INNOVATION

FJH: What Is Flash Joule Heating?

Unleashing Instantaneous Heat

Flash Joule Heating is an innovative technology that utilizes the principle of electrical resistance to generate intense heat within materials almost instantaneously.

This process involves passing a direct current through a material, where the resistance of the material itself converts electrical energy into heat energy. The result is a rapid increase in temperature, often exceeding 3,000 degrees Celsius in milliseconds —
a phenomenon known as 'flashing'.

The applications

The science

Applications

Mining

Enhancing the recovery of metals from refractory ores and tailings.
Mineral Processing

Significantly improved economics and sustainability from the recovery of metals.
Recycling

Improving the efficiency of metal extraction from electronic waste and scrap materials such as recycled batteries.
Materials Science

Enabling new approaches to processing and synthesizing advanced materials.

How Does It Work?
The Science Behind The Flash

When a direct current is applied to the material, the resistance of the material causes it to heat up rapidly due to the Joule effect.

This instantaneous heating triggers various physical and chemical transformations within the material.

These transformations can be particularly advantageous for metal recovery processes from ores (especially those that are refractory in nature and therefore more resistent to leaching) and waste materials.

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HIGH TEMPERATURE IN MILLISECONDS

Through a controlled application of electricity for a short period of time, the FJH process increases the temperature of the feedstock (as high as 3000°C+ in milliseconds), allowing precise control for targeted metal extraction through changing of the metallic compounds that would otherwise make it refractory.
ENHANCED METAL RECOVERY

Intense heat from the FJH process selectively unlocks metal from ores and waste, potentially reducing costs, decreasing the amount of reagents required, potentially decreasing the amount of water that is consumed in the extraction process thus making metal extraction more sustainable.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Waste and ore feedstock that enters the FJH processing chamber has energy applied directly to it for a finite period of time, minimising energy waste compared to traditional methods such the use of kiln technology which requires energy to heat the rotating oven equipment, the atmosphere within the kiln and the feedstock, more often than not on a continuous basis, regardless of whether material is being processed or not.
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

The efficiency of the FJH process compared to existing technologies cuts energy use, decreases reagent and water consumption and has the potential to decrease the CO2 emissions compared to current mineral extraction processes.

So, Why Flash Joule Heating?

Flash Joule Heating technology represents a cutting-edge approach to metallurgical processes, offering rapid, efficient, and sustainable solutions for metal recovery and materials processing.

Its ability to achieve extremely high temperatures in milliseconds and induce beneficial transformations makes it a promising technology for the future of resource utilisation and environmental stewardship.

Explore how our implementation of Flash Joule Heating can transform your operations and contribute to a more sustainable future. Contact us today to learn more about our innovative solutions and how we can partner with you to achieve your goals.

Technology Ownership and Licensing

Flash Joule Heating technology was developed at Rice University, where it originated from research and innovation in materials science and engineering. The intellectual property rights and patents associated with FJH are owned by Rice University. This ownership signifies Rice University’s role as the originator and primary developer of the technology, leveraging its expertise and resources in advancing metallurgical processes.

Metallium has secured a licensing agreement from Rice University to utilize the Flash Joule Heating technology. This licensing arrangement allows Metallium to deploy and commercialize FJH for applications related to metal recovery from ores and waste materials.

Under this licensing agreement:

Technology Access: Metallium gains access to the proprietary knowledge, patents, and know-how related to Flash Joule Heating. This access enables Metallium to leverage the cutting-edge technology developed by Rice University for their specific applications in the mining and materials processing industries.

Commercialization Rights: The licensing agreement grants Metallium the rights to develop and commercialize products and processes based on Flash Joule Heating technology. This includes adapting and scaling the technology to meet industry demands for efficient and sustainable metal recovery solutions.
Collaborative Development: Often, such agreements involve collaboration between the licensor (Rice University) and the licensee (Metallium) to further refine and optimize the technology for specific industrial applications. This collaborative approach ensures that the technology continues to evolve and meet the evolving needs of the market.

Commercial Opportunities

E-WASTE

Printed circuit boards (PCB’s) can contain up to 30% by weight of metals such as copper, zinc, tin, lead, iron, nickel and precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium (Fortune Business Insights 2024). E-waste can contain between 0.2 to 0.5 grams of gold per kilogram (g/kg), which translates to 200 to 500 grams per ton.
The E-waste recycling market size was valued at USD 14.2 billion in 2022 (Fortune Business Insights 2024). The industry is projected to grow from USD 16.2 billion in 2023 to USD 61.1 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.9% during the forecast period (2023 - 2032). Globally, approximately 62 million tonnes of E-waste were generated in 2022 (Balde et al, 2024). This volume is up from 34 million tonnes in 2010 and is projected to grow to 82 million tonnes by 2030.
Collection and recycling of e-Waste is highly variable around the world but is a significant issue for Europe and the USA. E-waste recycling has become increasingly important in recent years due to a combination of environmental and economic factors. One of the driving factors is the rapidly increasing amount of electronic waste generated worldwide.
With the proliferation of computer servers, electronic devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic gadgets, the volume of electronic waste is expected to continue to rise in the coming years.
LITHIUM BATTERY WASTE

Lithium batteries (LiB) are comprised of valuable metals such as lithium, copper, manganese, cobalt, and nickel. Once a battery is retired, the batteries can be collected, fully discharged, then shredded and base metals separated to prepare them for recycling. This metallic mixture called black mass contains all the valuable metals that make up battery anodes and cathodes.
The typical black colour is due to the high concentrations of graphite contained in the anodes of batteries. Battery metals account for up to 30% of the battery by weight which is far greater than those of natural resources, for example a NMC 111 battery contains 11% lithium, 30% nickel, 31% cobalt and 28% manganese. FJH has been shown in the laboratory (Chen et al. 2023 ) to improve the recovery of battery metals from black mass when applied prior to conventional acid leaching. Metallium is planning to evaluate how this material responds to treatment in the Company’s prototype FJH unit.
The black mass recycling market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% between 2023 and 2030, from an estimated USD 8.1 billion in 2022 to USD 33.6 billion by 2030 (xResearch, 2024 ). This growth is primarily being driven by the expanding use of LiB in electric vehicles and portable electronics.
Rising awareness of environmental issues such as pollution, resource depletion and climate change is driving the demand for more sustainable and efficient recycling methods for black mass.
BAUXITE RESIDUE (RED MUD)

“Red mud” is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process.
Testing of red mud using FJH has been carried out to assess the viability of recovering residual aluminium and other critical metals such as titanium, REE, scandium and gallium. Large resources of bauxite residue already exist globally. Annually about 140 Mt of bauxite residue is produced and the global inventory is expected to reach 10Bt by 2050 (IAI 2022 ).
Residue storage ponds present a similar environmental challenge to CFA and significant research is underway to both recover critical metals and reduce the amount of material in long-term storage.
COAL FLY ASH

Recent testing has shown that the FJH technology can increase the recovery of rare earth elements (REE) and other critical metals from coal fly ash (CFA) by improving the susceptibility of the CFA to acid leaching.
It is estimated that coal fired power generation produces approximately 900 Mt per annum of CFA (Markets and Markets 2024 ). The average REE global grade of CFA is about 445 ppm total rare earth element oxide (TREO) (Sreenivas et. al 2021 ), representing approximately 0.5 Bt of TREO.
The amount of rare earth oxides produced globally in 2023 was 350,000 t of TREO (reference) and global demand is expected to grow to 466,000t TREO by 2035 driven by the demand for electric vehicles, wind turbines etc. Existing CFA deposits in landfill are therefore a very strategic source of REE and other metals provided an economic processing technology can be developed.
Furthermore, CFA production is also a matter of serious environmental concern as it is typically placed in landfill and acidic leach liquors containing heavy metals can leach out into the subsoil or contaminate groundwater.