| Abstract Scope |
True to the spirit of Professor Fiona Doyle, I plan to refer to certain examples of innovative hydrometallurgical processing encompassing sustainable controls of toxic elements reported in metallurgical wastes and effluents but also synthesis/recycling/reactivation of Li-ion battery cathode materials. These processes have as common foundation, the regulation of crystallization, adsorption, and redox transformations to enable production of solids with desired attributes. In terms of environmental work, we will refer to production of gypsum-free scorodite (FeAsO4.2H2O) under iron-dissolution controlled supersaturation regime; the development of the aluminum gel-derived mineralized encapsulation process; and the elimination of Se(VI) via nanomaterial-based processes. One nanomaterial option is photocatalytic reduction using newly formulated mixed-phase nanoTiO2 catalysts and the other the use of stabilized nano-Zero-Valent Iron. In both cases elemental Se is obtained that can be potentially recycled for advanced material applications. In terms of battery material research, we will report – time permitting on the hydrothermal/solvothermal synthesis of cathode materials (LiMPO4) and the “direct recycling” of spent LiFePO4 and NMC cathodes by re-functionalization for direct battery manufacturing. |