Publications related to Extraction of Rare Earth Metals: The New Thermodynamic Considerations Toward Process Hydrometallurgy

Renewable energy integration and waste heat valorization in aluminum remelting for co-producing kerosene and methanol

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Meire Ellen Gorete Ribeiro Domingos, Réginald Germanier

The aluminium sector relies on natural gas for the conversion of recycled scrap into new feedstock, which results in substantial atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also impacted, as they serve as heat sinks for the waste heat generated during the ...

Associazione Italiana Di Ingegneria Chimica2024

Unique corrosion behavior of an archaeological Roman iron ring: Microchemical characterization and thermodynamic considerations

Stefano Mischler, Laura Brambilla

The corrosion mechanisms of a Roman iron bezel ring were investigated by in-depth characterization of its uncommon corrosion pattern and thermodynamic modelling. A silver foil and altered glass remnants were identified, covered with thick strata of magneti ...

2024

Tandem catalysis enables chlorine-containing waste as chlorination reagents

Paul Joseph Dyson, Mingyang Liu, Xinbang Wu

Chlorinated compounds are ubiquitous. However, accumulation of chlorine-containing waste has a negative impact on human health and the environment due to the inapplicability of common disposal methods, such as landfill and incineration. Here we report a su ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Quartiers rhodaniens en transition

Sara Sonia Formery Regazzoni

Over the course of history, the relationship between cities and their waters has shown different gradients of interweaving, marked by cycles of bonding and distancing. Following a period of complete neglect of urban watercourses, the versatile, multifacete ...

EPFL2024

Acids from fruits generate photoactive Fe-complexes, enhancing solar disinfection of water (SODIS): A systematic study of the novel " fruto-Fenton " process, effective over a wide pH range (4-9)

César Pulgarin, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Stefanos Giannakis, Giulio Farinelli, Mona Kohantorabi

This study aimed to enhance solar disinfection (SODIS) by the photo-Fenton process, operated at natural pH, through the re-utilization of fruit wastes. For this purpose, pure organic acids present in fruits and alimentary wastes were tested and compared wi ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Urban boundary-layer flows in complex terrain: Dynamic interactions during a hot and dry summer season in Phoenix, Arizona

Aldo Brandi

Anthropogenic modification of natural landscapes to urban environments impacts land-atmosphere interactions in the boundary layer. Ample research has demonstrated the effect of such landscape transitions on development of the urban heat island (UHI), but c ...

Wiley2024

Spatial Modeling for Building Design Evaluation: from Visual Landscape Quality Assessment to Devaluation Risk Estimation

Adam Robert Swietek

Zoning reform is a crucial tool for cities to adapt to contemporary challenges. However, its implementation remains challenging. Property owners, with a vested interest in the value of their neighborhoods, are sensitive to local developments and the potent ...

EPFL2024

The Effect of Rivers on Energy Balance at the Neighborhood Scale. A comparative analysis of four Rhodanian sites in France and Switzerland

Emmanuel Rey, Sara Sonia Formery Regazzoni, Martine Laprise, Sergi Aguacil Moreno

This research aims to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of new neighbourhood projects near the Rhône River in France and Switzerland. The study considers the influence of the river on energy demand and resilience to climate change of 12 project-ba ...

Wrocław University of Science and Technology Publishing House2024

Eco-Conscious Approach to Wireless Gas Monitoring With a Hybrid Printed Passive Sensor Tag

Sandro Carrara, Johanna Zikulnig, Jürgen Kosel

Addressing the environmental impact of electronic waste in biomedical sensing, an eco-conscious approach to the realization of a Chitosan-based Acetone sensor tag for wireless gas monitoring is presented. The fabrication involves inkjet printing of silver ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2024

Reuse of cut concrete slabs in new buildings for circular ultra-low-carbon floor designs

Numa Joy Bertola, Célia Marine Küpfer, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet

The study explores an original idea that responds to the urgent need to reduce the detrimental environmental impacts of load-bearing floor construction in new buildings by reusing saw-cut reinforced concrete (RC) pieces salvaged from soon-to-be demolished ...

2024

From Surfactants to 3D Printing: How Ion-Chelator Pair Interactions Affect the Mechanical Properties of Bioinspired Materials

Gaia De Angelis

The remarkable adaptability observed in marine ecosystems has often inspired researchers when developing new soft materials. The research undertaken in this thesis explores how ion chelator pair interactions influence the mechanical properties of bioinspir ...

EPFL2024

Educational Soft Underwater Robot with an Electromagnetic Actuation

Robert Marius Hennig

As demonstrated by the Soft Robotics Toolkit Platform, compliant robotics pose an exciting educational opportunity. Underwater robotics using soft undulating fins is an expansive research topic with applications such as exploration of underwater life or re ...

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc2024

Surfactant-based enrichment of rare earth elements from NdFeB magnet e-waste: Optimisation of cloud formation and rare earths extraction

Christian Ludwig, Rudolf Paul Wilhelm Jozef Struis, Mohamed Tarik, Ajay Bhagwan Patil

Appropriate waste and resource management are essential for a sustainable circular economy with reduced environmental impact. With critical resources, e-waste may serve as indirect raw material. For example, with NdFeB permanent magnets, Neodymium (Nd) and ...

2023

A customized MOF-polymer composite for rapid gold extraction from water matrices

Daniel Teav Sun, Wendy Lee Queen, Li Peng, Olga Syzgantseva, Shuliang Yang, Jun Li

With the fast-growing accumulation of electronic waste and rising demand for rare metals, it is compelling to develop technologies that can promotionally recover targeted metals, like gold, from waste, a process referred to as urban mining. Thus, there is ...

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE2023

Decision support methodology for waste-to-value process integration

Rafael Amorim Leandro De Castro Amoedo

Waste treatment is a complex procedure that comprises multidimensional aspects. The challenges posed by the energy transition and international protocols emphasize the role of waste in its material and energy dimension. With an increasing population and li ...

EPFL2023

On the role of system integration in plastic waste management

François Maréchal, Ivan Daniel Kantor, Julia Granacher

The management of plastic waste is a growing concern that can harm wildlife and ecosystems, and its end-of-life policies are key to mitigating plastic environmental impact. This work presents a decision-making methodology for the thermal and material valor ...

Elsevier2023

Metal-insulator transition in composition-tuned nickel oxide films

Jean-Marc Triscone, Duncan Thomas Lindsay Alexander, Bernat Mundet

Thin films of the solid solution Nd1-xLaxNiO3 are grown in order to study the expected 0 K phase transitions at a specific composition. We experimentally map out the structural, electronic and magnetic properties as a function of x and a discontinuous, pos ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2023

Lignin, from biomass waste to sustainable materials for food packaging, antiviral coatings and agriculture

Alice Boarino

Our planet has been challenged for years by our reckless use of fossil fuels, which has led to the ongoing climate change and energy crisis. The transition to the use of renewable alternative sources has now became urgent and inevitable. The valorization o ...

EPFL2023

A systemic study for enhanced waste heat recovery and renewable energy integration towards decarbonizing the aluminium industry

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Réginald Germanier

The aluminium remelting industry relies on natural gas to transform recycled aluminium into aluminium feedstock, entailing significant atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also affected as they are used as sinks of waste heat from the casting proces ...

2023

Dataset for 'Printed ecoresorbable temperature sensors for environmental monitoring'

Danick Briand, James Alec Pierce Bourely, Nicolas Francis Fumeaux, Melissa Kossairi

This data set contains the data collected during the FNS project Green Piezo (Grant no. 179064) in association with the recent publication entitled “Printed ecoresorbable temperature sensors for environmental monitoring”. This work aims to study the effect ...

Zenodo2023