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Figure 1.1: Alumina Plant by Function.

 In the Bayer process, bauxite is firstly ground (1) and secondly digested (2) in a hot caustic
soda solution to extract alumina as sodium aluminate; the impurities of the bauxite remain
mostly in the solid phase.
 Residual solids are separated from the liquor by sedimentation and filtration (3), and then
washed to recover caustic and alumina values prior to its disposal.
 The aluminate solution is then cooled and seeded with fine crystals of alumina trihydrate.
The alumina, dissolved during the digestion step, is precipitated (4) on the hydrate seed
crystals as alumina trihydrate.
 The main part of the solids is separated from the caustic liquor by filtration and is returned to
the beginning of the precipitation area as seed. A small part of the solids are classified and
separated from the caustic liquor by cycloning (5) and the finer fraction of this is also
returned to the process as seed. The coarse fraction of hydrate is washed with hot water to
remove caustic soda and calcined at approx. 950 °C to drive off water of crystallization to
yield product alumina.
 The caustic liquor (spent liquor) is recycled to the digestion stage via evaporation, where is
concentrated. Figure 1.1 shows the general Bayer Process by function illustrating the spent
liquor cycle.

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION - TRAINING MANUAL V1 – RELEASED FEBRUARY 2010

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