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Receol Student wins kaiserpfalz-Preis award for Metallurgy in germany
Last fall, the new Kaiserpfalz Prize for Metallurgy was announced. The prize is awarded by the Gesellschaft der Metallurgen und Bergleute (GDMB), a German organization that represents metallurgists and miners. The prize honors outstanding scientific achievements in the field of metallurgy.
In 2020, the prize was relaunched and for the first time endowed with a prize money of €3000. By awarding the new Kaiserpfalz Prize, the GDMB promotes and strengthens the innovative potential of scientists, especially in the field of metallurgy.
Our RecEOL colleague Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Vogt was awarded for his research in the field of Indium recycling from waste LCDs (liquid crystal displays). Indium is a rare metal that is increasingly used for such products as LCD panels or thin-film solar cells. In his PhD research, he is investigating the new approach of Indium recovery from used LCD glass by the use of molten salts. The indium is transferred into the molten salt and can be afterwards recovered as a highly pure metal using pyro- or hydrometallurgical purification steps.
In the beginning of his PhD he constructed a reactor for the performing of metallurgical investigations in molten salts. The results characterize the innovative recycling process as very efficient and indicate a recovery rate of more than 90% of the indium. The European partners of our collaborative project are now working on a further investigation of these findings in a pilot scale pyrolysis reactor.
Due to the Corona pandemic, the official award ceremony will take place during the general meeting of the GDMB on October 14th, 2021, in Wernigerode, Germany.
This article has also featured on our partners website at TU Freiberg in Germany and can be accessed via the link here.