Recycling of aluminum and caustic soda solution from waste effluents generated during the cleaning of the extruder matrixes of the aluminum industry

Anodising industries use a concentrated caustic soda solution to remove aluminum from extruder matrixes. This procedure produces very alkaline effluents containing high amounts of aluminum. The work reported here was focussed on recycling aluminum, as aluminum hydroxide, from these effluents and regenerating an alkaline sodium hydroxide solution. Briefly, the method comprises a dilution step (necessary for reducing the viscosity of the effluent and allowing the subsequent filtration) followed by a filtration to eliminate a substantial amount of the insoluble iron. Then, sulphuric acid was added to neutralize the waste solution down to pH 12 and induce aluminum precipitation. The purity of the aluminum salt was improved after washing the precipitate with deionised water. The characterization of the solid recovered, performed by thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, indicated characteristics typical of bayerite. The proposal method allowed recovering 82% of the aluminum present in the wastewater with high purity (99.5%). Additionally, a sufficiently concentrated caustic soda solution was also recovered, which can be reused in the anodising industries. This procedure can be easily implemented and ensures economy by recycling reagents (concentrated caustic soda solution) and by recovering commercial by-products (aluminum hydroxide), while avoiding environmental pollution.