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Processes
Special Issues
Non-ferrous Metal Metallurgy and Its Cleaner Production
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Non-ferrous Metal Metallurgy and Its Cleaner Production

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 2726

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Leiting Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: nonferrous metallurgy; hydrometallurgy; recycling of critical metals; thermodynamics and modeling of aqueous solution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Changhong Wang

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: nonferrous metallurgy; cleaner metallurgy; green electro-metallurgy; low-carbon metallurgy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nonferrous metallurgy, focused on the extraction and processing of metals (such as lithium, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten), is integral for supplying raw materials to various high-tech industries. With the growing global demand, the environmental challenges associated with traditional metallurgical methods require innovative approaches. Cleaner production techniques are essential to reduce the ecological footprint while maintaining resource efficiency and economic viability.

This Special Issue on “Nonferrous Metallurgy and its Cleaner Production” seeks high-quality works focusing on the latest novel and advanced metallurgy technologies for valuable metal extraction, separation, and production. Topics include the following:

  1. Efficient cleaner nonferrous metallurgical processes or unit operations;
  2. Extraction of valuable metals from secondary resources;
  3. Green resource recovery from industrial waste;
  4. Thermodynamics, kinetics, and modelling of sustainable processes.

Dr. Leiting Shen
Dr. Changhong Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nonferrous metallurgy
  • green metallurgical processes
  • resource recovery
  • waste recycling
  • sustainable practices
  • thermodynamics
  • kinetics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 5358 KiB  
Article
Hardness and Microstructural Characterization of Al/FA Composites Fabricated by Compo Casting and the Equal Channel Angular Extrusion
by Merima Muslić, Vera Rede, Vesna Maksimović and Danko Ćorić
Processes 2025, 13(4), 928; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13040928 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 586
Abstract
Fly ash (FA) is a low-cost industrial waste material mostly composed of oxides. These small, hard particles can be used as reinforcements in composite production. In this study, an A356.0 aluminum alloy reinforced with 4 wt.% FA was synthesized by compo casting and [...] Read more.
Fly ash (FA) is a low-cost industrial waste material mostly composed of oxides. These small, hard particles can be used as reinforcements in composite production. In this study, an A356.0 aluminum alloy reinforced with 4 wt.% FA was synthesized by compo casting and subsequently subjected to multiple passes of equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) to investigate the influence of intense plastic deformation on the composite hardness and microstructure. Microstructure analysis was performed on an optical microscope and by computer tomography (CT). The as-cast alloy contains a relatively homogeneous microstructure with minor FA agglomerations and very low porosity. The severe plastic deformation induced by ECAE results in a directed structure and additional integration of FA into the matrix with the disappearance of pores. Vickers hardness measurement of aluminum/fly ash (Al/FA) composite was carried out with different indentation loads: 0.196 N (HV0.02), 0.490 N (HV0.05), 0.981 N (HV0.1), and 1.960 N (HV0.2). The results showed that hardness increases after each ECAE pass because of microstructure changes. Already after the first pass, a significant increase in hardness is achieved, ranging from 27% (HV0.05) to 62% (HV0.2). A Meyer’s index (n) value greater than 2 indicates that the hardness of single and double extruded composite depends on the indentation load. Extruded samples show a hardness enhancement with increasing applied load, so the examined composite exhibits a reverse indentation size effect (RISE). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-ferrous Metal Metallurgy and Its Cleaner Production)
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15 pages, 2411 KiB  
Article
Thermodynamic Study Proposal of Processing By-Product Containing Au, Ag, Cu and Fe Sulfides from Antimony Ore Treatment
by Dušan Oráč, Martina Laubertová, František Molnár, Jakub Klimko, Vladimír Marcinov and Jana Pirošková
Processes 2025, 13(3), 842; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13030842 - 13 Mar 2025
Viewed by 443
Abstract
A possible thermodynamic study of processing Cu (Ag, Au) and Fe sulfide concentrate as a by-product after the processing of tetrahedrite concentrate, applying pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods, was studied. The sample of sulfide concentrate, 34.7 wt. % Cu, 21.4% Fe, 12 g/t Au, [...] Read more.
A possible thermodynamic study of processing Cu (Ag, Au) and Fe sulfide concentrate as a by-product after the processing of tetrahedrite concentrate, applying pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods, was studied. The sample of sulfide concentrate, 34.7 wt. % Cu, 21.4% Fe, 12 g/t Au, and 7.317 g/t Ag was contained. Analytical technique AAS was used to analyze the sample before conducting a thermodynamic study of the leaching of sulfide concentrate by applying Pourbaix Eh–pH diagrams. The outcome of this thermodynamic research will provide essential data to support recent hydrometallurgical technologies. If its correctness can be verified experimentally, this result will be promoted to developing a new alternative copper-production technology. The minor components Sb, As, Hg, and Bi are also present in the concentrate in the form of sulfides Sb2S3, As2S3, Bi2S3, and HgS. This theoretical proposed hydrometallurgical technology shows that it is possible to obtain Fe in the form of Fe(OH)3, and after its thermal decomposition, it can be prepared as Fe2O3 as a marketable product. In any case, the most economically advantageous would be complete hydrometallurgical processing, i.e., also Cu(Ag,Au)Fe sulfide concentrate, with the possibility of valorizing Cu, Ag, and Au in metallic form. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-ferrous Metal Metallurgy and Its Cleaner Production)
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22 pages, 5818 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of Primary Aluminum Production
by Xuan Lian, Hanchen Gao, Leiting Shen, Yilan Yu, Yilin Wang and Zhihong Peng
Processes 2025, 13(2), 419; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13020419 - 5 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1211
Abstract
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantitatively analyze the energy consumption and environmental impact of primary aluminum production in China, the United States, and Europe, as well as global average. The results indicate that electricity and fuel contribute more than 60% of [...] Read more.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantitatively analyze the energy consumption and environmental impact of primary aluminum production in China, the United States, and Europe, as well as global average. The results indicate that electricity and fuel contribute more than 60% of the environmental impact of bauxite mining; steam is the greatest contributor to the environmental impact of alumina production by the Bayer process, with a result exceeding 35%; and electricity contributes >50% of the environmental impact of aluminum electrolysis. The environmental impact of primary aluminum production in China is 1.2 times the global average. The contributions of the three stages of primary aluminum production to the total environmental impact of the process in China are, in descending order, aluminum electrolysis (64.33%), alumina production (33.09%), and bauxite mining (2.58%). If the proportion of thermal power in the electricity source structure is reduced from 60% to 0%, the contribution of electricity to the environmental impact of primary aluminum production will decrease from 38% to 2%, and the total environmental impact will decrease by 73%. Therefore, energy conservation and emissions reduction can be realized through the optimization of the power generation structure, adoption of clean energy production, and improvement of the heat utilization rate in production processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-ferrous Metal Metallurgy and Its Cleaner Production)
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