Sustainable use of coarse bauxite residue for alternative roadway construction materials

Abstract

About 25 million tonnes of bauxite residue from alumina refining are generated in Australia each year. Managing this residue is costly, and the reuse of coarse bauxite residues is becoming an increasingly attractive and sustainable solution to the problem. Using coarse bauxite residue in road construction has the potential for large volume reuse. This study investigated whether coarse bauxite residue is a viable road base material in Western Australia. A pozzolanic stabilised mixture was created to improve the properties of the residue, to satisfy the minimum requirements for road base. Laboratory tests for resilient modulus and permanent deformation were then performed. Comparisons were made between the stabilised residue and conventional road base material used in Western Australia. The performance of the stabilised residue was superior to that of the conventional material, and can provide improved performance when used as road base material in Western Australia.