SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET researchers have developed an ammoniacal solvoleaching process to extract copper from high-grade chrysocolla copper silicate ores. The work was published 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.

SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET researchers have developed a green process to extract gold from anode slimes, using the biobased diethyl carbonate (DEC) as extractant. The work was published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

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.

SIM² KU Leuven researchers, together with colleagues from Ghent and Cranfield University, reconstructed the exploitation of antimony 4,000 years back, by developing a new approach to sourcing ancient mines using Sb isotope ratios.

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.

SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET researchers studied how a variation of the halide extraction medium affects the separation of precious and base metals using an undiluted ionic liquid. The work was published in ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

Together with colleagues from the Universities of Bath and Leeds, SIM² KU Leuven researchers have published a critical review paper on alkali-activation of clay minerals in the journal Cement and Concrete Research.

SIM² KU Leuven researchers have developed a new solvometallurgical extraction process to produce copper from sulphidic copper ore minerals (e.g. chalcopyrite), allowing to reduce the eco-footprint of primary copper production.

SIM² KU Leuven member Prof. Erik Smolders contributed to a milestone paper in The Lancet Planetary Health. A team of Belgian and Congolese researchers studied the effects of mining-related pollution on newborns in Katanga, DRC.

SIM² KU Leuven – SOLVOMET researchers have developed a novel solvent extraction system to remove magnesium from lithium-rich solutions, allowing a major reduction of the eco-footprint of lithium recovery from brines.

Researchers from the SREMat Group (SIM² KU Leuven) have published a critical review paper on the potential transformation of bauxite residue (“red mud”) into valuable building materials, trying to “put things in perspective”.

Researchers from the ChEMaRTS Research Group (KU Leuven Campus Group T) have developed a method for the extraction of phosphorus from wastewater treatment sludge ash. The work was published in Science of the Total Environment.

Within the SOLCRIMET project (ERC Advanced Grant), SOLVOMET researchers have developed a solvometallurgical process for the separation of yttrium and europium, showing increased efficiency over conventional hydrometallurgical separation routes. The work has been published in Separation and Purification Technology.

CaO-FeOx-SiO2 slags can be used as raw material for alkali-activated materials, i.e. a green alternative to Portland cement. In Cement and Concrete Research, KU Leuven & Princeton University researchers reveal new insights into the reaction mechanisms.

Within the SOLCRIMET project (ERC Advanced Grant), Zheng Li et al. discovered that selection of suitable polar solvents can enhance metal separations in liquid-liquid extraction. The work has been published in Chem. Eur. J.

Within the SMART project, Nerea Rodriguez et al. have shown that Deep Eutectic Solvents based on carboxylic acids and choline chloride are not stable in time nor at high temperatures. The work was published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.