Division/Committee: [ENVR: Division of Environmental Chemistry] [GEOC: Division of Geochemistry]

Critical materials like rare earth elements are increasingly needed for advanced electronics, clean energy, and defense-related technologies. Most of these materials are currently mined and extracted using energy- and chemical-intensive processes that generate environmentally harmful waste and carbon dioxide emissions. To establish a responsibly sourced and stable domestic supply chain for critical materials, it will be necessary not only to obtain these elements from primary ores but also to extract them from abundant unconventional feedstocks such as recycled electronics, produced waters, mine tailings, and geothermal brines. Transformative advances in critical material extraction and separation will be enabled by an improved fundamental understanding of 1) interfacial interactions, 2) the enthalpy and entropy changes associated with demixing transitions, 3) the coupling of reactivity and separations, 4) new synthesis techniques and the degradation of materials over time, 5) how external forces and fields may be leveraged to control transport and reactivity, and 6) supply chains to predict what elements will become critical in the future. Disruptive advances in separations will also require translating this fundamental scientific understanding into scalable and economically viable technologies. This symposium will provide a forum for chemists, chemical engineers, and materials scientists to learn about and discuss the latest developments in critical material separations, engineering, and technology. The forum's broad fundamental and applied scope is intended to attract leading researchers, early career scientists, and engineers from academia, national laboratories, and industry.

Slawo Lomnicki

Louisiana State University

Appearances