News & Press Releases of the year 2018
Freiberg researchers at new raw materials conference in Cape Town
In summertime Cape Town, South Africa, Freiberg scientists from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) and the TU Bergakademie presented current research results on the processing, extraction and recycling of strategic resources.
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Student awards for research on recycling lithium ion batteries and gold recovery from primary ore
Both Anna Vanderbruggen and Rosie Blannin won the “Prix AILg TFE” for their master theses accomplished at HIF and TU Bergakademie Freiberg in the course of the EMerald master program in resources engineering. The prize is awarded by the “Association des Ingénieurs diplômés de l’Université de Liège”. The graduates will now continue their research as PhD students: Anna Vanderbruggen just joined the HIF Processing Department and Rosie Blannin will be part of the Department of Analytics.
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Start made on construction of new metallurgy pilot plant at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
In a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday 17th October, the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) marked the start of construction work on a new technical facility. The institute, which is part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and works in close collaboration with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, is thus further expanding its research into the sustainable extraction and recycling of strategic resources. The Free State of Saxony is funding the project with a grant of 10.2 million euros.
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‘Bio-fishing’ for rare earths: How protein fragments can be used for the recycling of electronics waste
Without important key elements such as copper or rare earth metals, the electronics industry would grind to a halt and electricity would cease to flow. End-of-life products like discarded energy-saving lamps, mobile phones and computers could provide an important secondary source for these valuable elements; however, they are difficult to recover. Unless, that is, small protein fragments are used to ‘fish’ them out – a technique described by researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg in an article published in the specialist magazine Research in Microbiology.
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Ground-breaking ceremony: New metallurgy pilot plant at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) – part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and in close cooperation with TU Bergakademie Freiberg – is about to commence construction work on a new pilot plant for metallurgical processes. The purpose is to significantly expand application-oriented research into the extraction and recycling of strategic raw materials. Saxony’s State Ministry for Higher Education, Research and the Arts is funding the project with a grant of 10.2 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.
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National raw materials network GERRI becomes association
With the founding of an association, the German Resource Research Institute is taking the next step to further promote the bundling of raw material expertise from science and industry for the German economy.
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INFACT’s first trials of innovative, non-invasive mineral exploration technologies are imminent
The EU-funded INFACT project, which is coordinated by Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, aims at combining the development and test of innovative, non-invasive minerals exploration technologies with an assessment of their social acceptance. For this purpose, three European reference sites will be established in Germany, Finland and Spain. Stakeholder consultations took place at all sites in June and early July to pave the way for first technology trials which are about to start in August.
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Raw Materials Deposits in the Erzgebirge: Researchers aim to extract metals from local complex ores
Freiberg is at the centre of efforts of European raw-materials experts who aim to show that important metals can be extracted commercially from complex, composite ores that previously could not be exploited economically. The consortia of the German national project AFK, coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, and the European funded project FAME, managed by Wardell Armstrong International UK (WAI) and Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg (GKZ), have joint forces to invigorate complex ore processing by using modern rock analysis methods and computer simulations. The newly designed process is now to be tested in a pilot plant trial in Freiberg with 150 tonnes of ores from the Hämmerlein-Tellerhäuser deposit in the Erzgebirge.
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Von echten und virtuellen Bodenschätzen
Nachricht vom 8.6.2018: Am morgigen Samstag, dem 9. Juni, von 10 bis 16.30 Uhr geben die Rohstoff-Experten aus dem HIF Einblick in ihre Forschung beim Tag des offenen Labors am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Um den Besuchern aktuelle Herausforderungen bei der Gewinnung und dem Recycling von Metallen zu zeigen und moderne Lösungen dafür aus der Wissenschaft vorzustellen, haben sich die Forscher jede Menge Spiele und Experimente einfallen lassen, aber auch Vorträge und Führungen vorbereitet. Das Programm vermittelt auch die Spannbreite der Arbeitswelten zwischen dem klassischen Experimentieren im Labor und dem zunehmenden Einsatz von Computersimulationen und Rohstoffanalysen.
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Wie Kinder Rohstoffe sehen
Nachricht vom 30.5.2018: Für einen Projekttag zum Thema Rohstoffe haben rund 40 Vorschulkinder der Kitas Campuszwerge und Hornmühlenweg heute (30. Mai 2018) das HIF besucht.
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Batterie-Recycling bei Elektroautos in der Praxis – Vortrag am 10.04. in Freiberg
HZDR-Medieninformation vom 06.04.2018: Elektrisch angetriebene Fahrzeuge sollen die Gesellschaft klimafreundlicher und nachhaltiger machen. Aber dafür müssen sie sich auch gut recyceln lassen. Der nächste „HIF Resource Talk“ am Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF) gibt Einblicke in den Stand von Technik und Entwicklung beim Technologie- und Recyclingkonzern Umicore.
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Masters of the rocks: Professional networking for mineral sample preparators in Freiberg
Analysis technology has become so sophisticated that it now affords astonishingly accurate insights into the structure of rocks and minerals. But it is not only rock in its natural state that comes in for analysis but also specially prepared samples. There is a dedicated laboratory for this at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. From 13th to 14th March, mineral sample preparators from universities and research institutes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be gathering together here.
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Neue Werkstoffe für die Solarindustrie – Vortrag am 13.03.2018 in Freiberg
HZDR-Medieninformation vom 07.03.2018: Soll die Energiewende in Deutschland gelingen, müssen noch viele Solaranlagen den Betrieb aufnehmen. Für deren Herstellung werden Indium, Gallium und Silizium benötigt. Die Versorgung mit diesen Rohstoffen betrachtet die EU jedoch als kritisch. Welche Fortschritte die Forschung gemacht hat, um alternative Materialien zu entwickeln, ist das Thema beim nächsten „HIF Resource Talk“ am Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF).
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Rohstoffe im Labor und in der Schule
Für viele Schülerinnen und Schüler sind Laptops und Smartphones mittlerweile selbstverständlich – nicht nur in der Freizeit, sondern zunehmend auch im Unterricht. Welche Rohstoffe in den Objekten stecken, ist den meisten jedoch unbekannt, obwohl diese moderne Kommunikation überhaupt erst durch eine Vielzahl verschiedenster Metalle möglich wird. Um Lehrern die Thematik des nachhaltigen Ressourcenverbrauchs näherzubringen, widmet das Schülerlabor DeltaX am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) seine diesjährige Fortbildung der Rohstoffforschung. Dafür laden die Organisatoren am 16. Februar Lehrer aus ganz Sachsen ans Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF) ein, das zum HZDR gehört.
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Batterien für Elektroautos: Wie gut sind sie recycelbar? – Vortrag am 13.2.2018
HZDR-Medieninformation vom 12.02.2018: Gerade wird die Verfügbarkeit der Rohstoffe Lithium und Kobalt, die in den Batterien von Elektrofahrzeugen zum Einsatz kommen, viel diskutiert. Welche Rolle Recycling spielen kann, um die steigende Nachfrage zu decken, ist das Thema beim „HIF Resource Talk“ am 13.02.2018 im Helmholtz-Institut Freiberg für Ressourcentechnologie (HIF) des HZDR.
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Erzlabor: A spin-off for raw materials characterization
HZDR Press Release (Feb. 07, 2018): Profound understanding of raw materials’ characteristics is essential for process and resource efficiency in the mining as well as in the recycling sector. Materials characterization has become a powerful tool for the acquisition of quantitative data and is already applied along the entire raw materials value chain, from the exploration of new deposits to their rehabilitation. The newly established company ERZLABOR Advanced Solutions GmbH provides analytical services for the primary as well as secondary resource industry. The team of scientists and engineers from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) – part of HZDR – make state-of-the-art infrastructure and analytical competence available for the industry.
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Back to the factory instead of in the garbage
Developments in waste management are supposed to head towards a circular economy: in accordance with this ideal, all the material used in manufacturing a product should be recyclable at the end of their lifespan. But a lot still has to happen before we get that far. As studies have shown, when it comes to electronic waste, modular construction and smart sorting would help to recycle valuable metals.
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A foam bath for ores
In nature, raw materials do seldom occur in a pure form. The valuable particles in the ores first have to be painstakingly separated from other materials and enriched. The leading method for doing this is flotation. HZDR scientists examine its underlying mechanisms and microprocesses with the aim of optimizing industrial processes and improving the extraction efficiency in raw materials processing.
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Germany’s hidden treasures
The Energiewende is systemically changing our use of raw materials. While the need for coal, oil and gas is decreasing in the long term, the demand for metals and construction materials for energy-efficient wind and solar plants, battery and hydrogen storage or other systems is growing. Germany is not yet fully exploiting its potential in this field.
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https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pOid=66012