QUEBEC - Orbite Aluminae of Montreal has awarded the contract for basic engineering for its metallurgical grade alumina calcination process and the associated hydrochloric acid recovery to Outotec. The work of the Finnish company will be included in the feasibility study due to be completed in the first half of 2012.
Orbite has an aluminous clay deposit in the Grand Vallee region and will be processing the clay at a plant in Cap-Chat. The successful pilot plant will be scaled up to a commercial capacity of 7,000-t/d using Orbite's patented technology. Combined with SMS-Siemag's proven hydrothermal technology for both hematite production and low temperature hydrochloric acid recovery, the calcination of alumina will close the important and essential acid recovery portion of Orbite's process.
"Orbite's unique extraction process is truly revolutionary in that it has the potential to become an economically and ecologically viable substitute to the Bayer process, which has been the main industrial method of refining bauxite for the production of alumina for more than 100 years," said Michael Missalla, Outotec vice-president light metals/fluidized beds. "Outotec has the expertise, experience and cost-effective technologies to perform calcination and acid recovery of alumina from Orbite's process."
Outotec has offices in Burlington and Sudbury, Ontario. Visit www.Outotec.com.
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