[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6927\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EDiscarded waste could be a treasure trove of rare metals \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers are attempting to figure out how to recover metals that are in limited supply in Europe from material that is often dumped or used in low-grade applications. They hope this metal recovery will also help to reduce the impact of industry on the environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently\u003Cstrong\u003E, \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/growth\/sectors\/raw-materials\/industries\/minerals\/metallic_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Emost metals used in Europe\u2019s industries are imported\u003C\/a\u003E, which means supplies can be affected by instability in the countries where they are mined. They can also be subject to political decisions to restrict exports or to introduce tariffs such as those \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/may\/30\/trump-administration-tariff-steel-aluminum-eu-trade-tension\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eimposed on steel and aluminium\u003C\/a\u003E by the US.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chromic.eu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECHROMIC project\u003C\/a\u003E is aiming to change this dependence by looking to recover metals from waste and by-products that are already in the EU.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We want to develop technologies that can help Europe to be more self-reliant for important metal resources in the future,\u0027 said Dr Liesbeth Horckmans, from the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) in Mol, Belgium, who is the project coordinator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;Our idea is to make sure that we have our own supply, or at least part of it, so we can be more self-reliant.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Liesbeth Horckmans, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Belgium \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECHROMIC is focussing on a group of metals that are commonly used in everyday life \u2013 chromium, vanadium, molybdenum and niobium. All four metals are added to steel to make it more durable or increase its strength, but chromium is also a valuable chemical and pigment. Vanadium alloys are also ideal for making bicycle frames and gears, while niobium is used in prosthetics and pacemakers due to its hypoallergenic properties. Molybdenum is found in military armour, aircraft parts and fertilisers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAround 45% of chromium, however, is brought into Europe from abroad while 100% of the other three metals are imported from South Africa, Brazil, the US, China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. But each of these metals are found in significant amounts in industrial by-products that are often discarded in the EU.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We are focussing on steel slags (stony waste matter), stainless steel slags and ferrochrome slags,\u0027 said Dr Horckmans. At present, the team is looking at new slags being produced, although they have considered opening up old industrial landfill sites as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExtraction\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExtracting metals from industrial residue isn\u2019t easy though. The metals are present as fine particles that need to be separated out from the rest of the waste. Dr Horckmans and her team are developing a number of methods to remove them, including using magnetic fields to pull out metallic particles and water to dissolve the metal so it can then be recovered from the solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We are developing a new process based on a combination of novel and existing technologies where we can recover metallic particles (from some of the slags) that can be reintroduced directly into the steel process,\u0027 said Dr Horckmans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom the sources they are investigating, the team think their technologies could recover around 91,000 tonnes of these metals a year, equivalent to 5-10% of the EU\u0027s annual use. But the techniques could be applied to other types of industrial slag waste, such as incinerator ashes, to boost their quantities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, Dr Horckmans and her colleagues are looking at how to repurpose the material left behind after they have extracted the metal. Metals typically make up less than 5% of the waste, so the whole process would not be sustainable if the rest is not reused as well, said Dr Horckmans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMetal-containing slags are already used in the construction industry as aggregates in concrete or asphalt, for example, so the remaining waste could be put to similar uses. But the material left behind after the metal is removed will be made up of finer grains, whereas the original slags are lumpy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team has developed a way of making bricks from this material by shaping them into rectangular blocks and using carbon dioxide to create a reaction that cements the particles together. \u0027It\u2019s one of the applications we want to test,\u0027 said Dr Horckmans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project typifies a movement known as the circular economy, which aims to reuse discarded and waste materials for new purposes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESecond life\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother project with a similar goal is targeting different metals. The METGROW+ project is aiming to recover nickel, zinc and copper from sludges and residues left over from the production of metals such as stainless steel and zinc.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are also interested in less common metals such as indium, gallium, germanium, cobalt and chromium, some of which are used to make computers, electronics and batteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027What we are trying to develop isn\u2019t specifically for one material stream,\u0027 said project coordinator Dr P\u00e4ivi Kinnunen from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in Espoo. Instead, they have selected waste streams that are found across Europe, so that their results can be widely used.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is developing new technologies that can be combined with existing processes to extract metals in an economically feasible way. The metal content of the waste sources is very low and several different treatments are often required to retrieve it. They are now conducting several pilots in Finland, Poland, Belgium and Spain to test the different techniques on various low-grade material sludges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are trying to get the best combination of different technologies,\u2019 said Dr Kinnunen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the team is successful, the results could be game-changing. Europe currently imports almost 100% of its indium supply, for example, and the researchers think they could produce 80% of it from the sources they are targeting. For gallium, they should be able to extract 30% of the required supply.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think there is huge potential,\u2019 said Dr Kinnunen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe leftover material, which would normally end up in landfill, will also be given a second life. So far, they are investigating if it can be used to create construction materials by turning it into a substance similar to cement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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