Aurubis Beerse | Metals for ProgressNovel process development, ramp-up and optimization (Plasma Fumer) | Process improvement, mainly pyrometallurgical recycling processes | EU-funded research projects with universities, research institutes and private companies | Active member in the Flanders Metals Valley, a circular and zero waste ecosystem for metals production.Aurubis Beerse recycles the most complex secondary materials and refines them into high-quality metals, metal products and minerals. The site builds on 100 years of experience to serve a global customer base and thus strengthen the circular economy. Our state-of-the-art technologies, designed and realized by in-house engineers, give Aurubis Beerse a unique global position. Every year, more than 350,000 tons of recycling materials are processed, from which metals and metal products are recovered. These metals are found in the value chain as refined copper, tin, lead and as products such as nickel sulfate solutions, zinc oxides, metal sludge and minerals including the clean synthetic mineral Koranel®.

Starting up Flanders metals Valley as a bottom-up initiative grouping industry, society and academia. Together we grow towards a climate-neutral and circular metals industry. Aim is to create collaborations on the topics of education, innovation and communication. This was a part-time assignment, working together with the start-up team consisting of other volunteers.The initiative was met with great enthusiasm by the community, enabling us to hire a full-time coordinator as from August 2022. My new role will be a a member of the steering committee.

Develop new recycling opportunities on the raw material side | Customize end products for new applications on the product side | Profitability analysis of the current process and product portfolio

Responsible for the battery recycling operations, consisting of lead acid battery crushing, blast furnace and lead refinery | Daily responsibility for operational costs, process performance, maintenance and logistics (about 65 people) | Transfer of commercial/logistic tools to SAP

Responsibility for the process performance at the Hoboken Smelter | Optimization of the furnace charge to reach maximum profitability (throughput and margin) | Introduction of new refining processes and new raw materials | Process improvement by bringing the minimalist approach (Jaikumar) into practice | Introduction of SAP stock management system

Technical assistance to production | Ramp-up of new installations |Optimisation of process performance in a complex environment through a practical elaboration of the Minimalist approach | Process development from lab to pilot scale | Development of expertise in refractories for industrial applications | Pyrometallurgy of copper, precious metals, cobalt and germanium through various innovative processes within Umicore | Regular attendance at metallurgical conferences (TMS, COM, EMC, GDMB, MOLTEN) as co-author and speaker

During my stay at the Center for Pyrometallurgy, I got involved in thermodynamic modelling of processes and pilot scale testing. I learned the basics of METSIM for the modelling of pyrometallurgical processes. The pilot scale equipment made it all very real. The inspirational education by professor DGC Robertson made me want to continue in this field of science and technology.