The aim of this course is to offer an outline of the technologies employed in the processing of both raw materials and secondary materials. By raw materials we mean solid georesources with a market value destined for use in industry, while by secondary materials we mean those materials that are recovered from waste. Knowledge of the properties of solids shall be the starting point for the identification of the best physical and mechanical process techniques to adopt to obtain a raw material or secondary material. The operations that shall be considered include solid separation and treatment methodologies based on the physical and mechanical properties of the materials. Some of the most important examples of mineral and solid waste processing for the production of primary and secondary materials shall be examined, and at the end of the course the students shall be able to design a treatment plant on the basis of the knowledge acquired during the course.

The students should develop the ability to identify the best methodologies to apply in order to obtain a free substance that can be used as a raw material, both from natural resources and from waste. The student shall have the possibility of testing the physical and mechanical properties of some minerals/rocks and some recyclable waste substances in the laboratory. At the end of the course, the students shall be able to evaluate which separation methodologies can be applied to obtain a free grain, that is, how to obtain the free raw material from the additional components to which it is connected in nature, if dealing with minerals, or in the commercial product, if dealing with wastes. The analysis and observation capacities acquired over the three year degree course shall be necessary for this purpose.

The students should have knowledge of the fundamentals of physics, chemistry and structural mechanics. They should also be capable of carrying out preliminary evaluations and make general process designs to obtain raw and secondary materials.

Concepts on primary and secondary raw materials. Solid georesources production and economic layout. Minerals for the glass, ceramic and refractory industries, the mineral loads, limes and cement, aggregates and ornamental stones. Waste management. Evolution of the concepts pertaining to wastes, differentiated collections and consortiums.
Physical and mechanical properties. In situ sampling and laboratory test methods to determine the geometric, density, mechanical strength and durability properties. European Union marking of natural stones and aggregates.
Release of the constituents. Concepts on contents and recovery yield. General concepts pertaining to comminution. Alternative and rotating crushing machines; roller mills, impact crushers, milling, general concepts and technologies pertaining to screening. Crushing and screening circuits, industrial classification theories concerning a fluid medium, classifications concerning a fluid medium: by fall, counter-current, mechanical, centrifuge, the pneumatic classifying systems, sink-float separation, hydraulic and pneumatic table, separation by tables and by flotation, magnetic separation, electric separation. Other separation methods.
Recycling quality standards and technology; the recycling of electric and electronic waste, inert waste from construction and demolition, aluminium and other metals, glass, paper, plastic, compost, tyres. Flowcharts. Industrial mineral enrichment plants. Solid waste pre-selection plants.

Visits to recycling and raw material production plants are foreseen. Practical lessons shall be carried out in the laboratory on: sampling, particle size analyses, differential comminution, magnetic separation, densimetric separation, flotation, mechanical strength of rock samples, determination of the physical properties of stone materials.
In the lecture rooms: design of a pre-selection waste processing plant for the production of compost and cdr.

Notes shall be made available by the lecturer. Moreover, the following texts can be consulted:

Manning D.a.C. Introduction to industrial minerals. Chapman and Hall Ed.
Luciano Morselli, Roberto Marassi - I rifiuti: la chimica, il ciclo di vita, la valorizzazione, lo smaltimento, il controllo 2. ed. -Milano: Angeli, 2002, 520 p
G. Bressi, F. Becchis, A. L. De Cesaris. "La raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti solidi urbani ed assimilabili" Ed. Istituto per l’ambiente, Milano, 1992.
Morselli, Luciano Vol 1: Gestione dei rifiuti, compost e trattamento biologico, sostenibilità del territorio e certificazione ambientale Luciano Morselli.-Santarcangelo di Romagna: Maggioli, 2007, 590 p
In DITAG library specific papers and book on these topica are available.

The examination shall be oral. The results of the practical lessons shall also be taken into consideration in the final mark.