373 K and 120 min. Various
phases of alumina reported with variation in heat treatment tempera-
ture of dry-gel include θ-alumina, a mixture of (α + θ)-alumina and α-
alumina at 1273 K, 1473 K and 1673 K (Sarker et al., 2015). The purity
of the alumina produced is nearly 99.0%, making it a fairly appropriate
candidate for various applications of alumina.
It can be observed that hydrometallurgy provides a viable alter-
native for aluminum dross treatment, as energy requirement for the
processes is very less, due to lower operating temperatures. Also, ef-
fective salt removal can be ensured in these processes. Aluminum dross
recycling industries with lower energy supplies can establish a hydro-
metallurgical route for treating aluminum dross. Water leaching re-
moves the dissolvable impurities and enhances the second step leaching
operation. Depending upon the requirement of the product from the
process, leaching medium can be chosen. Valuable products can be
generated using the leached residue. Thus, the hydrometallurgical route
is a promising choice for aluminum dross recycling.
4. Gaseous product generation using aluminum dross and its
other applications
Hydrogen, ammonia, and methane are the gaseous products ob-
tained from aluminum dross. Although the amount of gas generated is
less and its economic utility has always been in question, recent re-
search has been in complete utilization of aluminum dross and its
products, making it a potential source of these gases for various ap-
plications. Table 6 describes patented technologies that have been
opted in industries for the production of gases using aluminum dross.
Hydrogen is the gas produced when aluminum dross comes in
contact with water, due to metal-water reaction (David and Kopac,
2012; Huckabay and Skiathas, 1981; Olper et al., 1990). When alu-
minum nitride is present in larger quantities, ammonia is generated
after its decomposition. Similarly, aluminum carbide gives rise to me-
thane, which is also produced in small quantities (Huckabay, 1984).
Hydrogen is a great source of fuel and environmentally friendly energy.
It is a challenge to generate hydrogen without using fossil fuels and at
the same time minimizing CO2 emissions. Metal water reactions lead to
hydrogen production and aluminum can be used for the purpose. Alu-
minum-water reaction has potential to produce hydrogen as high as
1 Liter of hydrogen gas per gram of aluminum. Aluminum-water reac-
tion is given as under:
2 Al + 6 H2O → 2 Al(OH)3 + 3 H2
This reaction is exothermic and the heat energy released can be
employed for the drying of aluminum hydroxide so produced (Bruckard
and Woodcock, 2009). With small additions of NaOH and KOH in
water, aluminum hydroxide produced in the above reaction can be
decomposed to generate aluminum oxide hydroxide and water, which is
a nature-friendly material and can be used as a raw material for
synthesis of high refractory materials or calcium aluminate cement
Al(OH)3 → AlOOH + H2O
Since using aluminum for production of hydrogen is not
Table 6
Various patented technologies that focus on gaseous products generated from aluminum dross.
Patented Technology Raw Materials Characteristic Features
Aluminum dross processing Aluminum dross tailings Decomposition of Al4C3 and AlN in presence of
alkali earth metal hydroxide solution (0.01–1 wt.
%)
Processing of aluminum slag Aluminum slag containing Leaching of slag with neutral, acidic and basic
aluminum, Al4C3 and AlN solutions
Method for treatment of Aluminum dross oxides with Digestion of raw feed in water to expose aluminum
aluminum dross oxides carbides and nitrides in presence of grinding materials
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
economical, white dross can be used for the purpose, as a considerable
amount of metallic content is present in dross that can be exploited for
aluminum-water reaction. Also, the reaction can serve as a step for
treatment of dross.
The surface of alumina, which acts as a protective layer over me-
tallic aluminum diminishes the rate of reaction of water and aluminum,
therefore reducing the amount of hydrogen produced. In order to en-
hance the production of hydrogen, the surface needs to be renewed
continuously by milling, cutting etc. According to David et al. (David
and Kopac, 2012) ball milling of dross to about 45 μm can be very ef-
fective in the production of hydrogen gas. Surface area is increased, due
to abrasion, fracture, welding, and disintegration. As a result, very fine
particles of dross can be produced. Greater the surface area exposed to
water, greater the amount of hydrogen gets produced. The temperature
of the reaction when increased, leads to higher gas production, and
since the reaction is exothermic, external heating is not required. For
enhanced efficiency of the system, NaOH and KOH are added to the
system to act as catalysts.
The reactions involved are as follows:
2 Al + 2 NaOH + 6 H2O → 2 Al(OH)3 + 2 NaOH + 3 H2 (23)
2 Al + 2 KOH + 6 H2O → 2 Al(OH)3 + 2 KOH + 3 H2 (24)
The feasibility of reaction is high, as the equilibrium constant of the
reaction is very large (Hiraki et al., 2007). The activation energy for the
reaction is 68.4 kJ/mol (Hiraki et al., 2005).
(25) Al + OH− + 3 H2O → 1.5 H2 + Al(OH)4−
ΔH = − 415.6 kJ, ΔG = − 437.1 kJ and Ka = 3.78 × 1076
Interestingly, yield percent of hydrogen using aluminum dross
reaches 105.53%, when it is subjected to react with water under alka-
line conditions. This is clearly to the composition variation of dross as
the trace elements play the key role in boosting the hydrogen produc-
tion as under (David and Kopac, 2012):
Zn + NaOH + 2 H2O → Zn(OH)2 + NaOH + H2 (26)
Ni + NaOH + 2 H2O → Ni(OH)2 + NaOH + H2 (27)
Mg + NaOH + 2 H2O → Mg(OH)2 + NaOH + H2 (28)
Meshram and Singh (Meshram and Singh, 2017) have studied the
applicability of NaOH for generation of hydrogen using aluminum
dross. According to them, the finer particles have a greater tendency of
following metal-water reaction, due to larger surface area, even though
(21) the amount of metallic content in the finer particles is lower as com-
pared to coarser particles. Therefore, hydrogen gas can be produced
using aluminum dross and water, with proper treatment and surface
area enhancement.
Apart from hydrogen, other gases are also evolved, when dross
comes in contact with water. The following reactions describe the for-
mation of these gases (Gil, 2005):
2 AlN + 3 H2O → 2 NH3 + Al2O3 (29)
(22) Al4C3 + 6 H2O → 3 CH4 + 2 Al2O3 (30)
Gaseous products References
Generation of gaseous products Huckabay and
like H2, NH3 CH4 Skiathas (1981)
Recovery of salts and generation Olper et al. (1990)
of gases like H2, NH3 CH4
Dissolution of salts and Huckabay (1984)
generation of gases like H2, NH3
CH4
104
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108

Fig. 3. Utilization of white aluminum dross to generate value-added

products. (Ibarra Castro et al., 2009; Kevorkijan, 1999; Li et al., 2014;
Shinzato and Hypolito, 2005; Yoo et al., 2006).

Al2S3 + 3 H2O → 3 H2S + Al2O3 (31) fume gives required strength (Reddy et al., 2014) and can be used as a
replacement for conventional concretes.
Salt cakes have a very small proportion of metallic aluminum and
Important products, such as aluminum isopropoxide can be gener-
large amounts of salts that are free to get ionized in water. When
ated using aluminum dross and isopropyl alcohol (Yoo et al., 2006).
subjected to water to produce hydrogen, the possibility of toxic gases
Vacuum distillation setup is used for the reaction purposes. Various
generation is larger as compared to hydrogen generation as the salts
catalysts used include HgI2, I2, HgCl2 or FeCl3, with variation in the
present in the salt cakes react with water to release the gases (Bruckard
time required for the solid-liquid reaction. The purity of the aluminum
and Woodcock, 2009; Tsakiridis, 2012).
isopropoxide synthesized is around 97%. Similarly, ion exchangers that
Alumina content in white dross accounts for fairly high percentage
capture inorganic anions like Cr(VI), B, As(III) and Se(IV) can be pro-
and this lead to the idea of incorporating alumina to produce various
duced by various methods, using aluminum dross. These ion exchangers
streams of valuable materials. Fig. 3 represents utilization of aluminum
are called Layered Double Hydrates (LDH). Leaching with NaOH and
dross for various applications.
HCl, followed by addition of metal ions like Ca2+, Mg2+, and Zn2+
Li et al. (Li et al., 2014) have synthesized and studied the applica-
leads to the synthesis of these products (Murayama et al., 2012). Cr(VI),
tions of high alumina refractory (HAR) bricks. Sintering aluminum
B and As(III) anions can be adsorbed. Also, products like X-zeolites can
dross and phenolic resin mixtures at high temperatures (1673 K) was
be generated using aluminum dross as a raw material. X-zeolites
the method used to produce HAR bricks. They have found that HAR
(Na86Al86Si106O384·xH2O) are conventionally produced by sodium sili-
bricks have properties quite similar to the conventional refractory
cate solution and sodium aluminate solutions, but Hiraki et. al (Hiraki
bricks.
et al., 2009) have produced X-zeolites with silicon sludge and alu-
Similarly, metal matrix composites have been produced using alu-
minum dross. Silicon sludge and aluminum dross were dissolved in
minum dross by Ibarra Castro et al. and Kevorkijan (Ibarra Castro et al.,
NaOH solution separately and then mixed in required proportion. The
2009; Kevorkijan, 1999). They have used pretreated, downsized and
solution mixture is agitated at 700 rpm for 30 min, heated at 363 K for
washed aluminum dross for the production of composites. Castro et al.
30 min. In order to crystallize the zeolite, the mixture is 363 K for 8 h
used white aluminum dross as matrix material, making zircon as re-
without agitation (Hiraki et al., 2009).
inforcement to produce mullite/zirconia composite, whereas Ke-
It is inferred that alumina present in aluminum dross can be
vorkijan used aluminum dross as reinforcement for production of
exploited as a raw material for refractories and composites. After sub-
composite A356. High-temperature sintering, post compacting and
jecting dross to chemical reactions, zeolites, ion exchangers can also be
proper proportioning were used to produce mullite/zirconia composite.
generated. Cement clinkers and concrete blocks for construction ap-
The A356 composite was produced by rheocasting, in which aluminum
plications can be produced using aluminum dross as a source of Al2O3.
dross was added in the molten metal and further it was cast to the
Appendix A depicts various procedure opted for effective manu-
desired shape. It was found that the properties of both of these com-
facturing of such useful products.
posites were comparable to the conventional composites.
Non-metallic product (NMP) left after extraction of metallic alu-
minum from dross can be used as a raw material to produce cement and 5. Conclusions
concrete (Shinzato and Hypolito, 2005). NMP is mixed with other raw
materials like corundum, spinel, and quartz to produce concrete blocks. Aluminum dross, an industrial waste, is a rich source of metallic
Hsieh et al. (Hsieh et al., 2013) have produced high-pressure concrete content that can be exploited as a raw material for recovery of alu-
bricks using stabilized secondary aluminum dross. Desulfurization slag minum and other valuable products. Out of many promising technol-
obtained from steelmaking plant was first hydrolyzed. The resultant ogies available, salt-free technologies present better alternatives than
solution had a pH of 12. This solution was used to stabilize the sec- rotary salt furnaces (RSF) for aluminum extraction, as salt cakes and
ondary aluminum dross because the high pH of the solution was cap- slags are not formed in the residue obtained after processing. About
able to hydrolyze and decompose nitrides, carbides and aluminum 90% recovery of aluminum is achieved by salt-free technologies;
metal. The resultant residue was mixed with cement and other ad- therefore the future of aluminum dross recycling units is in advance-
ditives, high pressure formed, cured and stabilized to produce high ment of pyrometallurgical processing units.
pressure concrete bricks (Hsieh et al., 2013). Similarly Reddy et. al Hydrometallurgical routes for recycling aluminum dross are em-
(Reddy et al., 2014) have used ordinary Portland cement, aluminum ployed to leach aluminum and salts, like NaCl and KCl, from aluminum
dross, fly ash and silica fume to produce concrete bricks. According to dross and salt cakes. Operating at lower energy supplies, both alkaline
them, nearly 5% aluminum dross with 10% of both fly ash and silica and acidic hydrometallurgical routes provide desirable products that

105
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108

serve as raw materials for further processing. Also, the leached residues
obtained post hydrometallurgical operations are used for generation of
value-added products.
Aluminum dross is also used as a raw material for production of
high-alumina refractories that have properties comparable to conven-
tional refractories, metal matrix composites like mullite/zirconia that
serve as refractory composites, ion exchangers and zeolites like layered
double hydrates (LDH) and X-zeolites. The advances of newer
technologies exploit the high alumina content of aluminum dross for
the production of cement and concrete bricks. Hydrogen and other
gases like, methane and ammonia are generated when aluminum dross
comes in contact with water. Since the amount of gas produced is quite
less, methods to utilize these gases need to be designed in future, duly
taking care of the solid residue obtained after reaction with water. With
these modern applications of aluminum dross, environmental threat is
reduced and complete utilization of aluminum dross is ensured.

Appendix A. Various value added products generated from aluminum dross and their production methods.

Type of dross Procedure applied Product References

White and Mixing with binders, compacting at 200 MPa, sintering at High alumina refractory brick Li et al. (2014)
black dross 1530 °C
Non metallic Used as substitutions of aggregates or additives for Concrete blocks Shinzato and Hypolito
product manufacturing concrete (2005)
and black
dross
Non metallic Green aggregates produced by ball milling with high Lightweight expanded clay Bajare et al. (2012)
product carbonate clay, sintering at 1270 °C aggregates
Black dross Ball milling and using for mixing in planetary mixer with Low cement castables, Ultra low Yoshimura et al. (2008)
water addition cement castables and self-
flowing castables
White dross Ball milling, mixing with zirconia in proper proportion, Mullite-zirconia composites Ibarra Castro et al. (2009)
uniaxial pressing and sintering at 1500 °C
White dross Treated in boiling water, ball milled and vacuum filtered to Discontinuously reinforced Kevorkijan (1999)
use as reinforcement in rheocasting process of A356 alloy aluminum based composites
White dross Chemical reaction between dross and isopropyl alcohol under Aluminum isopropoxide Yoo et al. (2006)
presence of catalysts, product recovered and purified by
vacuum distillation process
White dross Dissolution of dross in sec-butyl alcohol aluminum sec-butoxide Yoo et al. (2011)
White dross Treatment with various solutions like NaOH, Al(OH)3, HNO3, AlPO4-5 and CrAPO-5 Kim et al. (2009)
NH4OH and H3PO4
White dross Mixing of tri-ethylamine with phosphoric acid, aluminum AlPO4-5 Murayama et al. (2009,
dross in water to form gel, which is heated at 823 K 2006)
White dross Leaching in HCl and NaOH, co-precipitation with metal Various layered double Murayama et al. (2012)
from alloys chloride solutions hydroxides (Mg-Al, Zn-Al, Ca-Al
hydroxides)
White and Milling, screening, treatment in DC furnace Cement pre-mixes, aluminum Petavratzi and Wilson (2007)
black dross metal
White dross Sintering and briquetting at 1250–1500 °C Calcium aluminate cement Ewais et al. (2009)
White dross Water, binder, Portland cement, fine aggregates and dross Concrete blocks Mailar et al. (2016)
mixed in proportion
White dross Treatment in submerged arc furnace and electric arc furnace Al-Si alloys and Brown Fused Hong et al. (2010)
Alumina
White dross Water washed, heated at 1500–1650 °C in carbon capsules Structural refractory materials Hashishin et al. (2004)
with induction coils containing spinel (Mg, Si)Al2O4
and MgAl2O4
Black dross Hydrolyzed aluminum dross is mixed with cement and High pressure concrete bricks Hsieh et al. (2013)
additives, high pressure formed, cured and stabilized
White dross Mixing of aluminum sludge (45–50%), aluminum dross Calcium aluminate cements Ewais et al. (2009)
(37–41%) and alumina (12–13%) and firing at 1400–1500 °C
White dross Silicon sludge, aluminum dross dissolved in NaOH separately, X Zeolites Hiraki et al. (2009)
mixed in required proportion and crystallized at 363 K for 8 h
Saline Slags Treating with NaOH, HNO3 and H2SO4 for 24 h and Saline Slags with adsorbent Gil et al. (2014)
centrifuged and dried properties
White dross Leached in high pressure with NaOH and precipitation with high surface alumina El-Katatny et al., 2003; El-
tailings 30% H2O2 Katatny et al., 2000; El-
Katatny et al., 1998
Saline Slag Pelletized with quartz, carbothermic reduction at 2000 °C silicon aluminum masteralloy Ridderbusch et al. (2009)

106
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
References
Ünlü, N., Drouet, M.G., 2002. Comparison of salt-free aluminum dross treatment pro-
cesses. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 36, 61–72.
Abdulkarim, B.I., Abu Hassan, M.A., 2015. Thermal plasma treatment of wastes: a review.
Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 9, 322–333.
Adeosun, S.O., Sekunowo, O.I., Taiwo, O.O., Ayoola, W.A., Machado, A., 2014. Physical
and Mechanical Properties of aluminum dross. Adv. Mater. 3, 6–10. http://dx.doi.
org/10.11648/j.am.20140302.11.
Amer, A.M., 2002. Extracting aluminum from dross tailings. Jom 54, 72–75.
Amer, A.M., 2010. Aluminum extraction from Aluminum industrial wastes. J. Miner. Met.
Mater. Soc. 62, 60–63.
Bajare, D., Korjakins, A., Kazjonovs, J., Rozenstrauha, I., 2012. Pore structure of light-
weight clay aggregate incorporate with non-metallic products coming from alumi-
nium scrap recycling industry. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 32, 141–148. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2011.07.039.
Beheshti, R., Moosberg-Bustnes, J., Akhtar, S., Aune, R.E., 2014. Black dross: processing
salt removal from black dross by thermal treatment. Jom 66, 2243–2252. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1007/s11837-014-1178-6.
Beheshti, R., Moosberg-Bustnes, J., Akhtar, S., Aune, R.E., 2016. Black dross processing:
utilization of black dross in the production of a ladle fluxing agent. J. Sustain. Metall.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40831-016-0076-2.
Berger, B., 2010. The importance and testing of Density/Porosity/Permeability/Pore size
for refractories. The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Refractories
2010 Conference 101–116.
Besson, S., Pichat, A., Xolin, E., Chartrand, P., Friedrich, B., 2011. Improving coalescence
in Al-Recycling by salt optimization. Proceedings of EMC 2011 1–16.
Blomberg, J., Söderholm, P., 2009. The economics of secondary aluminium supply: an
econometric analysis based on European data. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 53, 455–463.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.03.001.
Boulos, I., 1996. New frontiers in thermal plasma processing. Pure Appl. Chem. 68,
1007–1010.
Bowen, P., Highfield, J.G., Mocellin, A., Ring, T.A., 1990. Degradation of aluminum ni-
tride powder in an aqueous environment. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73, 724–728.
R. Breault S. Tremblay Y. Huard G. Mathieu, 1995 Process for the preparation of calcium
aluminates from aluminum dross residues. 5407459.
C. Brisson G. Chauvette F.M. Kimmerle R. Roussel, 1992 Process for using dross residue to
produce refractory products 5132246.
Brommer, T.H., 2013. Recycling Production Designs: the Value of Coordination and
Flexibility in Aluminum Recycling Operations. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Bruckard, W.J., Woodcock, J.T., 2007. Characterisation and treatment of Australian salt
cakes by aqueous leaching. Miner. Eng. 20, 1376–1390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
mineng.2007.08.020.
Bruckard, W.J., Woodcock, J.T., 2009. Recovery of valuable materials from aluminium
salt cakes. Int. J. Miner. Process. 93, 1–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.minpro.2009.
05.002.
Calder, G.V., Stark, T.D., 2010. Aluminum reactions and problems in municipal solid
waste landfills. pract. period. hazardous, toxic, radioact. Waste Manag. 14, 258–265.
Carmona, M., Cortés, C., 2014. Numerical simulation of a secondary aluminum melting
furnace heated by a plasma torch. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 214, 334–346. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2013.09.024.
Dai, C., Apelian, D., 2016. Fabrication and characterization of aluminum dross-containing
mortar composites: upcycling of a waste product. J. Sustain. Metall. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1007/s40831-016-0071-7.
Das, B.R., Dash, B., Tripathy, B.C., Bhattacharya, I.N., Das, S.C., 2007. Production of
alumina from waste aluminium dross. Miner. Eng. 20, 252–258. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.mineng.2006.09.002.
Dash, B., Das, B.R., Tripathy, B.C., Bhattacharya, I.N., Das, S.C., 2008. Acid dissolution of
alumina from waste aluminium dross. Hydrometallurgy 92, 48–53. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.hydromet.2008.01.006.
David, E., Kopac, J., 2012. Hydrolysis of aluminum dross material to achieve zero ha-
zardous waste. J. Hazard. Mater. 209-210, 501–509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
jhazmat.2012.01.064.
Dispinar, D., Kvithyld, A., Nordmark, A., 2011. Quality assesment of recycled aluminium.
Light Metals 2011, 731–735. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48160-9.
Drouet, M.G., Handfield, M., Meunier, J., Laflamme, C.B., 1994. Dross treatment in a
rotary arc furnace with graphite electrodes. Jom 26–27.
Drouet, M.G., Leroy, R.L., Tsantrizos, P.G., 2000. Drosrite Salt-Free Processing Of Hot
Aluminum Dross. pp. 1135–1145 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
G. Dube J.-P. Huni S. Lavoie W.D. Stevens, 1990 Recovery of Non-ferrous metals from
dross. 4959100.
El-Katatny, E.A., Halawy, S.A., Mohamed, M.A., Zaki, M.I., 1998. A novel synthesis of
high-area alumina via H2O2 −precipitated boehmite from sodium aluminate solu-
tions. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 72, 320–328.
El-Katatny, E.A., Halawy, S.A., Mohamed, M.A., Zaki, M.I., 2000. Recovery of high sur-
face area alumina from aluminium dross tailings. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 75,
394–402.
El-Katatny, E.A., Halawy, S.A., Mohamed, M.A., Zaki, M.I., 2003. Surface composition,
charge and texture of active alumina powders recovered from aluminum dross tail-
ings chemical waste. Powder Technol. 132, 137–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
S0032-5910(03)00047-0.
Ewais, E.M.M., Khalil, N.M., Amin, M.S., Ahmed, Y.M., Barakat, M.A., 2009. Utilization of
aluminum sludge and aluminum slag (dross) for the manufacture of calcium alumi-
nate cement. Ceram. Int. 35, 3381–3388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.
107
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
2009.06.008.
Fukumoto, S., Hookabe, T., Tsubakino, H., 2000. Hydrolysis behavior of aluminum ni-
tride in various solutions. J. Mater. Sci. 35, 2743–2748.
L.W. Garrett Jr, Process for the production of sulfates 1982; 4337228.
T. Gens, 1992 Recovery of aluminum from dross using the plasma torch. 5135565.
Gil, A., Korili, S.A., 2016. Management and valorization of aluminum saline slags: current
status and future trends. Chem. Eng. J. 289, 74–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.
2015.12.069.
Gil, A., Albeniz, S., Korili, S.A., 2014. Valorization of the saline slags generated during
secondary aluminium melting processes as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal
ions from aqueous solutions. Chem. Eng. J. 251, 43–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
cej.2014.04.056.
Gil, A., 2005. Management of the salt cake from secondary aluminum fusion processes.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 44, 8852–8857.
Gil, A., 2007. Management of salt cake generated at secondary aluminum melting plants
by disposal in a controlled landfill: characteristics of the controlled landfill and a
study of environmental impacts. Environ. Eng. Sci. 24, 1234–1244. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1089/ees.2006.0123.
Gomez, E., Rani, D.A., Cheeseman, C.R., Deegan, D., Wise, M., Boccaccini, A.R., 2009.
Thermal plasma technology for the treatment of wastes: a critical review. J. Hazard.
Mater. 161, 614–626. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.04.017.
I.W. Gower C.J. Cherry D.S. Yang, 1985 Aluminum dross reclamation. 4523949.
Graziano, D., Hryn, J.N., Daniels, E.J., 1996. In: Hale, W. (Ed.), Light Metals. The
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society.
Grimaud, G., Perry, N., Laratte, B., 2017. Aluminium cables recycling process: environ-
mental impacts identification and reduction. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.11.010.
Hashishin, T., Kodera, Y., Yamamoto, T., Ohyanagi, M., Munir, Z.A., 2004. Synthesis of
(Mg,Si)Al 2 O 4 spinel from aluminum dross. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 87, 496–499.
Hiraki, T., Nagasaka, T., 2014. An easier upgrading process of aluminum dross residue by
screening technique. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag. 17, 566–573. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1007/s10163-014-0283-5.
Hiraki, T., Takeuchi, M., Hisa, M., Akiyama, T., 2005. Hydrogen production from waste
aluminum at different temperatures, with LCA. Mater. Trans. 46, 1052–1057.
Hiraki, T., Yamauchi, S., Masayasu, I., Uesugi, H., Akiyama, T., 2007. Process for re-
cycling waste aluminum with generation of high-pressure hydrogen. Environ. Sci.
Technol. 41, 4454–4457.
Hiraki, T., Nosaka, A., Okinaka, N., Akiyama, T., 2009. Synthesis of zeolite-X from waste
metals. Iron Steel Inst. Japan Int. 49, 1644–1648.
Hiraki, T., Miki, T., Nakajima, K., Matsubae, K., Nakamura, S., Nagasaka, T., 2014.
Thermodynamic analysis for the refining ability of salt flux for aluminum recycling.
Materials (Basel). 7, 5543–5553. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma7085543.
Hong, J.-P., Wang, J., Chen, H.-Y., Sun, B.-D., Li, J.-J., Chen, C., 2010. Process of alu-
minum dross recycling and life cycle assessment for Al-Si alloys and brown fused
alumina. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China (English Ed.) 20, 2155–2161. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(09)60435-0.
Hsieh, K., Ueng, T.H., Chen, C., 2013. A study of stabilization and recycling for aluminum
dross. Appl. Mech. Mater. 275-277, 2237–2240. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.
scientific.net/AMM.275-277.2237.
Huang, X., Badawy, A., El Arambewela, M., Ford, R., Barlaz, M., Tolaymat, T., 2014.
Characterization of salt cake from secondary aluminum production. J. Hazard. Mater.
273, 192–199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.02.035.
D.A. Huckabay A.D. Skiathas, 1981 Aluminum Dross Processing. 4252776.
D.A. Huckabay A.D. Skiathas, 1982 Aluminum sulfate manufacture from aluminum dross.
4320098.
J.A. Huckabay, 1984 Method for treatment of aluminum dross oxides. 4434142.
Hwang, J.Y., Huang, X., Xu, Z., 2006. Recovery of metals from aluminum dross and
saltcake. J. Miner. Mater. Charact. Eng. 5, 47–62.
Ibarra Castro, M.N., Almanza Robles, J.M., Cortés Hernández, D.A., Escobedo Bocardo,
J.C., Torres Torres, J., 2009. Development of mullite/zirconia composites from a
mixture of aluminum dross and zircon. Ceram. Int. 35, 921–924. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.ceramint.2008.03.006.
Ingason, H.T., Sigfusson, T.I., 2014. Processing of aluminum dross: the birth of a closed
industrial process. Jom 66, 2235–2242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11837-014-
1156-z.
International Aluminum Institute, 2017 http://www.world-aluminium.org/statistics/
#data [WWW Document].
Jafari, N.H., Stark, T.D., Roper, R., 2014. Classification and reactivity of secondary alu-
minum production waste. J. Hazardous, Toxic, Radioact. Waste 18. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.2153-5515.0000223.
Jody, B.J., Daniels, E.J., Bonsignore, P.V., Karvelas, D.E., 1991. Recycling of aluminum
salt cake. The Seventh International Conference on Solid Waste Management and
Secondary Materials Illinois.
Kevorkijan, V., Škapin, S.D., Kovačec, U., 2013. The nondestructive determination of the
aluminum content in pressed skulls of aluminum dross. Jom 65, 284–293. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1007/s11837-012-0501-3.
Kevorkijan, V., 1999. The quality of aluminum dross particles and cost-effective re-
inforcement for structural aluminum-based composites. Compos. Sci. Technol. 59,
1745–1751. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(99)00034-2.
Kevorkijan, V., 2002. Evaluating the aluminum content of pressed dross. Jom 34–36.
Khoei, A.R., Masters, I., Gethin, D.T., 2003. Numerical modelling of the rotary furnace in
aluminium recycling processes. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 139, 567–572. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/S0924-0136(03)00538-7.
Kim, J., Biswas, K., Jhon, K.W., Jeong, S.Y., Ahn, W.S., 2009. Synthesis of AlPO4-5 and
CrAPO-5 using aluminum dross. J. Hazard. Mater. 169, 919–925. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.04.035.
A. Meshram, K.K. Singh
Lavole, S., Dube, G., 1991. A salt-Free treatment of aluminum dross using plasma heating.
Jom 54–55.
Li, P., Guo, M., Zhang, M., Teng, L., Seetharaman, S., 2012. Leaching process investiga-
tion of secondary aluminum dross: the effect of CO2 on leaching process of salt cake
from aluminum remelting process. Metall. Mater. Trans. B 43, 1220–1230. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1007/s11663-012-9678-7.
Li, A., Zhang, H., Yang, H., 2014. Evaluation of aluminum dross as raw material for high-
alumina refractory. Ceram. Int. 40, 12585–12590. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
ceramint.2014.04.069.
Lindsay, R.D., 1995. Process for recovery of free aluminum from aluminum dross or
aluminum scrap using plasma energy with oxygen second stage treatment. 5447548.
Lorber, K.E., Antrekowitsch, H., 2010. Treatment and disposal of residues from alumi-
nium dross. 2nd International Conference on Hazardous and Industrial Waste
Management.
Lucheva, B., Petkov, R., Tzonev, T., 2003. Method for aluminum dross utilization. 3rd
BMC-2003-Ohrid Macedoma. pp. 259–264.
Lucheva, B., Tsonev, T., Petkov, R., 2005. Non-waste aluminum dross recycling. J. Univ.
Chem. Technol. Metall. 40, 335–338.
Mailar, G., Raghavendra, S.N., Hiremath, P., Sreedhara, B.M., Manu, D.S., Jayakesh, K.,
2016. Investigation of concrete produced using recycled aluminium dross for hot
weather concreting conditions. Resour. Technol. 2, 68–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.
1016/j.reffit.2016.06.006.
Majidi, O., Shabestari, S.G., Aboutalebi, M.R., 2007. Study of fluxing temperature in
molten aluminum refining process. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 182, 450–455. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.09.003.
Manfredi, O., Wuth, W., Bohlinger, I., 1997. Characterizing the physical and chemical
properties of aluminum dross. Jom 48–51.
Mankhand, T.R., 2012. Recovery of valuable materials from aluminum dross. J. Sustain.
planet 3, 86–94.
Maropoulos, S., Kountouras, D., Voulgaraki, X., Papanikolaou, S., Sanaidis, I., 2015.
Hindawi publishing corporation a characterization method for Al recovery from dross
based on compression at elevated temperatures. Adv. Tribol. 2011. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1155/2011/395716.
Masson, D.B., Taghiei, M.M., 1989. Interfacial reactions between aluminum alloys and
salt flux during melting. Mater. Trans. 30, 411–422.
Maung, K.N., Yoshida, T., Liu, G., Lwin, C.M., Muller, D.B., Hashimoto, S., 2017.
Assessment of secondary aluminum reserves of nations. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 126,
34–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.06.016.
Meshram, A., Singh, K.K., 2017. Generation of hydrogen-gas from aluminum dross. In:
European Metallurgical COnference 2017. Leipzig, Germany. pp. 1451–1460.
Murayama, N., Okajima, N., Yamaoka, S., Yamamoto, H., Shibata, J., 2006. Hydrothermal
synthesis of AlPO4-5 type zeolitic materials by using aluminum dross as a raw ma-
terial. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 26, 459–462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.
2005.06.022.
Murayama, N., Arimura, K., Okajima, N., Shibata, J., 2009. Effect of structure-directing
agent on AlPO4-n synthesis from aluminum dross. Int. J. Miner. Process. 93,
110–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.minpro.2009.07.002.
Murayama, N., Maekawa, I., Ushiro, H., Miyoshi, T., Shibata, J., Valix, M., 2012.
Synthesis of various layered double hydroxides using aluminum dross generated in
aluminum recycling process. Int. J. Miner. Process. 110 (-111), 46–52. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.minpro.2012.03.011.
Nakajima, K., Osuga, H., Yokoyama, K., Nagasaka, T., 2007. Material flow analysis of
aluminum dross and environmental assessment for its recycling process. Materails
Trans. 48, 2219–2224. http://dx.doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MRA2007070.
Neuschutz, D., 1996. Plasma processing of dusts and residues. Pure Appl. Chem. 68,
1159–1165.
M. Olper T. Corsini P. Fracchia, 1990 Process and plant for the processing of slag from
aluminum scrap and waste melting, recovery of components thereof and treatment of
gasses generated 379245.
P.N. Papafingos R.T. Lance, 1978 Salt Cake Processing Method and Apparatus. 4073644.
H.-K. Park H.-I. Lee E.-P. Yoon, 2001 Process for Recycling waste aluminum dross. US
6296817 B1.
Peng, L., Zhang, M., Teng, L., Seetharaman, S., 2013. Recycling of aluminum salt cake:
utilization of evolved ammonia. Metall. Mater. Trans. B 44, 16–19. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1007/s11663-012-9779-3.
Petavratzi, E., Wilson, S., 2007. Residues from Aluminium Dross Recycling in Cement,
Characterisation of Mineral Wastes, Resources and Processing Technologies
−Integrated Waste Management for the Production of Construction Material.
J.W. Pickens E.L. Morris, 2001. Process for preparing calcium aluminate from aluminum
dross. 6238633.
J.W. Pickens M.D. Waite, 2000. Recovery of products from Non-Metallic Products derived
from aluminum dross. 6110434.
Reddy, M.S., Neeraja, D., Kotaiah, B., 2014. An experimental in vestigation on use of
secondary aluminium dross in concrete. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Manag. 3, 29–35.
Reuter, M., Xiao, Y., Boin, U., 2004. Recycling and environmental issues of metallurgical
108
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 130 (2018) 95–108
slags and salt fluxes. VII International Conference on Molten Slags Fluxes and Salts
349–356.
Ridderbusch, M., Jaroni, B., Arnold, A., Friedrich, B., 2009. From oxide residues of Al-
slag-treatment to siAl-masteralloys via carbothermic reduction. European
Metallurgical Conference 2009 1–16.
Saito, N., Ishizaki, C., Ishizaki, K., 1994. Temperature programed desorption (TPD)
evaluation of aluminum nitride powder surfaces produced by different manufacturing
processes. J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn. 102, 301–304.
Sarker, M.S.R., Alam, M.Z., Qadir, M.R., Gafur, M.A., Moniruzzaman, M., 2015.
Extraction and characterization of alumina nanopowders from aluminum dross by
acid dissolution process. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater. 22, 429–436. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1007/s12613-015-1090-2.
Schlesinger, M.E., 2007. Aluminum Recycling. CRC Press.
Settimo, F., Bevilacqua, P., Rem, P., 2004. Eddy current separation of fine non-ferrous
particles from bulk streams. Phys. Sep. Sceince Eng. 13, 15–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.
1080/00207390410001710726.
Shen, H., Forssberg, E., 2003. An overview of recovery of metals from slags. Waste
Manag. 23, 933–949. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0956-053X(02)00164-2.
Shinzato, M.C., Hypolito, R., 2005. Solid waste from aluminum recycling process: char-
acterization and reuse of its economically valuable constituents. Waste Manag. 25,
37–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2004.08.005.
Shinzato, M.C., Hypolito, R., 2016. Effect of disposal of aluminum recycling waste in soil
and water bodies. Environ. Earth Sci. 75, 628–638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/
s12665-016-5438-3.
O.R. Singleton, 1979 Method and apparatus for treating aluminous metal skim material
and by-products of said method. 4137073.
Soares Tenorio, J.A., Romano Espinosa, D.C., 2002. Effect of salt/oxide interaction on the
process of aluminum recycling. J. Light Met. 2, 89–93.
D.J. Stewart J.H.L. Van Linden A.F. LaCamera T.V. Pierce J.O. Parkhill J.M. Urbanic T.R.
Hornack, 1991 Salt based melting process. 5057194.
Sultana, U.K., Gulshan, F., Gafur, M.A., Kurny, A.S.W., 2013. Kinetics of recovery of
alumina from aluminium casting waste through fusion with sodium hydroxide. Am. J.
Mater. Eng. Technol. 1, 30–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.12691/materials-1-3-1.
Tsakiridis, P.E., Oustadakis, P., Agatzini-Leonardou, S., 2013. Aluminium recovery during
black dross hydrothermal treatment. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 1, 23–32. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1016/j.jece.2013.03.004.
Tsakiridis, P.E., Oustadakis, P., Agatzini-Leonardou, S., 2014. Black dross leached residue:
an alternative raw material for Portland cement clinker. Waste Biomass Valorization
5, 973–983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12649-014-9313-8.
Tsakiridis, P.E., 2012. Aluminium salt slag characterization and utilization − a review. J.
Hazard. Mater. 217-218, 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.03.052.
Tzonev, T., Lucheva, B., 2007. Recovering aluminum from aluminum dross in a DC
electric-arc rotary furnace. Jom 64–68.
Ueda, M., Tsukamoto, S., Konda, S., Ohtsuka, T., 2005. Recovery of aluminum from oxide
particles in aluminum dross using AlF3–NaF–BaCl2 molten salt. J. Appl. Electrochem.
35, 925–930. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10800-005-5289-1.
Wan, B., Chen, W., Lu, T., Liu, F., Jiang, Z., Mao, M., 2017. Review of solid state recycling
of aluminum chips. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 125, 37–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.resconrec.2017.06.004.
Wang, S., Hu, H., Chu, Y., Cheng, P., 2008. Dross Recovery of Aluminum Alloy 380, In:
Cast Expo ’08. NADCA, pp. 1–7 (Atlanta, Georgia).
Wang, M., Liu, G., Jiang, X., Li, S., Liu, W., Zheng, M., 2016. Formation and emission of
brominated dioxins and furans during secondary aluminum smelting processes.
Chemosphere 146, 60–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.11.109.
Whiteley, P., Pomerleau, J., Bouchard, P., Innus, A.B., 1991. The alcan process for inert
gas dross cooling. Jom 52–53.
Xiao, Y., Reuter, M.A., 2002. Recycling of distributed aluminium turning scrap. Miner.
Eng. 15, 963–970. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0892-6875(02)00137-1.
Xiao, Y., Reuter, M.A., Boin, U., 2005. Aluminium recycling and environmental issues of
salt slag treatment. J. Environ. Sci. Heal. 40, 1861–1875. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/
10934520500183824.
D. Yerushalmi L. Sarko, 1995 Method of recycling aluminum dross. 5424260.
Yoo, S.J., Yoon, H.S., Jang, H.D., Lee, J.W., Hong, S.T., Lee, M.J., Lee, S., Il Jun, K.W.,
2006. Synthesis of aluminum isopropoxide from aluminum dross. Korean J. Chem.
Eng. 23, 683–687.
Yoo, S.-J., Kwak, D.-H., Lee, S.-I., Kim, J.-G., Park, J.K., Yoon, H.S., Jang, H.D., 2011.
Kinetics of aluminum dross dissolution in sec-butyl alcohol for aluminum sec-but-
oxide. Adv. Powder Technol. 22, 617–622. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2010.09.
007.
Yoshimura, H.N., Abreu, A.P., Molisani, A.L., de Camargo, A.C., Portela, J.C.S., Narita,
N.E., 2008. Evaluation of aluminum dross waste as raw material for refractories.
Ceram. Int. 34, 581–591. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2006.12.007.
Zauzi, N.S.A., Zakaria, M.Z.H., Baini, R., Rahman, M.R., Sutan, N.M., Hamdan, S., 2016.
Influence of alkali treatment on the surface area of aluminium dross. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2016, 1–4.