Nano, bio and mineral technologies—mutual leveraging for product and process innovations

Abstract

Particle engineers, primarily trained in disciplines such as mineral, chemical, materials, and mechanical engineering, have made important contributions to basic and applied nanotechnology advances, especially involving nanostructured particulate materials. These include flotation chemistry inspired reagent schemes for selective polishing in microelectronic manufacturing, multifunctional particles for diagnosis and therapies for cancer, nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalysis, functional nano particles for odor control. At the same time, concepts from other technologies such as nano and bio technologies are being adapted for advances in mineral and materials processing technologies. Notably among them are the new measurement and characterization tools that involve sensors and robots. For example, high throughput or combinatorial methodologies employed for screening of chemical/biological/drug have the potential of identifying potential surface active chemical or biological entities for advanced separation purposes. Similarly targeted drug delivery platforms could be adapted for delivering microencapsulating leachants on specific sites on mineral surfaces for extracting the desired metal component. These developments may not only decrease processing costs, but also waste disposal costs. In order to achieve these goals, researchers with interdisciplinary expertise and technology integration skills are needed for developing disruptive solutions to long standing challenges in mineral and materials processing. This paper illustrates attempts for adapting technological innovations across industry sectors.