Sustainable Metallurgy

The increasing global emphasis on carbon neutrality, along with the rapid growth in demand for secondary batteries driven by the electric vehicle sector, has highlighted the necessity for more effective and sustainable recycling technologies. My research has focused on the development of a hydrogen plasma reduction approach that enables the rapid recovery of valuable metals from spent battery cathode materials within one minute. To evaluate the general applicability of this method, various alloys including Invar, high entropy alloys, and TiAl were successfully synthesized through a streamlined process. This work demonstrates a practical and environmentally responsible pathway for the direct upcycling of battery waste into high performance alloy materials.

In preparation.

Hydrogen plasma reduction was explored as a selective pre-processing strategy for sustainable recovery of iron and vanadium from vanadium-rich titanomagnetite ores. The process rapidly transforms iron oxides into high-purity metallic iron, simultaneously concentrating vanadium and titanium into a separable oxide residue. Advanced characterization elucidated nanoscale phase transformations and the preferential segregation of trace elements. By avoiding intermediate phases typical of conventional methods, hydrogen plasma reduction improves reaction rates and overall energy efficiency. The mechanically separable vanadium-rich oxide layer generated by this method facilitates subsequent extraction processes. Integrating hydrogen plasma reduction with existing electric arc furnace technology offers an economically viable and environmentally sustainable pathway for resource recovery from complex ores.

Materialia. 44, 102580. (2025)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2025.102580