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NC STATE UNIVERSITY College of Engineering Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
SuPER Lab

Applied thrust 1

Sustainable Processing and Critical Materials

Low-emission, electricity-driven processes for metal recovery, direct lithium extraction, waste utilization, and co-production of critical materials from complex feedstocks.

Challenge 01

Sustainable manufacturing and processing

A new generation of separation and processing technologies with smaller environmental footprints is needed to re-establish the U.S. critical-material supply.

This thrust aligns with the U.S. national R&D priority on critical materials. The vision is twofold: low-emission, efficient processes for metal recovery and waste utilization, and a new generation of electricity-driven, chemical-free, waste-free, water-light separation techniques for critical metals and materials extraction.

What we’re working on

  1. Electrochemical processing — leaching and electrowinning of base and critical metals.
  2. Electro-separation — intercalation-based selective extraction that doesn’t separate water from low-value concentrated ions.
  3. Recycling and industrial waste utilization — chemical-free electrochemical extraction of high-value metals from recycled electronics, magnets, batteries, and industrial waste streams (steel scrap, slag, sludge, mine waste, tailings, effluent).
  4. Process intensification and co-production — complete flow sheets for co-producing lithium, potassium, magnesium, and other valuable products from brine feedstocks, in partnership with industry and national lab collaborators.

Research highlights

Sustainable ironmaking by acidic electrolysis (AWARE)

Iron and steel account for ~7% of global industrial CO₂ emissions. The AWARE process — Acidic electro-Winning in Anion-Rich Electrolytes — tackles efficiency challenges in acidic electrolytic ironmaking by using anion-rich aqueous electrolytes that minimize parasitic hydrogen evolution while maintaining high Faradaic efficiency. Read the paper in Electrochimica Acta →

Schematic of the AWARE process for sustainable iron electrowinning

Seawater and brackish water desalination

We design electrochemical systems for separating water from valuable minerals (Li, K, Mg, etc.). Our continuous shock-electrodialysis cell removes ions from seawater and generates fresh water with much higher efficiency than conventional approaches. Read the paper in Desalination →

Small-scale shock electrodialysis cell for seawater desalination

Critical-material production from brines

In partnership with Idaho National Laboratory, we received DOE funding to develop sustainable processes for co-extracting lithium, potassium, and magnesium from continental and lake brines. DOE announcement →

Selected publications

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