2025-07-30
Clear Edge delivers measurable improvements for a prominent alumina refinery in India.
This case study focuses on filtration process optimization at a large-scale alumina refinery located in India. With strategic proximity to Aluminium smelters in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the refinery specializes in producing high-purity metallurgical-grade Alumina and Alumina Hydrate. The client was encountering performance issues with their red mud security Diastar filters. Specifically low flow rates, frequent cloth replacements, and reduced filtrate clarity. These limitations were causing increased maintenance efforts and reduced filtration productivity. Clear Edge was invited to collaborate on enhancing the performance and service life of the filter cloth used in the Diastar bags.
Improving the flow rate without sacrificing clarity or service life in red mud security filtration.
As part of a broader process optimization initiative, the client’s team sought to improve the performance of their red mud security Diastar filters. The primary objective was to achieve a higher flow rate, which directly impacts throughput and productivity.
However, this had to be accomplished without increasing filtrate solids or accelerating cloth blinding; a common risk when altering fabric properties.
A secondary goal was to improve the durability of the filter bags, which were requiring frequent changeouts due to scaling and wear. The challenge lay in identifying a filter fabric configuration that could deliver long-term performance improvements across all key metrics.
Collaborative tuning of filter cloth permeability and design delivers long-term operational gains.
Clear Edge adopted a hands-on, collaborative approach to this challenge, working closely with the client’s operations and maintenance teams over multiple site visits. The team’s technical specialists monitored the existing filtration performance in real time, identifying opportunities to improve both flow rate and filter fabric longevity.
Key steps included:
The result was a new filter fabric configuration that allowed sustained high throughput without compromising filtrate clarity or triggering early cloth replacement. The optimized design also demonstrated improved mechanical resilience under operating conditions, with noticeably reduced fouling.
Sustained flow rate, clearer filtrate, and longer service life validate a customized approach.
This case highlights the effectiveness of technical customization in addressing complex filtration challenges. Through close collaboration and iterative design improvements powered by “Material Science™ by Clear Edge™”, we delivered a solution that enhanced the performance of red mud security filters. The client now benefits from more stable operations, with reduced downtime and lower maintenance frequency, all while achieving better filtrate clarity and increased overall process efficiency.
