BMTPC has produced a composite from red mud, polymer and natural fibres, called Red Mud Jute Fibre Polymer Composite (RFPC), to replace wood in the wood based panel products in the building industry. This product uses zero energy aided raw materials and conserves energy by room-temperature processing.

Known as Red Mud Jute Fibre Polymer Composite (RFPC), this composite contains ferric oxide, alumina and titanium oxide from red-mud, 82.5% cellulose and 11.3% lignin from its jute component (jute is 15% of the total volume of the shutter).

This newly developed material is particularly suitable for door shutters, ensuring significant savings in initial as well as maintenance costs. There is a huge market for composite doors and panels, with the potential waiting to be tapped both in developing and developed countries.

RFPC can also be used for furniture, flooring and panelling work, electrical switch boxed and insulating sheets for housing.

v  Sources of Red Mud:

During aluminium production, bauxite ore is digested with caustic soda, when most of the aluminium passes into solution as aluminate. The muddy red residue consists of alumina, iron oxide, titanium oxide and small quantities of silica, calcium oxide and alkali. India generates over 4 million tonnes of this by-product annually which is not otherwise put to any use.

v  Nature of Pollution

Red Mud is usually disposed off in ponds. During monsoons, the waste may carry by run-off to surface water courses and cause ground water contamination due to leaching.

v  Recycling of Red Mud

Red Mud can be used for making high quality exposable bricks, tiles, corrugated roofing sheets, and as binder for several useful products including composite doors, panels etc.