Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology I www.hzdr.de/hif

Resource TechnologiesBrief overview of our work

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

18 May 2017, Leipzig

Status 2012

AUG 2011

� Increasing diversity of demand

� Geostrategic importance

� Increasing raw materials demand

� Limited resource availability

VisionMotivation

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

Page

Founding of HIF

Extraction MetallurgyExploration Processing Recycling

Future

Strategic Developments

AUG 2011 DEC 2014 SEP 2015 OCT 2016

The institute will become the national (European) center for researching &

developing technologies designed to assure & safeguard the steady supply of

mineral & metalliferous raw materials for the German (and European) economy.

Vision

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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Founding of HIF

JAN 2015 JUN 2016JAN 2014

PoF III Evaluation

Current Core Competences

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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Quelle: HZDR

Research Highlights I

Supply potential of Critical Raw Materials

� Novel method for quantitative assessment

of by-product metal supply potential

� Case studies for In, Ge, & Ga

� New approach to criticality assessment –

meets the definitions of risk theory

Predictive metallurgy & adaptive

optimization

� Methods to compute optimal mineral

processing decisions

� Connecting quantitative mineralogical data

with process models

� Predictive recovery models for industrial

tailings

� Quantification of the benefit of geometallurgy

& adaptive optimization

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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Key Papers

Frenzel et al. (2016) Resources Policy, 46, 45-58

Frenzel et al. (2017) Journal of Physics D, 50, 123002

Frenzel et al. (2017) Resource Policy, in press

Geometallurgical model for the recoverable Sn content from the Tiefenbach

tailings storage facility, Altenberg (Büttner et al., 2017).Probability distributions describing

estimated supply potential relative

to primary production in 2014

(Frenzel et al., 2017)

Key Papers

Leißner et al. (2016) Minerals Engineering, 94, 94-103

Minz et al. (2016) Mineral Processing & Extractive Metallurgy, 1-12

Tolosana-Delgado et al. (2015) SAIMM, 115, 13-26

Research Highlights II

Processing of ultrafine particles

� Hydrophobic interaction mapping using

colloidal probe atomic force microscopy

� Mechanism of hydrophobization through

analysis of heterogeneity of surface free

energies

� Determining the impact of the granulometry

of gangue particles in flotation pulps

Novel biotechnology applications

� BioleachingCu bioleaching of complex ores at pH 7

Monitoring 64Cu2+ mobility using GeoPET

Microbial mobilization of REE from fluorescent phosphors

� BiosorptionTechnology platform for the selection of metal specific

peptides (Patent pending, DE102013226042)

� BioflotationNovel application of phage surface display technology

to develop flotation chemicals

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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Schematic, artistic representation of the flotation process

for separation of fine to ultrafine particles

Key Papers

Rudolph et al. (2014) Minerals Engineering, 66-68, 181-190

Leistner et al. (2017) Minerals Engineering, 109, 1-9

Rudolph et al. (2017) Colloids and Surfaces A, 513, 380-388

Key Papers

Lederer et al. (2017) Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 114, 5, 1016-1024

Hopfe et al. (2017) Waste Management, 62, 211-221

Barthen et al. (in press) Chemosphere

Schematic illustration of bacteria

attached to a mineral surface

PET image from [64Cu]CuS

precipitate on quartz pebbles prior

to column leaching (IRE)

Research Highlights III

Ga-Recycling from waste water

� Innovative dialysis process for the recycling

of Ga using membrane technology

� Increased recycling rate ca. 20%

� Patent submitted

� German Raw Materials

Efficiency Award 2014 of

the Bundesministerium für

Wirtschaft & Energie

Quantifying recyclability

� Fairphone received Umweltpreis in 2016Conflict free minerals & metals

Modular design allows for repairs

� Linking product design to material &

metallurgical processing routes

� Quantification of the recycling efficiency of

Fairphone 2

� Outcome released to the public

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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Principle of Electro DialysisPilot plant

Modular design of the Fairphone 2 Recycling Index of the Fairphone 2

Outlook

Research

� Linking energy & resource systems (Helmholtz-

Zukunftsthema Energy Systems Integration)

� Smart usage of sensors for adaptive processing

Infrastructure

� Metallurgical pilot plant

� Tailing Research Site

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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� Tailing Research Site

Industry

� Development & benchmarking of

unique analytical instruments

� Case studies for predictive

geometallurgy

� Simulation of raw materials value

chains using big data analysis

Thank you for your attention!

Dr. Stefan Dirlich

Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology

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