Rayco Lommelen started his PhD in the SOLVOMET Group at KU Leuven in September 2018. He is working on the development of a better model to describe and predict solvent extractions and metal separations using basic extractants.
SIM² KU Leuven researchers developed a new method to recover valuable rare earth elements from waste CRT phosphor powder, using selective sulfation roasting and water leaching. This work was published in Hydrometallurgy.
KU Leuven researchers developed new leaching solutions to dissolve metals, based on non-volatile ionic liquids (ILs). This work on dissolving gold without gas formation was published in Green Chemistry.
Brecht Dewulf started his PhD in the Lab of Inorganic Chemistry supervised by Prof. Koen Binnemans. He is interested in non-aqueous solvent extraction for the separation of rare earths.
Prof. Koen Binnemans was given the LeCoq de Boisbaudran award for his “outstanding and long-lasting contribution” in the field of rare earth recycling. The prize was awarded at ICfE-10 (Sep’ 3–6, 2018) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
SIM² KU Leuven researchers have developed a novel approach to separate samarium from cobalt originating from SmCo magnets. Their newly published paper introduces very simple and cheap-to-maintain solvent extraction processes.
Liubov Lukina is a PhD student at the Department of Materials Engineering at KU Leuven. She is working on the magnetic separation of rare-earth ions. She has a MSc degree from Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland).
Together with Umicore SIM² KU Leuven researchers have developed a new process to purify crude indium(III) hydroxide, In(OH)3, using a combined leaching/extraction system exploiting the properties of the ionic liquid [Hbet][Tf2N].
The colleagues from TU Darmstadt and Fraunhofer IWKS in Germany present material-to-material (direct) recycling approaches for NdFeB magnet alloys. The paper is published in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.
In the context of the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA-ETN REDMUD project, KU Leuven researchers have published a new method to extract rare earths (REEs) from bauxite residue (red mud) by dry digestion followed by water leaching.
KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals – Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 – Leuven 3001, Belgium
SIM² KU Leuven is the new KU Leuven Institute on Sustainable Metals and Minerals, one of the 4 flagship KU Leuven Institutes. SIM² mission is to develop, organise and implement problem-driven, science-deep research and future-oriented education, contributing to the environmentally friendly production and recycling of metals, minerals and engineered materials, supporting the transition to a climate-friendly, circular-economy.