The research team carried out the project "Researching the ability to make building materials from red mud generated in alumina production technology in the Central Highlands."

The results of the study suggest that the solution of treating red mud into construction ceramic bricks needs to add additives to provide the mixture before firing. Additive materials need to be cheap and easy to find to lower the cost of construction bricks.

The research has been successful in producing experiments at Hiep Hoa Brick Factory in the production line of tunnel kiln bricks with a mix of 80% red mud of Tay Rai alumina factory and 20% of additives are clay and construction sand.

The firing temperature is selected in the range of 900 - 9500C, normal burning mode is like burning clay bricks. The construction ceramic bricks are shaped and color like baked clay bricks, but have higher mechanical properties than baked clay bricks according to Vietnamese standards.

The results of environmental safety tests conducted by the method of measuring the intensity of radioactivity and the regulation QCVN07: 2009 show the high environmental safety of manufactured ceramic products.

The economic efficiency of the solution of treating red mud into construction ceramic bricks comes from the fact that the main material of construction ceramic bricks is red mud (at no cost).

The production equipment is not much different from the normal terracotta brick production lines currently in Vietnam, additional additives are exploited locally at low cost. Thus, the treatment of red mud into construction ceramic bricks if the output market for products is locally available, production activities have brought profits to investors.

The application of the solution of treating red mud into construction ceramic bricks will at least save the amount of money that the Coal and Mineral Group must grant to the construction of a new lake of red mud burial, on average, about  200 billion VND/ year.

The solution to treat red mud into construction ceramic bricks is to thoroughly handle the pollution risk of red mud wastes on the environment and life of local people in the Central Highlands provinces (especially in Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces) and provinces located downstream of Dong Nai and Serepok Rivers).