News

SOLVOMET/SIM² researchers have enhanced the separation of neodymium and dysprosium by replacing the aqueous phase in their solvent extraction process largely by a green solvent. The work was published in ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng.

“The curse of ‘white oil’: electric vehicles’ dirty secret” is the attention-grabbing headline of an in-depth article on lithium mining published in The Guardian (Dec’ 8, 2020). Peter Tom Jones (SIM², KU Leuven) reacts in this piece.

SIM²/SOLVOMET researcher Panagiotis Xanthopoulos (ETN SULTAN) has been awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2020 International AMD online conference “Mine-impacted Water: From Waste to Resource” (SAIMM).

SOLVOMET/SIM² KU Leuven researchers have developed a process, using EDTA as lixiviant, to selectively leach lead from matte and slag residues originating from lead smelter plants. The work was published in RSC Advances.

SIM² KU Leuven researchers have developed a process to deposit and strip magnesium metal from molten mixtures of solvate ionic liquids (SILs) and tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBACl) at 80 °C for use in rechargeable Mg batteries.

A joint team of SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET & ArcelorMittal researchers have just published a critical review paper on the hydrometallurgical recovery of metals from steel industry by-products in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.

SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET researchers have unravelled the effect of dissolved chloride salts on the structure of water and on the complex formation of metal ions with chlorides. The work was published in the journal Inorganic Chemistry.

SOLVOMET/SIM² KU Leuven researchers developed a novel solvometallurgical approach to extract indium from an ethylene glycol feed solution by the ionic liquid Cyphos IL 101. This work was published in the journal RSC Advances.

Prof. Koen Binnemans (SOLVOMET) has obtained ERC funding for developing a novel (solvometallurgical) concept for battery-grade refining of lithium. Binnemans’ SOLVOLi project is one of 55 newly awarded ERC Proof of Concept Grants.

SOLVOMET/SIM² KU Leuven researchers developed a novel solvometallurgical approach to recover cobalt from Li-ion battery cathode materials. This work was supported by EU H2020 CROCODILE and published in the journal Green Chemistry.