Plenary speakers
Susan A. Bernal Lopez
School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Prof. Susan A. Bernal Lopez, holds the Chair in Structural Materials & a prestigious EPSRC Early Career Fellowship in multi-scale engineering of sustainable concretes at the University of Leeds, UK. She was awarded the 2016 RILEM Gustavo Colonnetti Medal and 2020 IOM3 Rosenhain Medal in recognition to her distinguished contributions to cementitious materials science and engineering. Susan and her team’s research centres on development of solutions for decarbonise future infrastructure including waste valorisation for developing new low carbon cementitious materials; understanding interaction between concrete materials and the environment; development of infrastructure for wellbeing and others. She is the Materials and Structures Group Directors at the School of Civil Engineering at University of Leeds, and Deputy Chair of the largest international RILEM Technical Committee – RILEM TC 281-CCC on carbonation of concretes with supplementary cementitious materials. She holds one patent related to alkali-activation technology, has co-authored nine book chapters, published 120 refereed international journal papers with a Scopus h-index of 44, and 105 conference presentations in the field of alternative cements, wastes valorisation for production of construction materials, and hazardous and nuclear waste cementation.
Correlating blast furnace slag features with the performance of low carbon slag-based cements
The majority of modern Portland blended concretes are produced with blast furnace slags, whose efficiency as cement replacement is strongly dependent of physical, chemical and mineralogical features of the slags. These factors are dependent on the slag source, thermal history, mechanical processing, among others features. Quality coefficients solely considering chemical composition, have been used for several decades as a means to determine the potential reactivity/quality of slags, and consequently properties of the blended cements produced with them. However, conventional quality coefficient do not capture the relevant slags properties to determine whether they will be suitable precursors for producing low carbon non-Portland cements. For example, a given alkali-activated slag cement can present a completely different phase assemblage and performance depending on the activator used, or curing conditions adopted. In this presentation it will be discussed the potential correlations between blast furnace slag features and its reactivity when used as main precursors for producing non-Portland cements, particularly in the context of alkali-activated or supersulphated cements.
Vojtech Ettler
Head of IGMMR, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague
Vojtech ETTLER is a professor of Applied Geology at Charles University in Prague (Czech University). He obtained his BSc and MSc in Environmental Geology from the Charles University (Czech Republic) and his PhD in Environmental Mineralogy and Geochemistry from the University of Orléans (France). In his research he focuses on mineralogy, geochemistry and environmental behaviour of mining and smelting wastes (slags, flue dusts), soil pollution, contaminant mobility in the environmental systems and geochemical modelling. He has been involved in many research projects in active and abandoned mining/smelting districts (Europe, Africa, South America). He also serves as the Associate Editor of Applied Geochemistry.
ORCID: 0000-0002-0151-0024
Researcher ID: B-3014-2013
The leaching behavior of smelting slags: from contaminants to critical metals
Laboratory leaching tests are used to simulate the leaching behaviour of smelting slags under variable environmental conditions. The combination of various leaching tests with the speciation-solubility modelling and detailed mineralogical investigation of the primary slag phases as well as the secondary products formed during the leaching are useful tools for depicting (i) the geochemical processes affecting the releases of metal(loid)s into the environment and (ii) the extractability of valuable metals during the hydro-metallurgical processes. This paper will demonstrate the typical leaching scenarios relevant for the release of metal(loid) contaminants from slags, the experimental protocols and the results obtained by single-step leaching tests, kinetic batch leaching tests, pH dependence leaching tests and column (percolation) tests. The application of specific leaching tests mimicking the slag particles exposure in soil systems and contaminant bio-accessibility after incidental inhalation/ingestion of slag dusts will also be shown. In view of resource recovery from smelting slags, examples of extraction/leaching of the key critical metals (V, Ga, Ge,…) will be demonstrated.
Florian Flachenecker
Joint Research Centre, Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growth, European Commission
Florian FLACHENECKER is an Economist at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. He works at the intersection between research and policy, in particular on environmental innovations and firm growth, the alignment between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Semester, and China. Florian is also an Honorary Lecturer at University College London (UCL).
Previously, Florian was an Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), working on environmental data and policy. Florian was a Visiting Fellow at the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC) of the European Commission, authoring a competitiveness strategy for the EU. Moreover, he worked as a Consultant at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on firm-level resource efficiency investment projects, and he worked on EU policy issues at the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
Florian obtained a PhD in Economics from UCL for empirically investigating the effects of resource efficiency on competitiveness and climate change mitigation in the EU. Florian also holds a MA in Economics from the College of Europe, and a BSc in Economics from the University of Mannheim.
Innovations and the Circular Economy – Economics, Policies and the European Union
Caisa Samuelsson
Professor and Chair of Process metallurgy, Division of Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
Education and Degrees:
Docent in Process metallurgy at Luleå University of Technology (LTU), 2009.
Ph.D. degree in the subject area of Process metallurgy, LTU, 1999.
M.Sc. in Geotechnology, 1992, LTU
Professional experience:
Chaired Professor in Process metallurgy LTU
Professor in Process metallurgy LTU
Associate professor LTU
Lecturer at Division of Process metallurgy, LTU
Researcher at Division of Process metallurgy, LTU
Research Assistant at Division of Process metallurgy, LTU
Research activities:
Involved in a number of projects related to recycling and utilization of by-products in metallurgical processes in collaboration with industrial and academic partners, a.o within the Centre of excellence “Minerals and Metals Recycling Research Centre” -MiMeR and “Center for Advanced Mining and Metallurgy”- CAMM2.
Academic achievements:
Supervisor for 9 PhD degrees. Currently supervisor of 6 PhD students. Author of 70 papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings. Supervision of several master theses. Teaching in under graduate courses.
Slag valorisation – The mineralogical approach
Slag is a heterogeneous oxide material originating from high temperature processes.The composition and content of phases in slag shows a broad spectrum depending on a.o raw material, process conditions and slag treatment. The slag is in the metallurgical process used to separate undesired elements contained in the raw materials yielding the desired product, a metal or alloy. In its post process, slag has potential for utilization in external applications, e.g construction, provided technical and environmental performance is controlled. Modification of slag properties may be made in process or in post process treatment, however this has to be done without jeopardizing the quality of the main product of the process. To fully control and design high quality products based on slag, fundamental understanding of properties and reaction mechanisms in the different stages; from smelting process to cooling, post treatment and interaction with surrounding environment in application areas is essential. Based on a solid understanding of how the mineralogical composition influences properties, a suitable slag composition can be delineated in order to improve the use in a certain application. Examples of how environmental properties,leaching, can be understood and controlled by determination of minerals and entrained phases in slag matrix, their ability to contain metals of concern, e.g Cr, and dissolution of minerals and phases under different environmental conditions will be presented.
Johan van Boggelen
Operations & Technology Manager HIsarna Pilot Plant, Tata Steel
ir. Johan van Boggelen CEng MIMMM
Operations and Technology Manager of the HIsarna pilot plant at Tata Steel in IJmuiden.
Graduated from Delft University of Technology with an MSc in Materials Science.
Joined Corus R&D at their facilities in Teesside, UK, in 2002, mainly working on converter steelmaking and ladle metallurgy.
Started to be involved with HIsarna development in 2010, just before the first start up of the pilot plant.
Joined the HIsarna project full-time in 2014.
HIsarna: Considerations for valorisation of slag and other by-products when developing new processes
Topics
- Fundamental studies on liquid and solid slags
Research focusing on the physical, chemical, thermodynamic and structure properties of liquid and solid slags, such as viscosity, phase equilibria, interfacial properties, polymerisation degree, interactions between minerals and gels... It considers both experimental and characterisation studies, calculations and (nano-scale) modelling work.
- Hot-stage slag engineering, slag solidification, slag conditioning, internal reuse
Research focusing on:
- The hot-stage engineering of slags and the solidification procedures with the aim to improve the slag valorisation opportunities. It includes lab or pilot scale studies dealing with the effect of additions at high temperature and/or of the cooling procedures on the properties of the liquid and/or solid slag. Studies dealing with the mineralogy and leaching behaviour of the slag are included in this.
- Phenomena and reactions during weathering of metallurgical slags, and the effect of weathering and the weathering conditions on the slag properties and the slag valorisation opportunities.
- The recycling of slag within metallurgical plants and the evaluation of this procedure.
- Slag cleaning and metal recovery
Research focussing on:
- Clean slag production for added-value application of metallurgical slags and/or other industrial residues. This includes slag design for zero waste metallurgy, deep reduction of ferrous and non-ferrous slags, plasma fuming, removal of harmful component from slags.
- Recovery of base metals, rare earth and precious metals from industrial wastes and/or secondary resources. In particular, research that highlights metal recovery through both metallurgical processes (e.g. pyro-, hydro- and electro-metallurgy), and mineral processing (e.g. magnetic separation, gravity separation, flotation separation)
- Production, properties and performance of slag-based products
Research focusing on the conception, development, optimisation or understanding of innovative production processes that promote slag valorisation and the generation of slag-based products. It also includes studies addressing the effect of the production process on the desired properties of existing products or the evaluation of their performance at any stage of development.
- Process development for sustainable technologies
Research on slags compatible with the UN Sustainable Development Goals No. 12 (“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns) and 13 (“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”) and/or the European Green Deal. In particular, research that promotes and emphasises novel ideas and/or technologies focusing on sustainable slag management, lower carbon emissions, and more efficient use of resources.
- Industrial case studies on slag/residue valorisation
Research at pilot-plant or industrial level (Technology readiness level 5 or higher) that aims at upscaling, implementing, and/or optimising slag valorisation. Pre-and feasibility studies highlighting evaluation from a technical perspective are also welcome, as well as technical reports of lessons learned from full-scale implementations.
- Environmental and economic analysis
Research which focuses on environmental and economic analysis of slag valorisation, metals and heat recovery. In particular, studies that use life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, cost-benefits analysis and other assessment tools to evaluate the environmental and economic trade-off the costs of the recycling processes and the benefits of materials and energy recovery.
- Policy and regulations
Research focusing on how policy and regulation can boost for valorisation of slag and other residues from high-temperature processes. It includes studies from public bodies or private sector, using real case studies or prediction models to analyses the consequences of policy and regulations on the environmental performance of high-temperature industry.