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Our Research & Lab Initiatives

Welcome to SusMinT Laboratory! We are a dedicated research group committed to advancing knowledge and innovation in sustainable mineral production, with a particular focus on critical and energy-relevant minerals. As a leading laboratory located within a globally ranked mining and minerals engineering program at Virginia Tech, we take pride in our diverse range of research projects and our commitment to excellence. Our research encompasses a wide spectrum of research areas related to sustainable mineral production, including advanced mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, biometallurgy, and sustainable environmental management. 

Our Technologies

We aim to develop innovative technologies and processes to promote sustainable mineral production, leveraging our interdisciplinary expertise in various areas such as sample characterization, mineral processing, extractive metallurgy (hydro, pyro, bio, and electrochemical ), chemical engineering, and green chemistry.

Our Feedstocks

We aim to promote the production of valuable minerals, such as rare earth elements, lithium, nickel, and cobalt,  from various feedstocks, including ores (bastnaesite, monazite, xenotime, chalcopyrite, etc.), mining wastes (coal refuse, tailings, acid mine drainage, etc.), industrial and urban wastes (produced water, electronic waste, municipal solid waste incineration ash, end-of-life tires, wastewater, spent batteries, and battery scraps, etc.), and other promising feedstocks (hyperaccumulators, ultramafic rocks, macroalage, fly ash, etc.)

Our Selected Research Topics

Focusing on sustainable mineral production, we work on many different fundamental and applied research topics. 

Valuable Mineral Recovery from Primary Feedstocks

Valuable Mineral Recovery from Coal-Based Feedstocks

Valuable Mineral Recovery from Secondary Feedstocks

Carbon Dioxide Promoted Sustainable Mineral Production

Fundamental Studies

Our IP Technologies

Our Funded Projects and Funding Agencies

  1. Allanite leaching study. Funded by American Rare Earth. Performance Period: 05/01/2024 - 06/30/2024.

  2. Valuable mineral recovery and alternative utilization of produced water through a novel process. Funded by DOE/NETL. Performance Period: Not available.

  3. Low-Cost, Eco-friendly Recovery of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) from Coal Mine Wastes through Phytomining. Funded by OSMRE. Performance Period: 02/01/2024 - 01/31/2026. 

  4. Exploring Macroalgae as Critical Mineral Crops, E=(MC)2. Funded by ARPA-E. Performance Period: 06/14/2024 - 06/13/2026. 

  5. Resource Assessment of Geological Formations and Mine Waste for Carbon Dioxide Mineralization in the US Mid-Atlantic. Funded by DOE/NETL. Performance Period: 09/01/2023 - 08/31/2025.

  6. Development of a Carbon-Negative Process for Comminution Energy Reduction and Energy-Relevant Mineral Extraction through Carbon Mineralization and Biological Carbon Fixation. Funded by the University of Kentucky (ARPA-E flowthrough). Performance Period: 

  7. Energy-relevant elements recovery from CO2-reactive minerals during carbon mineralization. Funded by ARPA-E. Performance Period: 03/09/2023 - 03/08/2026. 

  8. Kings Mountain Lithium Materials Processing Plant. Funded by Albemarle U.S. Inc. (DOE flow through). Performance Period: 06/15/2023 - 06/14/2024.

  9. Development of innovative reagent schemes for gangue depression in bastnaesite flotation. Funded by MP Materials. Performance Period: 9/1/2022-8/30/2023.

  10. Enhanced Dewatering of Acid Mine Drainage Sludge Using an Efficient, Low-cost, and Modular Process Circuits. Funded by OSMRE. Performance Period: 07/01/2023 - 05/30/2025. 

  11. An Integrated Approach to Maximizing the Value of Coal with Low Carbon Footprint: Developing Advanced Battery Materials and Recovering Critical Elements. Funded by Vibrant Virginia. Performance Period: 11/01/2021 - 10/31/2022.

  12. Preliminary investigation on critical elements recovery from the acid mine drainages of XXX Inc. Performance Period: 11/01/2021 - 2/28/2022.

  13. Statistically rigorous deep dive nationwide characterization of municipal solid waste and selection of technologies enabling production of conversion-ready feedstocks. Funded by Cascadia Consulting Group (DOE/EERE flow through). Performance Period: 10/01/2021 – 12/31/2024 .

  14. Recovery of ZnO from end-of-life tires for enhanced and effective waste material utilization. Funded by the Center for Tire Research. Performance Period: 09/01/2021 – 08/31/2024.

  15. Rare earth elements recovery from secondary resources. Funded by the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth). Performance Period: Summer of 2021.

  16. Rare Earth Elements Recovery Using Food Waste - Phase I. Funded by EPA. Performance Period: December 2020 – November 2021.

  17. Rare earth element separation using gas-assisted micro-flow extraction with task-specific ionic liquids. Funded by Phinix, LLC (DOE flowthrough). Performance Period: June 2021 – May 2024.

  18. Low-concentration precious metal recovery from complex streams using gas-assisted microflow solvent extraction. Funded by the REMADE Institute. Performance Period: February 2021 – January 2022.

  19. Physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterizations of MSWI ash product and recommendations for downstream processing. Funded by DOE/ARPA-E. Performance Period: April 2021 – April 2023.

  20. Demonstration of scaled-production of rare earth oxides and critical materials from coal-based sources using innovative, low-cost process technologies and circuits. Funded by the University of Kentucky (DOE flowthrough). Performance Period: October 2019 – April 2022.

  21. Mid-APPalachian carbon ore, rare earth and critical minerals (MAPP-CORE) initiative. Funded by West Virginia University (DOE flowthrough). Performance Period: June 2021 – May 2023.

  22. Evolve Central Appalachia. Funded by DOE/NETL. Performance Period: 07/01/2021 - 06/30/2023.

  23. Multi-Sourced Collaboration for the Production & Refining of Rare and Critical Elements. Funded by the University of Kentucky (DOE flowthrough). Performance Period: December 2021 - August 2022.

Disclaim: Some of the materials used on this webpage have been published , and the copyright belongs to the publishers.

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