Business reporter

Published 20th Mar 2023, 16:45 GMT

The Middlesbrough-based Institute will collaborate with groups including British Steel and Tata Steel on the 17-month project which aims to identify a sustainable method of allowing more iron to be recovered and reused in the iron and steelmaking process. The project also aims to allow more zinc to be recovered for reuse within separate UK supply chains.

Chris McDonald, CEO of the Materials Processing Institute, said: “This is very much a collaborative effort involving the UK’s leading iron and steel makers and innovators in order to deliver the most effective technological, economic and environmental method of recovering and re-using this high valued material.”

The project will investigate and evaluate several potential solutions, including ultra-sonic separation, a technology that uses high-frequency ultrasound to separate materials.

Dr Tutu Sebastian, senior researcher at the Materials Processing Institute, who is managing the zinc removal project.

CELSA Group, and Marcegaglia Stainless are alsocollaborating on the project, which is part of PRISM, the Innovate UK-funded programme which supports research and innovation in the steel and metals sector.

Materials Processing Institute leads new collaboration with British Steel and Tata Steel