MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Rusal will set up a pilot production facility for scandium oxide with an annual capacity of 1.5 tons, with commissioning scheduled by the end of this year, the company reported.
The total global production of scandium oxide is estimated at 20-25 tons per year, Rusal noted.
"A pilot facility for the production of 1,550 kg of scandium oxide per year is being built at Rusal’s Bogoslovsky Aluminium Smelter (Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region). The facility is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2025," the report said.
The investment in the project amounts to 500 mln rubles. With the transition to commercial production, scandium oxide production volumes can increase to 19 tonnes per year, the company added.
Rusal will make scandium oxide from red mud, a by-product of alumina production at the Bogoslovsky Aluminium Smelter. The technology for extracting scandium oxide from red mud was developed by the Rusal Engineering and Technology Centre, the technology for the project was also designed by the company.
The primary application of scandium oxide is the production of solid oxide fuel cells for electrochemical power generators. Scandium enhances the strength of alloys, allowing for a reduction in the weight of the final product compared to conventional alloys.