URBAN MINING AND RECYCLING PROCESSES

Course objectives

The course is aimed at providing expertise in waste recycling processes and valorization of secondary raw materials, considering technical, economic and environmental aspects as well as technological innovations of the sector. The course aims to illustrate the main technologies and related equipment at laboratory scale and / or industrial plant in order to carry out the recognition, characterization, selection and treatment of recycled materials of different nature, both from civil and industrial sources. Starting from the knowledge of solid particle properties, it will be possible to evaluate and define the most suitable physical-mechanical treatment techniques for the different waste materials, as well as for different types of end-of-life products, in order to produce secondary raw materials. Furthermore, some of the main recycling production chains will be examined, highlighting the existing issues and the key factors of each process. Based on the acquired knowledge, the student will be able to define the fundamental operations, their sequence and logic in order to design a mechanical recycling process to recover materials from waste and end-of-life products by choosing the most suitable separation methods, defined from the characterization of solid waste materials, also through innovative approaches. The student will also develop the ability to evaluate, select and apply quality control methods for both feed streams and outputs of a recycling plant, in order to optimize the processes, maximizing the recovery and the value of the secondary raw materials.

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SILVIA SERRANTI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Primary and secondary raw materials. Ore mining and urban mining. Sustainable use of resources. Linear economy and circular economy. From waste to resource. Critical raw materials. Waste management hierarchy. Reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, disposal. Waste classification. Waste management. Packaging waste recycling. Sampling of materials Degree of liberation Recycling oriented characterization. Analytical methods and measurements of particle morphological, morphometrical, physical and chemical characteristics with application to material recycling. Optical and electronic microscopy. X-ray fluorescence. Classical and hyperspectral imaging. Recycling technologies. Disassembly, comminution, classification, separation, sensor-based sorting technologies. Recycling chains of different materials: plastic, glass, paper, aluminum, construction and demolition waste, waste from electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles, etc. with examples of plant flow-sheets. Quality and process control in recycling plants. The course includes classroom exercises and practical experiences in laboratory on the different topics. In-depth seminars on specific topics will be also organized. Possible visits to waste recycling plants. A teamwork (groups of 2-4 students) on topics to be agreed is planned. At the beginning of the course, students will be divided into small groups. Each group will be assigned to study a real issue related to the recycling of a material. The teamwork will be carried out during the course with periodic checks through power point presentations. At the end of the course a written report will be delivered.
Prerequisites
Basic knowkedge of mathematics, physics and chemistry
Books
Copy of the course presentations, lecture notes and scientific papers on the different topics provided by the teacher. Suggested books: Wills B.A and Finch J.A., "Wills' Mineral Processing Technology", Elesiver Ed. 2016 Worrell W.A., Vesilind P.A., Ludwig C. "Solid waste engineering - A global perspective", SJ Edition 3rd Edition, 2016 Goodship V., Stevels AB, Huisman J. "Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Handbook", 2nd Ed., Elsevier, 2019 Rhodes M.J. “Principles of powder technology”, Wiley Ed., 450 pp., 1990. Merkus H.G.“Particle size measurements: Fundamentals, Practice, Quality”, Springer Ed., 533 pp., 2009. Worrell E. and Reuter M.A. "Handbook of recycling", Elsevier Ed., 581 pp., 2014.
Teaching mode
The teaching activity will be organized by combining different models: lectures, exercises, seminars, laboratory experiences, group project with presentation in the classroom and drafting of the work carried out by each group.
Frequency
Students are invited to register in the classroom through which all the communications and the sharing of teaching material will take place. Instructions for classroom registration will be provided on the teacher's notice board.
Exam mode
During the course students will be divided into small groups and at each group the study of a real problem related to the recycling of a material will be assigned. The teamwork will be carried out during the course with regular checks through power point presentations. The assessment will be done by a written exam on the course topics, containing 1 exercise and 3 open response questions. The assignedteamwork will be delivered before the written exam as a written report. The report will be evaluated in terms of quality (spelling, quality of the figures), content completeness, level of depth and relevance of bibliographic references. The final grade will be given by 70% score of the written test and 30% score of the project.
Lesson mode
The teaching activity will be organized by combining different models: lectures, exercises, seminars, laboratory experiences, group project with presentation in the classroom and drafting of the work carried out by each group.
  • Lesson code10609397
  • Academic year2024/2025
  • CourseGreen Industrial Engineering for Sustainable Development
  • CurriculumSUSTAINABLE PROCESSES
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDING-IND/29
  • CFU9
  • Subject areaAttività formative affini o integrative