Skip to main content

Energy-Saving Green Technologies in the Mining and Mineral Processing Industry

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Energy Technology 2023 (TMS 2023)

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 802 Accesses

Abstract

Pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy are the two main processes to recover valuable metals from ore and secondary resources. While pyrometallurgy uses high temperatures to extract metals, in hydrometallurgy, an aqueous solution is used to extract metals from mineral resources. As a result, hydrometallurgical techniques are considered to be energy-saving technologies in the mining and mineral processing industry. This paper will address how energy can be reduced to extract metals in the mining and mineral processing industries with an emphasis on the extraction of base metals such as zinc and copper. Our novel techniques can even reduce more energy than what is currently consumed in the conventional hydrometallurgical copper electrowinning processes. Those energy-saving and sustainable green technologies would help meet the NetZero target in the mining and mineral processing industries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Habashi F (2013) Fire and the art of metals: a short history of pyrometallurgy, pp 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1179/037195505X63358

  2. https://www.britannica.com/technology/hydrometallurgy. Accessed 2 Sept 2022

  3. Schwartz L (2010) GeoE 498 Introduction to mining and mineral processing engineering lecture. University of Saskatchewan, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  4. Li J, Lu H, Guo J, Xu Z, Zhou Y (2007) Recycle technology for recovering recourses and products from waste printed circuit boards. Environ Sci Technol 41:1995–2000

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Guo J, Rao Q, Xu Z (2008) Application of glass-nonmetals of waste printed circuit boards to produce phenolic moulding compound. J Hazard Mater 153:728–734

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. He W, Li G, Ma X, Wang H, Huang J, Xu M, Huang C (2006) WEEE recovery strategies and the WEEE treatment status in China. J Hazard Mater B136:502–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/copper-ore. Accessed 2 Sep 2022

  8. Alam MS, Tanaka M, Koyama K, Oishi T, Lee J-C (2007) Electrolyte purification in energy-saving monovalent copper electrowinning processes. Hydrometallurgy 87:36–44

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/e-waste-recycling-process.php#:~:text=E%2Dwaste%20recycling%20is%20the,pollution%20impacts%20of%20e%2Dwaste. Accessed 12 Sep 2022

  10. Olivetti E (2022) Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT. https://olivetti.mit.edu/. Accessed 4 Oct 2022

  11. https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-steel-scrap.pdf. Accessed 12 Sep 2022

  12. Lakshmanan VI, Sridhar R, Alam MS (2005) Recovery of zinc from galvanized coatings. Canadian Patent Serial No. CA 2347552, Issued on 19 Apr 2005

    Google Scholar 

  13. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Energy-requirements-in-GJ-t-for-copper-zinc-and-gold-production-as-a-function-of-the_fig2_309731859. Accessed 12 Sep 2022

  14. Energy and environmental profile of the U.S. mining industry. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/11/f4/lead_zinc.pdf. Accessed 12 Sep 2022

  15. Prasad MS, Kenyen VP, Assar DN (1992) Development of SX–EW process for copper recovery—an overview. Miner Process Extr Metall Rev 8:95–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shafiq Alam .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Alam, S. (2023). Energy-Saving Green Technologies in the Mining and Mineral Processing Industry. In: Alam, S., et al. Energy Technology 2023. TMS 2023. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22638-0_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics