OVERVIEW

Established in 2007, the Sustainable Materials Processing Research Group explores development of
processes for recovery of metal values from primary (i.e. ore) and secondary (i.e. waste materials)
resources with an emphasis on reduction of the energy intensity and environmental footprint.
Equally, the research seeks development of materials that promise higher performance, are
processed in a more environmentally benign fashion, and demand less from the earth resources.
Below are the specific research topics.

Production and Refining of High Quality Metals and Alloys

Research on generation of high quality metals and alloys has been one of the primary research
subjects. As an example, an extensive research on refining of solar grade silicon is underway.

Alternative Metals Processing Routes

One major stream of research in the group looks into alternative metal production and refining
processes with an emphasis on reducing the energy consumption and environmental impact.
For example, the fundamental aspects and basic process requirements of a novel steelmaking
technology that aims continuous operation are being investigated. The process promises to
reduce energy consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling of Wastes

With societies becoming more consuming, the amount of used goods such as
automobiles, electronic devices, batteries, etc. is ever increasing. Recycling
of such goods and materials is environmentally justified, also reduces the
demand on the earth's resources. Another line of research looks into the ways
of recovering valuable constituents of the industrial wastes and converting the
irrecoverable wastes into landfill-safe materials.

Fundamentals of Interactions and Properties in Pyrometallurgical Systems

A stream of research focuses on fundamentals of metallurgical systems such as kinetics of gas-slag-metal interactions,
aiming to generate essential knowledge for development of the process discussed above.