Research Group of Waste Management and Sustainable Technologies

About the research group

The Research Group of Waste Management and Sustainable Technologies conducts research on waste, secondary resources, and primary raw materials. Its work focuses on material characterization, identification of recoverable value, and development of treatment and processing routes for complex materials. Activities include laboratory research, process development, environmental assessment, and implementation support in industrial and regulatory settings. A key aspect of research in the group is the selection and integration of appropriate processing routes based on fundamental studies, including mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, and pyrometallurgy, and their optimal combination for process flowsheet development and scale-up from experimental studies. Current topics include recovery of critical raw materials, treatment of complex and hazardous waste, and assessment of contaminants such as PFAS and microplastics.

Research Areas:

Resource recovery from waste, secondary resources, and primary raw materials
Material characterization and environmental assessment
Recycling, treatment, and process optimization
Waste classification and hazardous property evaluation
Support for industry, policy, and public administration

The department is equipped with complex analytical and support equipment, as well as custom-designed apparatuses for performing combustion and leaching tests, and separators for testing and development of recycling processes.

Resource recovery from waste, secondary resources, and primary raw materials

Motivation — shift from linear production economy to circular economy for waste processing and recycling, combined with efficient recovery of valuable elements from primary resources, including high- and low-grade and complex ores.

Focused on:

Various municipal and industrial wastes, metal-bearing wastes, and mine tailings,
Recovery of metals and rare earth elements from various types of electronic waste,
Recycling of plastic and composite wastes with a focus on material recycling of hard plastics and foil composite materials,
Recovery of valuable elements from primary resources using integrated mineral processing, hydrometallurgical, and pyrometallurgical methods.

Material characterization and environmental assessment

Motivation — understanding the environmental behavior of waste and secondary resources requires analytical approaches tailored to complex matrices, with a focus on assessing contaminant leaching and mobility into the surrounding environment to enable safe and informed treatment, recovery, and reuse.

Focused on:

Development of analytical approaches for complex and heterogeneous waste matrices,
Assessment of contaminant leaching, mobility, and long-term release into the surrounding environment,
Inorganic material analysis (ICP-OES, XRF, ICP-MS),
Chemical speciation analysis of environmentally relevant compounds,
Environmental analysis of soils, waters, and leachates,
Material flow analysis.

Recycling, treatment, and process optimization

Motivation — improving the efficiency and performance of recycling and treatment technologies.

Focused on:

Flow analysis of process main streams,
Troubleshooting of the operational process plant to increase grade and recovery, as well as energy efficiency,
Optimization of process operating parameters,
Thermochemical fuel conversion and flue gas treatment,
Treatment of primary process waste or waste from recycling processes for use in the construction industry.

Waste classification and hazardous properties evaluation

Motivation — waste classification and hazardous properties evaluation based on environmental properties and risk assessment ensuring safe handling, regulatory compliance, environmental protection, and suitability for recycling, recovery, or reuse.

Focused on:

Environmental characterization of waste, industrial residues, and secondary resources,
Assessment of contaminant release, mobility, and long-term behavior under environmentally relevant conditions,
Environmental characterization tests (up-flow percolation, batch and pH-dependent leaching, solid – liquid partitioning),
Chemical speciation of selected elements relevant to environmental behavior and classification,
Analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants, including potentially toxic elements, PFAS, and inorganic salts,
Evaluation of material suitability for recycling, recovery, and reuse,
Support for environmental assessment and regulatory practice.

Support for industry, policy, and public administration

Motivation — bridging research with real-world implementation and decision-making, with a focus on solving real-world problems and improving industrial processes in cooperation with industry, policy, and public administration.

Focused on: