New Delhi: National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has strengthened its research and development efforts in industrial residue valorisation and critical mineral recovery with the commissioning of an indigenous pilot plant for processing coal fly ash.
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NALCO CMD Brijendra Pratap Singh inaugurated the pilot plant at the company’s Research & Technology Centre (NRTC) in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The facility has been developed to process bituminous coal fly ash and recover multiple value-added products, including alumina, calcium silicate, quartz residue and an iron hydroxide residue enriched with rare earth elements (REE), including scandium.
The pilot plant has a processing capacity of 50 kg of fly ash per day and has been designed and established by CSIR-IMMT and KIIT with support from NALCO, CSIR and the Ministry of Mines. The facility is based on a jointly patented process developed by CSIR-IMMT and NALCO for the holistic utilisation of coal fly ash.
The initiative is part of NALCO’s broader efforts to develop scalable and commercially viable technologies for converting industrial residues into useful resources. The company has also initiated work on a separate pilot plant for bauxite residue, or red mud, valorisation. A ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed facility was held on the occasion.
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The red mud pilot plant will focus on recovering ferro-titanium alloy, metallic iron and rare earth elements, with the aim of increasing the productive utilisation of bauxite residue.
Rare earth elements are increasingly important for strategic and high-technology applications, including permanent magnets, electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics and defence. The recovery of such materials from secondary resources could improve resource efficiency, supplement primary sources and create additional value from industrial residues.
The fly ash facility is also expected to produce sufficient quantities of REE concentrate to support further research into the recovery and separation of mixed rare earth elements. According to NALCO, this could facilitate the development of downstream value-added products and integrated recovery pathways for critical minerals.
Speaking at the inauguration, NALCO CMD Brijendra Pratap Singh said the company is focusing on research, innovation and strategic partnerships to convert industrial residues into valuable resources. He highlighted pilot-scale validation of indigenous technologies as an important step towards developing commercially viable solutions for resource efficiency, critical mineral security and the circular economy.
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