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CO₂-Driven Metal Recovery from Reactive Ores
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge lies in developing a cost-effective, scalable process that can both capture CO₂ and extract critical energy metals from ultramafic and mafic rocks, especially mine tailings. Currently, these two goals are tackled separately using energy-intensive and chemically harsh methods that are expensive, waste-generating, and often...
Published: 7/10/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Sepehr Ghaderi
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Mining and Recycling, Technology Classifications > Environment/Green Tech
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CO₂-Assisted Grinding for Energy and Emissions Reduction
THE CHALLENGE
The mining industry faces a major business and sustainability challenge: the energy-intensive process of grinding ore to extract valuable minerals is consuming up to 4% of global electricity and nearly half of a mine’s on-site energy—driving up operational costs and carbon emissions. Traditional solutions like larger ball...
Published: 7/10/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Xu Wang
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Environment/Green Tech, Technology Classifications > Energy
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Sustainable Microwave-Assisted LIB Leaching
THE CHALLENGE
The growing use of lithium-ion batteries has intensified the need to efficiently extract valuable metals from spent batteries, yet existing recycling methods face major challenges. Traditional techniques such as pyrometallurgy require high energy inputs and often produce significant emissions, while conventional hydrometallurgical processes,...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Shiyu Li
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Environment/Green Tech
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Fibrous LDH Structures via Polymer Modification
THE CHALLENGE
The rapid growth in lithium-ion battery demand has intensified the search for efficient and sustainable lithium extraction methods from brine sources, yet conventional powder and granular adsorbents as well as evaporation and membrane-based techniques continue to face significant challenges. These traditional approaches often struggle...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Yanan Pan
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials, Technology Classifications > Mining and Recycling
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Lithium Capture via Modified LDHs
THE CHALLENGE
The global surge in lithium demand, fueled by the expansion of battery-dependent technologies, has intensified efforts to recover lithium efficiently from low-concentration sources such as brines and produced waters. Traditional extraction methods like acid leaching and pyrolysis often face challenges related to poor selectivity, high...
Published: 6/25/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Yanan Pan
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Mining and Recycling, Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials
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Recovering Critical Elements from Acid Mine Drainage
THE CHALLENGE
The demand for certain elements, such as Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), and Nickel (Ni), has surged in recent years due to the rapid growth of battery production for electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage. The United States government has deemed Co, Ni, and Mn critical elements, primarily because of the country’s high...
Published: 6/26/2025
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Inventor(s): Wencai Zhang, Qi Li, Rick Honaker
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Technology Classifications > Energy, Technology Classifications > Mining and Recycling, Technology Classifications, Technology Classifications > Chemicals/Materials
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