Dr Hanka Becker, materials scientist at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, has successfully raised two million euros from the renowned Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation. Over the next six years, she will be researching innovative recycling methods for aluminium alloys that are used in a wide range of industrial applications, from means of transport to consumer goods.
Dr Becker's research project focuses on recycling aluminium alloys in an environmentally friendly and energy-saving way and reusing them without any loss of quality.
“The reprocessing of recycled aluminium can save up to 95 per cent energy compared to the production of primary aluminium,“ explains Dr Becker.
This significant energy saving results from the energy-intensive process of oxygen separation during the extraction of primary aluminium.
Challenges and innovative approaches in the recycling process
A major problem in aluminium recycling is the removal of unwanted impurities. These are either already present in the alloys to be recycled or are created during the recycling process. Such impurities affect the mechanical and functional properties of the aluminium and result in reduced material quality.
Dr Becker and her team will investigate how these challenges can be overcome and how the impurities can be reduced or rendered harmless. A particular focus will be on the use of grain refiners to improve the structure of the material and minimise the binding of impurities.
“The answer to this question is groundbreaking for the industrial processing of recycled aluminium alloys. More and more of the aluminium products used worldwide are now reaching the end of their useful life and must be recycled in the interests of sustainability and resource conservation, both in terms of primary aluminium and energy,” says the young scientist.
Experimental research to optimise aluminium alloys
Dr Becker and her research team are planning to carry out a comprehensive experimental programme. According to Dr Becker, this programme aims to start with aluminium alloys produced in the laboratory and later apply the methods to technical alloys. The internal structures of the material, i.e. the microstructure, will be modified through the use of so-called grain refiners. These innovative refiners are added to the molten metal in order to reduce the size of the individual grains, which can measure up to one millimetre.
“By reducing the grain size, we reduce the influence of the impurities embedded in these grains,” explains the materials expert.
The team's aim is to enable the use of recycled aluminium alloys in applications where the material requirements are particularly high.
Background
Dr Becker chose the University of Magdeburg because of its excellent research facilities in the field of materials science. The Institute of Materials and Joining Technology not only offers a specialised foundry laboratory and advanced analytical methods, but also the ability to mill high-temperature intermetallic materials, which supports the research work.
Following her doctorate at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and research stays in Norway and Denmark, Dr Becker is using the funding from the Emmy Noether Programme to further advance her scientific career. The programme enables talented young scientists to qualify for a university professorship and honours Emmy Noether, a pioneer of mathematics and one of the first habilitated female scientists in Germany.
