Recycling of inorganic materials

Module 1 Part I- The Larger picture : The concept of planetary boundaries; footprints (material, carbon and water footprints); emissions from primary production and benefits of recycling; concept of embodied energy and exercises

Module 1 Part II - Introduction into recycling of metals ; Terminologies in recycling, types of scrap ; Recycling rates definitions ; Material centric vs product centric recycling ; Concept of Metal wheel ; Definition of criticality - examples of Lithium criticality and the 2010 crisis of Rare earth crisis

Module 2 - Recycling of steel - Broad introduction into facts about steel (production, emissions, consumption etc) ; Sorting methods; Basics of electric arc furnace steel making chemistry (EAF); Ellingham diagrams - examples and exercises ; Slag basicity ; Issue of tramp elements and scrap purification

Module 2 Advanced : Alternatives to conventional steel recycling - ULCOS ; MIT's Boston metal electrochemical process

Module 3: Lead recycling - - Broad introduction into facts about lead (production, consumption, emissions, main uses and applications) ; The "Lead wheel" ; Recycling of Lead Acid Batteries - Desulfurization, Primary smelting, direct smelting (QSL furnace, Kivcet process) , Secondary smelting (shaft and rotary furnace), Electrorefining of lead

Module 3 Advanced : 2 different hydrometallurgical processes from Cambridge

Module 4: Fundamentals of hydrometallurgy and electrometallurgy - Pourbaix diagram - step by step construction, exercises and examples ; electron ladder ; Solubility product and precipitation ; Cementation ; Hydrogen reduction of metals ; Electrowinning and electrorefining ; Exercises and examples

Module 5: How to construct a recycling flowsheet - Comparative examples in recycling rare earth metals from rare earth permanent magnet waste (NdFeB)

Module 6: Zinc recycling - Introduction – Primary production • Zinc recycling brief introduction • ZnO from dross – Muffle and Larvik furnaces • EAF dust - Waelz process • Fuming slags from Pb

Module 6 Advanced:Solvometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes - Indutec/Ezinex process ; Jarosite leaching with methanesulfonic acid

Module 7: Three different guest lectures - A day of seminar will be organized where experts in the field of recycling/metallurgy will give a detailed overview on the project(s) they have worked on - Examples: Photovoltaic recycling, Platinum group metals recycling ; Bauxite residue recycling etc

Module 8: Copper recycling - Introduction ; Chemical metallurgy of copper recycling - blast furnace ; Top blown rotary converter ; Electrorefining/Fire refining; Copper recycling in primary smelter ; Mistubushi process smelting

Module 8 Advanced: Magnetic nanohydrometallurgy ; Copper recover from WEEE - Hydrometallurgical (Ammoniacal) processes; Copper recovery within a fuel cell

Module 9: Lithium batteries recycling - Broad introduction ; Conventional pyrometallurgical process; Examples of industrial processes ; Advanced hydrometallurgical and electrometallurgical processes ; Battery recycling in a fuel cell; Supercritical CO2 extraction

Module 10: Policies and legislation - Historical evolution of recycling policies and legislation ; Extended producer responsibility ; Waste Hierarchy Index ; EU Sustainable battery regulations

The objective of the course is to give you comprehensive insights into the world of recycling with equal emphasis on the theoretical metallurgical fundamentals and on the applied processes. The course provides a broad overview on the recycling of key metals/alloys such as steel, copper, zinc and lead. Course modules will contain information about the conventional recycling processes as well as information about novel/cutting-edge recycling processes that are currently in development. Necessary theoretical background (Ellingham diagrams, hydrometallurgical and electrometallurgical unit operations) will be introduced with examples and exercises. At the end of the course students should be able to critically evaluate and design recycling flowsheets to recover metals from complex waste feeds based on principles of green chemistry.

Lectures and seminars from experts in academia/industry

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

References and reading materials will be provided via UV at the end of each lecture.

Contacts

Prakash Venkatesan - prakash.venkatesan@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Oral presentation
• Written report

Oral presentation

Written report

Students will be required to design a recycling flowsheet to recover metal(s) of interest from a waste feed of their choice. The evaluation for the course will be based on a written report and oral presentation/defense of their flowsheet. You will be required to give a mid-point presentation of your flowsheet and will receive detailed feedback from the course instructor and also your peers which can aid in improving your flowsheet further for the final presentation.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

100% of the note based on the report

Language(s) of evaluation

• english