Institute and Chair for Metallurgical Process Technology and Metal Recycling

Building of the IME

IME Metallurgical Process Technology and Metal Recycling - Institute and Chair at RWTH Aachen University
founding	1898
place	Aachen , Germany
management	Bernd Friedrich
Employee	approx. 70, plus student assistants
Website	Institute for Metallurgical Process Technology and Metal Recycling

The IME Metallurgical Process Technology and Metal Recycling - Institute and Chair of the RWTH Aachen (short form: IME ) at the RWTH Aachen University is a teaching and research institute in the field of metallurgical extraction, recycling , refinement and synthesis of non-ferrous metals and alloys . Current research interests focus heavily on activities to Circular economy (German: circular economy ).

In ongoing research projects, metallurgical processes are being developed that enable the sustainable management of metal-containing waste and residues and thus strengthen the supply of raw materials in the European economic area. The IME is part of the department for "Materials Science and Technology " (MuW) of the Faculty for Georesources and Material Technology.

history

With the establishment of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Polytechnische Schule in 1870, the chair for mineralogy and metallurgy was created. In 1872 the chair for general and special metallurgy and tasting was spun off and headed by Ernst Friedrich Dürre . In a further division in 1898, the chair for metallurgy and soldering tube testing was founded, which was headed by Wilhelm Borchers until 1925 . Since there were no separate laboratories and rooms for research at the beginning, a provisional test laboratory atrium for electrochemical and electrometallurgical investigations was set up in the empty basement rooms of the main building and what was then the Institute for Metallurgy and Technical Chemistry. With the opening of the later Institute for Metallurgy and Electrometallurgy in 1902, the institute became Germany's first metallurgical research institute . After the tragic death of Professor Wilhelm Borchers in 1925, Paul Röntgen took over the management up to and including 1952.

In the course of the Battle of Aachen in 1944, operation was no longer possible due to severe damage to the institute building, so that the work had to be relocated to provisional premises. The reconstruction took place from 1945 to 1949. The main research areas under Professor Röntgen were zinc and aluminum metallurgy and aluminum refining . After the retirement of his predecessor, Helmut Winterhager took over the institute from 1952 to 1977. During this time, the focus was on basic research in various areas of non-ferrous metallurgy, such as research into the structure and properties of slag systems and the smelting properties of feedstock research on extraction and refining processes for non-ferrous metals, electroplating and aqueous electrolysis . In addition, innovative metallurgical fields of work such as vacuum metallurgy or the use of plasma torches were explored.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the institute building was expanded, which among other things created new laboratories and workrooms. From 1977 to 1998 Joachim Krüger headed the institute. In his first years he made intensive contacts with industry in order to intensify the relationship between teaching and research activities. His main research interests were primary metallurgy and the recycling of residual and waste materials with the aim of recovering metal while reducing, avoiding or making waste materials inert. Since 1999, the management of the institute has been Bernd Friedrich, whose research includes work on practice-oriented projects in the fields of vacuum, electrical and hydrometallic, circular economy and environmentally friendly recycling processes, waste recycling, applied electrochemistry, materials technology for non-ferrous metals, alloys, especially special metals as well as accounting for metal extraction. In addition, he has had an honorary doctorate from the Donetsk National Technical University ( Ukraine ) since 2010 .

Research areas

• The traditional focus of recycling metallurgy as a contribution to the circular economy is based on the use of TBRC or electric arc furnaces , where reprocessed battery components, electronic scrap , used catalysts but also industrial residues such as dust, sludge or slag are processed.

• In the field of materials process technology , inert gas / vacuum metallurgy with the processes of inductive melting , electroslag remelting and vacuum arc melting takes up a large area, and is supplemented by many refining processes for the production of very pure metals (zone melting, fractional crystallization, distillation and purging gas treatment).

• The third research platform consists of laboratories for basic research , in which thermochemically modeled equilibria between metal and slag are experimentally validated, the kinetics of metallurgical reactions are determined, but also properties of molten phases (e.g. viscosity, density, surface tension, conductivity) are determined.

Green Metallurgy logo

In 2017 the IME succeeded in protecting the “Green Metallurgy” trademark across Europe. Metallurgical concepts and processes that are based on the idea of ​​an environmentally friendly, sustainable, zero-waste and low-emission metallurgy approach are marked with this name / logo.

Prices and Cooperations

The IME has received various prizes for its scientific achievements in the field of non-ferrous metallurgy. The institute was awarded the German Raw Material Efficiency Prize 2012 by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for the process developed with Accurec Recycling GmbH for the recovery of raw materials from old electronic devices, especially batteries. In addition, in 2008, 2012 and 2016 the IME was the winner of the world's most valuable metallurgical Kaiserpfalz Prize from the Metals Association. Here, too, battery recycling as well as nanotechnology and titanium metallurgy were the background for this honor.

The IME was actively involved in the founding of the European research network EIT RawMaterials and represents the interests of RWTH as a core partner (Rector's representative). RWTH's involvement in EIT RawMaterials strengthens its presence in Europe, provides information on developments in the raw materials industry and enables teaching and innovation projects to be promoted. As one of six institutes at RWTH Aachen University, the IME is a founding member of the open innovation research cluster AMAP (Advanced Metals and Processes), within the framework of which joint, pre-competitive research projects are carried out to strengthen the material aluminum. This research cluster also includes 14 industrial companies.

The intensive cooperation with the Donetsk National Technical University in Ukraine has resulted in a leading position in the field of titanium metallurgy. a. was honored with the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Prof. Bernd Friedrich. The IME maintains further strategic partnerships with the Technical University of Istanbul (hydrometallurgy), the University of Maribor (nanopowder), the National Technical University of Athens (industrial residues) and with the University of Belgrade (electrochemistry).

Course offer

• The structural change that has taken place in the metal industry in recent years also had a serious impact on engineering qualifications. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular increasingly required interdisciplinary skills. As a result, an engineer must be trained who is able to enable the development and optimization of metallurgical processes and metal alloys through a combination of sound knowledge of metallurgy, plant engineering and computer science.

• The practice-oriented study of non-ferrous metallurgy in the “Materials Science and Technology” department should meet these requirements. The main focus is on the ability to develop processes for the production of innovative metallic materials as well as their recycling. The courses offered by the IME are primarily aimed at students of materials engineering, as well as those studying industrial engineering (focus on materials and process technology) and environmental engineering (focus on raw materials technology). These are trained at RWTH Aachen University in a 6-semester bachelor's / 4-semester master's course or in a 4-semester English-language postgraduate course to become a “Master in Metallurgical Engineering”.

• Thermal extraction processes, thermal refining processes and hydrometallurgy are offered in all three courses. Furthermore, the optional subjects “Resource efficiency in metal recycling”, “Metallurgy and properties of aluminum smelting”, “Planning and economic efficiency of metallurgical plants” and “The value chain of rare earths (SE) - extraction and recycling” round off the institute's range of courses.

Web links

• Section for Materials Science and Technology, RWTH Aachen University, In: MUW.RWTH
• Faculty of Georesources Material Technology, In: Metallurgy RWTH Aachen
• Bernd Friedrich RWTH Aachen University - Department of Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling, In: Researchgate

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Resource College NRW - Members. Retrieved August 18, 2019 . 
2. ↑ IME - history. Retrieved May 5, 2019 . 
3. ↑ IME - head of the institute. Retrieved August 18, 2019 . 
4. ↑ IME - circular economy of batteries. Retrieved May 5, 2019 . 
5. ↑ IME - research projects. Retrieved May 5, 2019 . 
6. ↑ IME - Green Metallurgy. Retrieved August 18, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Metallurgists of the RWTH awarded raw material efficiency prize. In: idw-online. Retrieved May 5, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Kaiserpfalzpreis 2016 goes to a team from RWTH Aachen University. Retrieved August 19, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Partners - EIT RawMaterials. Retrieved on August 19, 2019 . 
10. ↑ AMAP. Retrieved May 5, 2019 . 
11. ↑ RWTH - Karl Bernhard Friedrich. Retrieved August 19, 2019 . 
12. ↑ IME - Uni Cooperations. Retrieved August 19, 2019 . 
13. ↑ courses. Retrieved August 19, 2019 . 

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 50.5 ″  N , 6 ° 4 ′ 28.2 ″  E