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Sustainability
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Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes
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Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 3550

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Bengi Yagmurlu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mineral and Waste Processing, Recycling and Circular Economy Systems, TU Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
Interests: hydrometallurgy; waste valorization; metal recovery; recycling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The demand for metallic materials is high in all aspects of life, which raises the need for the extensive recovery of metals from secondary sources. A greener future is impossible without creating a circular economy for metals, with the development of sustainable metal recovery processes being one of its most crucial steps. This Special Issue, “Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes”, is, therefore, dedicated to the discovery of the latest achievements in secondary resource utilization and metal recovery.

In this Special Issue, the target is to collect a range of innovative studies contributing to different aspects of the circular economy in the fields of metal recovery and recycling. All contributions related to the development and optimization of recycling processes, from primary to secondary resources, are welcomed. Studies concerning the valorization and processing of stockpiled tailings and wastes containing recoverable metals, the urban mining of end-of-life products such as rare earth magnets, batteries, circuit boards, etc., or the reuse of advanced alloys or composites are highly desired.

This Special Issue aims to address the latest research on the metal recovery field. Therefore, all aspects of recycling processes; hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy and mineral processing; can be the main focus of submitted articles, with not only process design or optimization contributions being appreciated, but also ones in relation to the life cycle assessment of existing and/or developed recycling processes.

Dr. Bengi Yagmurlu
Guest Editor

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

  • recycling
  • circular economy
  • metal recovery
  • waste valorization
  • hydrometallurgy
  • pyrometallurgy
  • end-of-life
  • secondary resources
  • separation
  • purification
  • process development
  • process optimization

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2047 KiB  
Article
Leaching Study of Guinean Bauxite Tailings in aqueous HCl Solution for the Extraction of Aluminum
by Maria Bagani, Dimitrios Kotsanis, Michalis Vafeias, Anastasia Pilichou, Efthymios Balomenos and Dimitrios Panias
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16232; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316232 - 23 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1160
Abstract
Primary aluminum production is dependent on the Bayer process for Al2O3 refining and the Hall–Héroult process for Al production. Both these processes face serious sustainability challenges, while the overall Al supply chain is inflexible and prone to disruptions. One solution [...] Read more.
Primary aluminum production is dependent on the Bayer process for Al2O3 refining and the Hall–Héroult process for Al production. Both these processes face serious sustainability challenges, while the overall Al supply chain is inflexible and prone to disruptions. One solution to the aforementioned challenges is the adoption of alternative Al2O3 production processes from a variety of primary and secondary raw materials. This research paper explores the potential use of bauxite tailings as an alternative secondary resource for alumina production, with an aqueous HCl process technology. Bauxite tailings are solid waste produced during the mining and beneficiation of certain bauxites before their digestion in the Bayer process. The research was conducted in two stages. Initially, 24 h trials using aqueous 5.9 M HCl solution and a 5:100 g/mL solid-to-liquid (S/L) ratio revealed complete dissolution of Al and near-complete dissolution of Fe. In the second stage, investigations involving higher S/L ratios under the same conditions confirmed that an S/L ratio of 20:100 g/mL represented the optimal parameters for bauxite tailings leaching, producing a 36.8 g/L Al and 25.2 g/L Fe concentration solutions. The PLS produced under the optimum conditions is suitable for downstream processing for the production of AlCl3·6H2O. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes)
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15 pages, 9353 KiB  
Article
Removal of Base Metals from Mine Tailings in Chloride- and Seawater-Based Media Followed by Solvent Extraction
by Tamara Azevedo Schueler, Paula Fernandes de Aguiar, Bengi Yagmurlu and Daniel Goldmann
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15515; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115515 - 01 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 549
Abstract
The high volume of mine tailings generated during mining activities poses significant worldwide storage risks. However, these tailings often contain valuable metals that can be recovered. Therefore, reprocessing mine tailings has emerged as a crucial strategy to assess secondary metals resources and mitigate [...] Read more.
The high volume of mine tailings generated during mining activities poses significant worldwide storage risks. However, these tailings often contain valuable metals that can be recovered. Therefore, reprocessing mine tailings has emerged as a crucial strategy to assess secondary metals resources and mitigate storage risks. Furthermore, the mining industry’s extensive use of freshwater necessitates exploring alternative water sources. In this study, the leaching of base metals from mine tailings in chloride-based media was investigated. Approximately 52% Cu, 73% Zn, and 100% Pb were leached from the sample in the presence of HCl and NaCl. The substitution of freshwater with seawater yielded comparable results, demonstrating the potential of seawater as an alternative freshwater source that does not compromise leaching effectiveness. Additionally, 77% of Pb precipitated as PbSO4 from the pregnant leach solution. Through solvent extraction, approximately 100% Cu was recovered using LIX 984 as an extractant, and 71% Zn with D2EHPA. The use of Fe0 significantly reduced the co-extraction of Fe in the Zn recovery step. Overall, this study provides a potential route for reprocessing mine tailings, ensuring maximum leaching and efficient recovery of metals from sulfide mine tailings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes)
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13 pages, 4651 KiB  
Article
Control of Silica Gel Formation in the Acidic Leaching of Calcium Aluminate Slags with Aqueous HCl for Al Extraction
by Georgia Maria Tsaousi, Aikaterini Toli, Amalia Bempelou, Dimitrios Kotsanis, Michail Vafeias, Efthymios Balomenos and Dimitrios Panias
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15462; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115462 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
The present research article investigates the extraction of aluminum (Al) from an engineered CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 slag by leaching with aqueous HCl under atmospheric pressure conditions. The slag is the by-product of an aluminothermic reduction process to produce metallurgical-grade silicon [...] Read more.
The present research article investigates the extraction of aluminum (Al) from an engineered CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 slag by leaching with aqueous HCl under atmospheric pressure conditions. The slag is the by-product of an aluminothermic reduction process to produce metallurgical-grade silicon (Si) in a more sustainable way compared to conventional carbothermic reduction. One major challenge in the acidic leaching of aluminosilicate materials, like the slag treated in this study, is the possibility of SiO2 gel formation during the leaching process. Extensive SiO2 gel formation can make the separation of pregnant leach solution (PLS) from the leached residue impossible. Consequently, any acid leaching of aluminosilicate materials must be optimized for avoidance of these gelation phenomena. The present study first explores the leaching behavior of the calcium aluminosilicate slag in relation to the S/L ratio, with all other hydrometallurgical factors remaining stable (20.2% wt. HCl solution, 80 °C, optimized stirring rate), to determine at which value of this parameter SiO2 gelation occurs. After determining the optimum S/L ratio for this system, an analysis of the behavior of Si in the PLS is presented, and the mechanism of SiO2 gelation is explained based on critical assessment of these results against data provided from the scientific literature. It was found that the value of the pH of the PLS and the concentration of dissolved CaCl2 and AlCl3 are critical factors for the formation of filterable amorphous SiO2. Under the optimum leaching conditions, PLS containing 37 g/L Al was obtained with concurrent avoidance of gelation phenomena. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Optimization of Sustainable Metal Recovery Processes)
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