Summary: Gibbsite (α - Al (OH) 3) is an important
natural and industrial material that is used in a wide variety of energy applications, and is a significant component of some of the high - level nuclear waste stored in large quantities at the Hanford Site, Washington, U.S.A., and at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, U.S.A. Industrial - scale processing of these materials requires an understanding of their behavior in highly
alkaline solutions (often called Bayer liquors); processing of slurries and precipitates from these liquors is facilitated by controlling the nanoparticulate gibbsite morphology.