Metallurgical Lab

Lab-grown diamonds are an ethically and ecologically sound substitute for mined diamonds. As such, demand for these green diamond alternatives is on the rise! Mining is linked to various ecological and social troubles, from land destruction to human rights abuses. By comparison, lab-formed gems are made in a secure atmosphere...

Although the mining and metallurgical sectors are still seen as environmentally unfriendly industries, innovation in these sectors has been increasing since the beginning of the century, including in the development of green technologies. Four years ago, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released a study measuring innovation in the mining...

Thanks to a recent upgrade to the medical isotope facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, actinium-225 (Ac-225), an isotope that shows great promise for treating cancer, can now be produced, purified, and shipped ready for use directly from the Lab. The first shipment left Brookhaven...

In collaboration with a mobility technology company Magna, the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is working on a manufacturing process that seeks to reduce 50% of energy consumption and 90% of carbon dioxide emissions used for collecting and transforming scrap aluminum into new vehicle parts. The created...

In yet another milestone in the multi-material three-dimensional (3D) printing process, a new kind of ferroelectric composite material was developed with antimicrobial properties. Engineers from the University of Bath and the University of Ulster in the United Kingdom innovated a material that can be used to create implants that have...

In yet another breakthrough in energy conservation, researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany developed a recycling mechanism that offers 70% recovery of lithium in battery waste without the aid or use of corrosive chemicals and high temperatures. The method combines mechanical processes with chemical reactions to recover...

Research from Oregon State University (OSU) created a novel electrolyte that can boost the efficiency of a zinc-metal anode in zinc batteries by almost 100%. Such development is considered important in creating an alternative to lithium-ion batteries used for large-scale energy storage. The new electrolyte was developed by Xiulei ‘David’...

In yet another feat in power science, a multi-institutional study led by Professor Sang Hoon Bae from Washington University in St. Luis determined 2 technical breakthroughs in electronic performance and consumption. In the study he worked alongside his doctoral student Justin S. Kim and postdoctoral research associate Yuan Meng was...

A research team from the University of Rochester, in a historic feat, created a superconducting material that is capable of operating at extreme temperatures but with less pressure, which is beneficial for various practical applications. The material exhibits superconductivity at 69°F and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch (psi)...

Portland-cement-based concrete, the most common type of concrete used in construction, may be partially replaced in the near future via emerging sustainable concrete mixtures that are created from mineral residues and waste materials. This is what a project from the new Christian Doppler Laboratory of the Institute of Applied Geosciences...

Newmont, the world’s biggest gold miner is in the works with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to study novel approaches for direct air isolation of carbon dioxide in their mine tailings. Direct air isolation is a technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and is crucial...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will develop methods to recover critical materials, mainly from rare earth metals. The research effort will look into applying advanced manufacturing techniques to identify field waste material recovery processes by studying the use of recycled polymeric materials. This initiative is part of the 5-year collaborative agreement...

Researchers from the University of Toronto Engineering, led by Professor Yu Zou, MSE, are working to produce and advance metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology. Researchers developed the technology by using computer-aided design (CAD) to construct materials layer by layer. Contrary to traditional manufacturing, a combination of selective laser melting (SLM)...

Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently developed HOS-PFM, a conductive polymer coating. The new technology may provide battery stability and high charge/discharge rates while improving the efficacy of EV battery life. HOS-PFM showed promising battery adhesive that could extend the life of lithium-ion batteries from 10 years to 15...

In a collaboration by Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, Ames National Laboratory in Iowa State University, and Bruker Corp, a new superalloy was found to potentially lower carbon emissions while maintaining power plants to generate more electricity. The superalloy is stronger and lighter compared to the currently used materials...