Descripción del proyecto
Disolventes inocuos para el medio ambiente mejoran la sostenibilidad de la recuperación de minerales y metales
La minería y la metalurgia son esenciales para obtener materias primas para productos que van desde los teléfonos móviles y los portátiles hasta la energía fotovoltaica y los vehículos eléctricos. La demanda de minerales y metales aumentará considerablemente a lo largo de los próximos decenios para respaldar la transición a escala mundial hacia alternativas a los combustibles fósiles. La minería es, en general, un sector de gran consumo de energía que hoy día depende principalmente de los combustibles fósiles para alimentarla. Una forma de reducir las emisiones que inciden en el cambio climático relacionadas con la minería es reducir sus necesidades energéticas. En el proyecto ELECTROION, que cuenta con el apoyo de las Acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, se están investigando nuevos disolventes que podrían ayudar a recuperar minerales valiosos de formas más sostenibles.
Objetivo
Current process methodologies for mineral and metal processing depend on a significant amount of energy, which is mostly produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. The mass flow and energy efficiencies of these processes are poor, leading to a large volume of solid, liquid and gas waste residues. Although, transition to low-carbon technologies is essential to combat climate change, this will also lead to an increasing demand for strategic minerals/metals. Consequently, if we continue using conventional technologies, high operational cost and rise in CO2 emissions can be expected. In this context, ionometallurgy may provide more efficient and selective processing opportunities, as it makes use of ionic solvents to process metals. ELECTROION will use the so called deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which are mixtures of salts such as choline chloride with hydrogen-bond donors such as urea. These are environmentally benign and the components are already produced in large quantities at low cost. Previous studies have already demonstrated the capability of DES to dissolve metals from a variety of raw materials. Due to their high ionic strength, they also allow the recovery of metals from the solution by electrochemical methods. Hence, the integration of mineral dissolution and metal recovery in ionic solvents can significantly improve space-time yields. Yet, the properties of DESs may be compromised over time, which may inhibit their reuse/recyclability. Also, the effect of oxidising agents on the electrochemical stability of the ionic solvents have not been studied yet. Techno-economic analysis shows that the use of DESs is very reliant on efficient recovery of the liquid. The project will focus on efficient digestion and recovery of all of the economically important streams in the process with the aim of creating a closed loop for the winning and recycling of elements. This new knowledge is vital for the whole closed loop manufacturing chain.
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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
LE1 7RH Leicester
Reino Unido