• Resources Recycling
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2018

To enhance the recycling rate of used metal resources, it is strongly desired to develop a metal sorting system that can automatically identify metal type from mixed metal scraps and sort them separately. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) is a technique that enables real time classification of different metals based on multi-elemental and in-air analysis. In this work, we report the results of LIBS elemental analysis of field scrap samples acquired from a recycling company. By applying multivariate analysis, it was found that the LIBS signals of five different metals could be perfectly classified if surface contamination was removed. The classification accuracy degraded for LIBS signals including contaminant emission, which however could be overcome by performing the multivariate analysis using properly selected emission lines of higher correlation only. The significant improvement in classification accuracy and process speed by the selection of proper emission lines demonstrated the feasibility of LIBS technique as an industrial tool for metal scrap sorting.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.56-65
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• 2022

Copper is one of the non-ferrous metals used in the electrical/electronic manufacturing industries due to its superior properties particularly the high conductivity and less resistivity. The effluent generated from the surface finishing process of these industries contains higher copper content which gets discharged in to water bodies directly or indirectly. This causes severe environmental pollution and also results in loss of an important valuable metal. To overcome this issue, continuous R & D activities are going on across the globe in adsorption area with the purpose of finding an efficient, low cost and ecofriendly adsorbent. In view of the above, present investigation was made to compare the performance of a plant root (Datura root powder) as a bio-adsorbent to that of the synthetic one (Tulsion T-42) for copper adsorption from such effluent. Experiments were carried out in batch studies to optimize parameters such as adsorbent dose, contact time, pH, feed concentration, etc. Results of the batch experiments indicate that 0.2 g of Datura root powder and 0.1 g of Tulsion T-42 showed 95% copper adsorption from an initial feed/solution of 100 ppm Cu at pH 4 in contact time of 15 and 30 min, respectively. Adsorption data for both the adsorbents were fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm. Experimental results were also validated with the kinetic model, which showed that the adsorption of copper followed pseudo-second order rate expression for the both adsorbents. Overall result demonstrates that the bio-adsorbent tested has a potential applicability for metal recovery from the waste solutions/effluents of metal finishing units. In view of the requirements of commercial viability and minimal environmental damage there from, Datura root powder being an effective material for metal uptake, may prove to be a feasible adsorbent for copper recovery after the necessary scale-up studies.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.342-351
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• 2021

Because of its unique properties, tungsten is a strategic and rare metal used in various industrial applications. However, the world's annual production of tungsten is only 84000 t. Ammonium paratungstate (APT), which is used as the main intermediate in industrial tungsten production, is usually obtained from tungsten concentrates of wolframite and scheelite by hydrometallurgical treatment. Intermediates such as tungsten trioxide, tungsten blue oxide, tungstic acid, and ammonium metatungstate can be derived from APT by thermal decomposition or chemical attack. Tungsten metal powder is produced through the hydrogen reduction of high-purity tungsten oxides, and tungsten carbide powder is produced by the reaction of tungsten powder and carbon black powder at 1300-1700℃ in a hydrogen atmosphere. Tungsten scrap can be divided into hard and soft scrap based on shape (bulk or powder). It can also be divided into new scrap generated during the production of tungsten-bearing goods and old scrap collected at the end of life. Recycling technologies for tungsten can be divided into four main groups: direct, chemical, and semi-direct recycling, and melting metallurgy. In this review, the current status of tungsten smelting and recycling technologies is discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.95-96
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• 2006

Stainless steel sludge is generated as a waste in the grinding process, and the possibility of recycling stainless steel is considered here. In this study, we considered the possibility of using the stainless steel sludge as metal powder for MIM or raw material for metal foam. For the MIM process, the metal powder will need some improvement, and flotation and spheroidizing processes of the sludge are necessary. For fabrication of the metal foam, untreated sludge can be used, and steel foam about 90% porosity is produced.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.48-54
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• 2009

Resent research on heavy metal biosorption has been focused on its mechanisms and principles. For effective metal removal/recoverythe process design has to be optimized for every type of application. That is most efficiently carried out based on computer simulations by means of mathematical models of the process. Therefore, the study on sorption equilibrium isotherm is important and the methodology wassummarized here involving both one metal and multi-metal systems.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.3-15
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• 2022

Lithium is the lightest metal and the first metal in the periodic table. Lithium is used in a variety of applications, including the production of organolithium compounds, as an alloying addition to aluminum and magnesium, and as the anode in rechargeable lithium ion batteries especially for electronic devices and electric vehicles. Therefore, lithium is indispensable metal in our daily lives. The use of lithium continues to rise and has increased from about 14,000 tonnes per year worldwide in the 2000 to about 82,200 tonnes in the 2000. However, lithium is a representative rare metal and ranks 32nd among the abundant elements in the earth's crust. This study reviews the current status of the lithium extraction processes as well as the trend in production amount and use. Lithium is extracted by a various methods depending on the type of resources. These extraction methods are essential for the development of new recycling processes that can extract lithium from secondary lithium resources.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2018

The rapid increase in the consumption of products that contain rare metals has highlighted the importance of recycling and recovering resources from these products when they enter the waste stream. Among various metal resources that can be recovered, this study analyzes the waste streams of cobalt and palladium to determine how their waste resource circulation can be improved at each stage of the waste stream. The findings of this study point to improvements and strategies that can be made at individual stages. First, at the discharge/import stage, the implementation of tariff quotas for specific recycled metal resources is suggested to allow the systemic categorization of waste metals as resources. At the collection/discarding stage, a major problem is the instability in the supply of scrap metals, which may be better managed by changing the bidding process for the scrap metals. At the pretreatment stage, possible areas for improvement are uncovered concerning technical areas, such as technological development and improving the efficiency of material recycling, as well as policy-wise, for instance, expanding the regulation for manufacturers to produce products that are designed to facilitate resource recovery, increasing incentive for closed recycling, and refining the guidelines and standards for recycling. At the resource recovery stage, as the waste metal recycling industry consists of businesses that vary in size, policies to promote cooperation and coexistence between large and smaller enterprises will benefit the industry in the long-run. Lastly, at the product production/export stage, a tariff on exporting waste resources that contain cobalt and palladium will help control the amount of waste metals that are shipped abroad.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2024

The rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market has led to increased demand for battery recycling technologies. The recycling of spent batteries is crucial to stabilize the supply of rare metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are essential components for the battery industry. In addition, the technology for recycling spent batteries can help to reduce environmental and health impacts. This review presents the theoretical principles behind the metal recovery technology and the processes that are currently commercially available. It also describes trends in research and technological developments that aim to improve existing processes, and provides an overview of where recycling technology is headed.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.55-63
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• 2009

This study was performed to evaluate the heavy metal contents in various packaging board. Domestic and foreign OCC (old corrugated containers) and old duplex boards were used as raw materials. Tests were made for the printed and unprinted parts of the sample. Heavy metal contents of old food packaging boards made from virgin pulp fibers were also evaluated. The contents of heavy metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and mercury (Hg) were determined using ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer), and CV-AAS (Cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrometer) after digesting the samples in a microwave oven. The contents of heavy metals contained in domestic packaging board were higher than those in overseas samples, and OCC showed higher contents of heavy metals than old duplex boards. Printed parts gave greater heavy metal contents than unprinted parts. Results indicate that recycling of paper and paperboard products increases the heavy metal contamination of the paper packaging products and this derives mostly from the heavy metals contained in printing inks. Recycling processes that decrease heavy metals in recycled fibers and new printing inks that contains less heavy metals should be developed to solve the problem associated with the heavy metals in packaging paper products.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2023

The objective of this article is to summarize the commercial lithium ion battery (LIB) recycling processes in Korea and to suggest new direction for LIB recycling. A representative LIB recycler, SungEel Hitech Co. has successfully operated the LIB recycling process for over 10 years, and new recycling processes were recently proposed or developed by many recycling companies and battery manufacturers. In the new recycling processes, lithium is recovered before nickel and cobalt due to the rapid rise in lithium prices, and metal sulfate solution as final product of recycling process can be supplied to manufacturers. The main problem that the new recycling process will face is impurities, which will mainly come from end-of-life electric vehicles or new additives in LIB, although the conventional processes must be improved for mass processing.