Alum Manufacturing Unit

Project cost & finance

Raw materials & machinery

Manufacturing process

1. Wash the procured bauxite in a bauxite washing machine to remove dirt and impurities.
2. Crush the bauxite ore to 1 inch pieces using a jaw crusher and further pulverize to 105-110 mesh size.
3. Charge the powdered bauxite into a lead-lined MS reactor vessel, add 60% sulphuric acid slowly, and agitate with steam at 105-110 degrees C.
4. Allow the reaction to complete over 8-10 hours, then pump the mixture to a settling tank where flaked glue and black ash/barium sulphide are added.
5. Filter the clear aluminum sulphate solution in a frame and filter press, washing the pressed cake with water.
6. Add an aqueous solution of potassium sulphate to the aluminum sulphate solution for crystallization in mixing tanks.
7. Concentrate the liquid in a concentrator for 8-10 hours to obtain a concentrated alum solution.
8. Transfer the concentrated liquid into plastic molds to cool and form crystals.
9. Dry the formed alum in fluidized bed dryers to remove residual moisture.
10. Package the final alum product using automatic packaging machines into bags for storage and dispatch.

Market

Alum has widespread commercial applications primarily in municipal and industrial water treatment plants as a flocculating agent, paper sizing, textile industries as a mordant, and in construction, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

From the project report