LEARNING OUTCOMES
After the course the student is able to:
- Recall, define, and discuss the basic concepts of circular economy and successfully apply them within the field of raw materials production.
- Assess the physical and chemical advantages and limitations in different technological steps and methods for both metal and plastics recycling.
- Apply a systemic perspective in designing resource efficient recycling processes.
- Identify the scale of the challenges connected to materials consumption and recycling today and in the near future.
Credits: 5
Schedule: 23.10.2024 - 03.12.2024
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Anna Klemettinen, Jukka Niskanen, Rodrigo Serna Guerrero
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
- Introduction to the value chain of metals – from mining to recycling.
- Fundamental concepts in plastics production, plastic waste processing, and plastics recycling.
- Concepts of circular economy and resource efficiency.
- Steps in metal recycling process: mechanical pre-processing, hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processing.
- Mechanical and chemical recycling of plastics: current status, challenges, and emerging technologies.
- Challenges in metal recycling: waste management, waste collection, thermodynamic limitations, economic feasibility.
- Environmental impacts of waste materials and their recycling processes.
- Principles of life cycle assessment (LCA) and challenges.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Lectures, home assignments (online quizzes, short calculation tasks), and final online exam
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Lectures 24 h
Tutorials 24 h
Project (home) work 45 h
Independent studies 42 h
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
Lecture notes, Wills: Mineral Processing Technology, Elsevier; Worrell and Reuter: Handbook of recycling, Elsevier
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
12 Responsible Production and Consumption
13 Climate Action
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language: English
Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Autumn II
2025-2026 Autumn IIRegistration:
Max 100 students prioritized in the following order:
1. All the students (including doctoral students) in the major Sustainable Metals Processing from the ‘Chemical, Biochemical, and Materials Engineering’; ‘Chemical and Process Engineering’ and ‘Sustainable Metallurgical Engineering’ from the Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Master’s Program, as well as students from Creative Sustainability CHEM Master's Program are selected if enrolled in time.
2. Students in the master’s programs in Chemical, Biochemical, and Materials Engineering’ i.e. ‘Fibre and Polymer Engineering’ and ‘Functional Materials’
3. Students in the master’s program in ‘Chemical, Biochemical, and materials Engineering’ i.e. ‘Biomass Refining’, ‘Biotechnology’, and ‘Chemistry’.
A course implementation may be cancelled if the number of students enrolled to the course implementation does not meet the required minimum of five students. In the case of cancelled course implementations, the students enrolled to them must be provided with an alternative way of completing the course or be advised to take some other applicable course.