Lourdes Yurramendi

Tecnalia · Energy and Environment

Background To counter climate change, it will be necessary to have a major transition of both energy and mobility systems. Electrification of mobility is one essential part of the solution. Nearly 65% of Cobalt is mined in Africa (e.g. Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo) and this dependency makes Europe vulnerable. It is...

Tungsten is a scarce and valuable metal with a wide range of applications. Currently, the recovery of tungsten from scheelite concentrates involves the use of strong acids, alkalis, and/or high temperatures (roasting). Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) are proposed as an environmentally friendly alternative for the leaching process aiming to extract the...

The feasibility of using low-environmental-impact leaching media to recover valuable metals from lithium ion batteries (LIBs) has been evaluated. Several deep eutectic solvents (DES) were tested as leaching agents in the presence of different type of additives (i.e., H2O2). The optimization of Co recovery was carried out by investigating various op...

With the global demand for economically important metals increasing, compounded by the depletion of readily accessible ores, secondary resources and low-grade ores are being targeted to meet growing demands. Novel technologies developed within biobased industries, such as microbial biosurfactants, could be implemented to improve the sustainability...

With the number of easily accessible ores depleting, alternate primary and secondary sources are required to meet the increasing demand of economically important metals. Whilst highly abundant, these materials are of lower grade with respect to traditional ores, thus highly selective and sustainable metal extraction technologies are needed to reduc...

With an increasing number of low-grade primary ores starting to be cost-effectively mined, we are at the verge of mining a myriad of low-grade primary and secondary mineral materials. At the same time, mining practices and mineral waste recycling are both evolving towards sustainable near-zero-waste processing of low-grade resources within a circul...

With an increasing number of low-grade primary ores starting to be cog-effectively mined, we are at the verge of mining a myriad of low-grade primary and secondary mineral materials. At the same time, mining practices and mineral waste recycling are both evolving towards sustainable near-zero-waste processing of low-grade resources within a circula...

The first objective of this experimental study is the assessment of the alkali activation potential of two types of fayalitic slags, an as-received one (FS) and the one obtained after plasma treatment (FSP) of the initial FS, for the production of alkali activated materials (AAMs). Furthermore, the second objective is the elucidation of the co-valo...

In the present work rare-earth recovery was performed from a residue of a hydrometallurgical process based on sulphuric acid leaching of lamp phosphor waste by which the red phosphor Y 2 O 3 :Eu ³⁺ was removed for further recovery. The undissolved residue is rich in lanthanum, cerium and the valuable terbium, present as phosphates and aluminates in...

An integrated process flow sheet for the recovery of yttrium and europium from waste cathode-ray tube (CRT) phosphors was developed. This flow sheet is based on a sequence of roasting, leaching with organic acids and precipitation steps. Zinc was efficiently removed from the roasted CRT phosphors by leaching with acetic acid, giving access to the r...

The balance between the market demand and the natural abundance of the rare-earth elements (REEs) in ores, often referred to as the Balance Problem (or the Balancing Problem), is a major issue for REE suppliers. The ideal situation is a perfect match between the market demand for and the production of REEs, so that there are no surpluses of any of...

Apatite, Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F, concentrate from LKAB in Kiruna, Sweden, has been characterized and pyrometallurgically treated using (i) silicon metal and fluxes to extract phosphorus and transition metals at 1600 °C (Part I publication), and (ii) carbon to extract phosphorus without fluxing at temperatures exceeding 1800 °C (Part II publication), with...

Apatite, Ca5(PO4)3F, is a useful raw material for the production of both elemental phosphorus and phosphoric acid, and the mine tailings present at Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) in Kiruna, Sweden, represent a significant potential European source of apatite if upgraded to a concentrate. In the present study, pilot apatite concentrate made from...

At present, industrial application of hard chromium electroplating is based on electrolytic baths of sulphuric acid and chromium trioxide solutions in water. Toxicological and environmental properties of this chromium (VI) baths show the convenience of searching for new CrVI free formulations. Research activities have shown that chromium metallic c...

Greenhouse gases are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. The increase in emissions has forced the international community towards the adoption of actions focused on their reduction. Carbon dioxide sequestration by carbonation is one of the alternatives under development in order to achieve that objective. In c...

The thermal treatment of waste using plasma technology allows the destruction of organic compounds by pyrolysis or air controlled process, the recycling of valuable metals and the vitrification of the remaining inorganic material. The new vitrified products tapped from the reactor are obtained with a significant volume reduction and with good prope...

Mineral carbonation is considered as a permanent and secure route for carbon dioxide sequestration. The application of the technology to industrial wastes is an alternative that could contribute to the decrease of CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere. The aim of the present work is to study the viability of CO 2 storage by the treatment of the gas wi...

Air Pollution Control (APC) ashes from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) plants need to be treated prior to landfilling due mainly to their heavy metals content. This research evaluates the capacity of the APC residues to sequester carbon dioxide, while the ash becomes stabilized for storage. It has the benefit of using two wastes, with no...

The gasification of wastes containing an organic fraction is usually performed at low-medium temperature using different kind of catalysts. The off gas obtained is a mixture of carbon oxides, mainly carbon monoxide, and hydrogen and can be used for different energetic applications. The main problem is the production of tars in the off gas that has...

Air Pollution Control (APC) residues treatment by plasma was studied as a technology for vitrification. During the project a protocol to verify the plasma technology was developed and afterwards applied to a specific case study: the APC residues from Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators (MSWI). Different operational conditions were tested and the vit...

The results presented in this paper are part of a global project concerning a category of hazardous wastes that are being landfilled at present in the Basque Country (Spain). The final purpose of the full research is to know more in a deep the behaviour, related to the present European landfill legislation, of one of the types of wastes whose manag...

ABSTRACT Una de las tipologías de residuos cuya gestión preocupa en particular por su posible repercursión medioambiental, es la de los residuos definidos por el decreto 423/1994 (1) como “residuos inertizados”. El presente estudio persigue conocer la situación de dichos residuos, en cuanto a su gestión en vertederos localizados en la Comunidad Au...

The kinetics of transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with 1,4-butanediol have been studied in a semibatch reactor under non-isothermal conditions. Also, the kinetics of tetrahydrofuran production by side reactions were studied. Models were fitted by using an algorithm of parameter estimation in differential equations based on the Gauss-New...

The transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) with 1, 4-butane-diol (BD) has been studied by measuring the amount of methanol and tetrahydrofuran formed during the reaction. Investigation of various catalyst systems revealed that titanium isopropoxide was a better catalyst than conventional transesterification catalysts such as manganese...