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Advances in Sustainable Reprocessing, Repurposing and Reclamation of Mining Wastes, Industrial Wastes, and Anthropogenic Ores

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 6204

Special Issue Editors

Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
Interests: technospheric mining; resources recycling; extractive metallurgy; processing of critical and strategic minerals; waste treatment and environmental remediation
Graduate School of International Resources Sciences, Akita University, Akita, Japan
Interests: mineral processing; recycling; extractive metallurgy
Metal Extraction and Recycling Division, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Jamshedpur, India
Interests: metal extraction from primary and secondary sources using advanced separation technologies (leaching, solvent extraction, ion-exchange, etc.)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The road towards sustainable development and building a circular economy has led to a paradigm shift in practices, approaches and management of wastes generated by the resources extraction, product manufacturing, chemical and metallurgical processing, construction, and other industries. Activities and processes employed in these industries have relocated and accumulated material resources from geological origins to waste repositories and material stockpiles that pose environmental and health risks due to the potential air, water and soil pollution they generate. Legacy wastes and future waste arising from these industries are considered to be anthropogenic ores, technospheric stocks, or urban mines, and may include mine tailings, municipal solid wastes, industrial process residues, mine, landfill wastes, metallurgical slags, demolition and construction wastes, waste effluents, and acid mine drainage (AMD). These industrial wastes may also contain significant quantities of materials of value, such as metals and energy, and can be regarded as resource hubs for reclamation, recovery, or repurposing. Aside from resource recovery or waste valorisation, sustainable management of these wastes is also required to prevent them from becoming a legacy waste issue and a long-term liability. There is an urgent need to explore and develop practical, sustainable, and eco-efficient concepts and technologies that can be applied to reprocess and remediate these wastes.

This Special Issue tackles global challenges and advances in sustainable reclamation, remediation and management of mining and industrial wastes, and anthropogenic ores. The aim of the Special Issue is to highlight recent developments, emerging concepts and technologies applied to these ends for sustainable development and circular economy. We invite experimental and review papers discussing resource recovery, particularly of critical and strategic metals, battery materials, metals for low carbon society, and precious metals from mining wastes, tailings, low-grade ores, fly ash, slag, wastewater, or AMD. Articles covering decontamination, treatment, and management of mining and industrial wastes, and contaminated soil or sediments with the view of de-risking or stabilising these materials are highly encouraged. The topics of the articles to be submitted to this Special Issue are defined by the keywords presented below.

Dr. Richard Alorro
Dr. Kazutoshi Haga
Dr. Manis Kumar Jha
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mine tailings
  • mining wastes
  • urban mining
  • e-wastes
  • industrial wastes
  • acid mine drainage
  • mineral processing
  • hydrometallurgy
  • waste valorisation
  • resources recycling
  • repurposing
  • material reclamation
  • technospheric mining
  • plastics recycling
  • municipal solid wastes
  • heavy and toxic metal sequestration
  • wastewater treatment
  • sustainability
  • circular economy
  • remediation
  • mining-influenced waters

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 4546 KiB  
Article
Chlorine Gas Removal by H2 Treated Red Mud for the Potential Application in Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Process
by Tae-Young Kim, Seo-Hye Hong, Jae-Chang Kim, Hye-Won Jang, Yeji Lee, Hyun-Ji Kim, Soo-Chool Lee and Suk-Hwan Kang
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1137; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031137 - 29 Jan 2024
Viewed by 636
Abstract
In the process of pyrolyzing waste plastics, the generation of Cl2 gas can pose a problem. During the pyrolysis processing, incomplete combustion of organic compounds containing chlorine can lead to the formation of toxic chemicals, which can cause issues in subsequent processing [...] Read more.
In the process of pyrolyzing waste plastics, the generation of Cl2 gas can pose a problem. During the pyrolysis processing, incomplete combustion of organic compounds containing chlorine can lead to the formation of toxic chemicals, which can cause issues in subsequent processing stages. Therefore, an adsorbent plays an important role in removing Cl2 in the dechlorination process, and alkaline adsorbents and metal oxides are generally used. Waste red mud is composed of Fe metal oxide and alkaline components, so it is intended to be used as a Cl2 adsorbent. The Cl2 removal ability of red mud with different redox status of iron oxides was assessed. Hydrogen treatment was performed at various temperatures to control the reduction potential of the Fe in the metal oxides, and phase changes in the Fe oxide component of red mud were confirmed. In the case of red mud hydrogenated at 700 °C, most of the Fe2O3 structure could be converted to the Fe3O4 structure, and the Fe3O4 structure showed superior results in Cl2 adsorption compared to the Fe2O3 structure. As a result, red mud at an H2 treatment temperature of 700 °C showed about three times higher Cl2 adsorption compared to red mud without H2 treatment. Full article
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14 pages, 3834 KiB  
Article
Innovative Transformation and Valorisation of Red Mill Scale Waste into Ferroalloys: Carbothermic Reduction in the Presence of Alumina
by Rita Khanna, Yuri Konyukhov, Kejiang Li, Kalidoss Jayasankar, Nikita Maslennikov, Dmitry Zinoveev, Jumat Kargin, Igor Burmistrov, Denis Leybo, Maksim Kravchenko and Partha Sarathy Mukherjee
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16810; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416810 - 13 Dec 2023
Viewed by 724
Abstract
Primary and secondary mill scales (MSs) are waste products produced by the surface oxidation of steel during the hot (800 to 1200 °C) rolling process in downstream steelmaking. While the primary MS is comprised of FeO, Fe3O4, and Fe [...] Read more.
Primary and secondary mill scales (MSs) are waste products produced by the surface oxidation of steel during the hot (800 to 1200 °C) rolling process in downstream steelmaking. While the primary MS is comprised of FeO, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3 in a range of proportions, the secondary MS primarily contain red ferric oxide (Fe2O3) (red MS). We report a novel route for extracting iron from red MS and transforming it into ferro-aluminium alloys using carbothermic reduction in the presence of alumina. The red MS powder was blended with high-purity alumina (Al2O3) and synthetic graphite (C) in a range of proportions. The carbothermic reduction of red MS-Al2O3-C blends was carried out at 1450 °C and 1550 °C under an argon atmosphere for 30 min and then furnace-cooled. The red MS was completely reduced to iron at these temperatures with reduced iron distributed around the matrix as small droplets. However, the addition of alumina unexpectedly resulted in a significant increase in the number and sizes of iron droplets generated, much higher reactivity, and the formation of ferrous alloys. A small amount of alumina reduction into metallic aluminium was also observed at 1450 °C. There is an urgent need to identify the true potential of industrial waste and the materials within it. This study showed that red MS is a valuable material source that could be transformed into ferro-aluminium alloys. These alloys find application in a range of industrial sectors such as construction, automotive, infrastructure, etc. Full article
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21 pages, 4830 KiB  
Article
The Effect of a Molasses Reductant on Acetic Acid Leaching of Black Mass from Mechanically Treated Spent Lithium-Ion Cylindrical Batteries
by Dessy Amalia, Pritam Singh, Wensheng Zhang and Aleksandar N. Nikoloski
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13171; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151713171 - 01 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 949
Abstract
Recovery of valuable metals from end-of-life cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by leaching using acetic acid in the presence of an organic reductant is a promising combination to overcome environmental concerns that arise from employing inorganic reagents. This study investigated the effect of using [...] Read more.
Recovery of valuable metals from end-of-life cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by leaching using acetic acid in the presence of an organic reductant is a promising combination to overcome environmental concerns that arise from employing inorganic reagents. This study investigated the effect of using molasses as a reductant in acetic acid leaching of a mixture of cathode and anode materials (black mass) prepared using mechanical treatments from spent LiBs. The effects of temperature, solid/liquid ratio, stirring speed, and acid concentration on the leaching of target metals (Co, Ni, Mn, and Li), current collector metal foil elements (Al and Cu), and Fe from the battery casing, with and without reductant, were investigated to obtain the optimum leaching conditions. The effect of adding the molasses at the start of leaching and after 1 h of leaching was tested. Acid leaching without molasses extracted the target metals Li, Ni, Co, and Mn with an efficiency <35% for all leaching parameters. However, the Al and Fe extractions increased as the acid molarity increased. Molasses addition at the start of leaching increased the extraction of the target metals to >96% at temperatures >50 °C. This is likely due to oxidation of the reducing sugars in the molasses that reduced the insoluble Co(III), Ni(III), and Mn(IV) components to soluble Co(II), Ni(II), and Mn(II) species, respectively. The kinetics of Co extraction in the presence of molasses were analysed, which has indicated that the rate-determining step in the Co leaching process is the reduction of Co(III) on the surface of particles in the black mass. Excess molasses can precipitate out target metals, especially Co, due to the presence of oxalic acid in the molasses. The reducing effect precipitated Cu(II) to Cu2O, and could further reduce Co to metal, which suggests that leaching with the optimum dosage of acetic acid and molasses may selectively precipitate copper. Full article
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18 pages, 5512 KiB  
Article
Establishment of a Hydrometallurgical Scheme for the Recovery of Copper, Nickel, and Cobalt from Smelter Slag and Its Economic Evaluation
by Labone Lorraine Godirilwe, Kazutoshi Haga, Batnasan Altansukh, Sanghee Jeon, Gwiranai Danha and Atsushi Shibayama
Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10496; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310496 - 03 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1170
Abstract
In pursuit of carbon neutrality, the demand for metals that are necessary for the development of clean energy technologies is rapidly increasing. Metallurgical waste, such as slag, presents a promising secondary source of these key metals. This research aims to develop an eco-friendly [...] Read more.
In pursuit of carbon neutrality, the demand for metals that are necessary for the development of clean energy technologies is rapidly increasing. Metallurgical waste, such as slag, presents a promising secondary source of these key metals. This research aims to develop an eco-friendly hydrometallurgical process to recover Cu, Ni, and Co from discarded copper/nickel slag. High-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) was used to selectively leach Ni, Cu, and Co from the fayalite slag, yielding high leaching efficiencies of 99.9%, 89.4%, and 99.9%, respectively, with low Fe and Si tenors to the pregnant leach solution (PLS). The solvent extraction (SX) technique utilizing LIX 984N was used to selectively extract and enrich copper from the dilute PLS to about 23 g/L Cu with a very low Fe concentration of 0.05 g/L. Potassium amyl xanthate (PAX) solution was used to form Ni and Co xanthate complexes from the raffinate solution. Nickel was selectively recovered using ammonia solution, while the cobalt xanthate complex was thermally decomposed and recovered as cobalt oxide solids of about 25 wt.% Co. A comprehensive process flowsheet is presented. Furthermore, to realize the real application of the developed slag cleaning process, a preliminary economic evaluation was performed. Full article
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18 pages, 3022 KiB  
Article
Global Research Progress and Trends on Critical Metals: A Bibliometric Analysis
by Alina Butu, Steliana Rodino and Marian Butu
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4834; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064834 - 08 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1727
Abstract
In the perspective of observing the latest worldwide and European strategies toward green transition and delivering a secured access to local resources, the objective of this study was to analyze the research progress on critical materials and, more specific, critical metals and review [...] Read more.
In the perspective of observing the latest worldwide and European strategies toward green transition and delivering a secured access to local resources, the objective of this study was to analyze the research progress on critical materials and, more specific, critical metals and review the future research hot-topics for critical metals. Consequently, a bibliometric analysis for the assessment of the current state of the art research, future trends as well as evolution through time of the critical metals research was performed in the present work. The study included four phases of work: (i) search string selection, (ii) data collection, (iii) data processing, and (iv) data interpretation. A total of 433 publications on critical metals were collected from Scopus database between 1977 and 2023, with an increasing yearly trend and a burst in 2013. The data retrieved showed a significant increase in publications related to the topic in the last 10 years. The results show that research interest is concentrated around six critical areas: (i) bioleaching as an important process of critical metal recovery, (ii) circular economy concepts and recovery of critical metals by urban mining from e-waste, (iii) resource recovery from waste landfills as urban mines, (iv) targeted studies on various critical elements (copper, zinc, gallium, silver, lithium), (v) rare elements as industry vitamins and, (vi) coal deposits and coal ashes as an alternative source of critical metals. This analysis could provide important guidance for further directions on the development of research for recovery of critical metals. Full article
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