Electrolytic manganese residue and red mud co-treatment: Synthesizing zeolite X and adsorbing leaching solution from electrolytic manganese residue

Electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) and red mud (RM) are solid wastes from electrolytic metallic manganese and alumina production. These wastes continue to accumulate, causing significant environmental damage and resource waste. To solve these problems, porous zeolite X (ERZ) was synthesized with EMR and RM as the main raw materials. ERZ was then employed to adsorb the leaching solution generated during EMR purification. Also, an investigation was carried out to ascertain the most favorable parameters for the synthesis of zeolite, and the resulting ERZ was characterized. The results indicated that the synthesized ERZ exhibits excellent crystallinity, high thermal stability, and a large specific surface area. Next, solid-state NMR (SSNMR), XRD, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the ERZ synthesis process: the structural units of X zeolite are beta cages and 4Rs. Additionally, the study examined the adsorption impact of ERZ on impurity ions in the leaching solution, revealing that the adsorption mechanism is chemisorption. Furthermore, the effective regeneration of ERZ demonstrated its significant practical utility. To summarize, this study presents a new feasible way for effectively utilizing EMR and BA.