PhD projects within REEDEAM Industrial Graduate School

REEDEAM Industrial Graduate School (REEDEAM IGS) focuses on climate-neutral production, electrification, digitalization, and automation across the raw materials–based value chain. The graduate school provides a long-term framework for collaboration between academia and industry, supporting competence development and research that enable the green industrial transition.

Within REEDEAM IGS, two industrial PhD projects are carried out in collaboration between the research subject Process Metallurgy at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) and LKAB Minerals, with funding from the Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen), LKAB Minerals, and LTU via CAMM-CRM. The projects address strategic challenges related to the recovery and upgrading of phosphorus and rare earth elements (REE) from secondary and variable raw materials, such as mine tailings and other mineral residues.

Background

Rare earth elements are essential for high-performance permanent magnets in wind turbines, electric vehicles, robotics, and defense applications, while phosphorus is a crucial nutrient for agriculture. The EU is almost entirely dependent on imports for both, making them critical raw materials (under the European Critical Raw Materials Act).

The PhD students will focus on selected steps in the hydrometallurgical process (REEMAP) developed by LKAB to produce phosphoric acid and oxides of rare earth elements, with gypsum of commercial value as a by-product, from apatite concentrate produced from mine tailings generated during magnetite ore enrichment.

Purpose and implementation

PhD project 1- Redox Reactions in Apatite and Carbonate Systems and Their Impact on Phosphorus and REE Recovery focuses on how redox conditions are influenced by the raw material characteristics and further influence the recovery of phosphorus and rare earth elements from apatite- and carbonate-based materials. Raw materials with varying origins, mineralogy, storage history, and pre-treatment are investigated, reflecting the variability encountered in industrial circular material flows.

The project combines experimental studies with thermodynamic modelling to analyze how parameters such as pH, oxidation state, iron and manganese content, and mineral speciation affect reaction mechanisms, element distribution, and recovery efficiency. By linking chemical conditions to thermodynamic descriptors, the project provides fundamental process understanding and guidance for process control.

The results support the development of robust and scalable recovery processes for critical raw materials and strengthen the connection between fundamental chemistry and industrial implementation within the REEDEAM IGS. This project starts in January 2026.

PhD Project 2-Leaching, Separation, and Purification Strategies for Phosphorus and Rare Earth Elements focuses preliminary on the flowsheet for phosphorus and rare earth elements extraction, with particular emphasis on how process parameters can be used to control element speciation and enable selective separation from impurities. This project starts in March 2026.

The project investigates how chemical conditions such as pH, redox environment, and complexing agents influence solubility, selectivity, and purification efficiency in hydrometallurgical systems. Different separation and purification approaches are evaluated with respect to process performance, flexibility, and industrial feasibility.

By addressing both technical opportunities and limitations, the project contributes to the development of flexible process solutions adapted to raw materials with varying composition and supports circular resource utilization and sustainable production of critical raw materials within REEDEAM IGS.

Project Partners

• Luleå University of Technology – Process metallurgy acts as project leader and conducts hydrometallurgical studies, Ore geology focuses on characterization, and Chemistry of Interfaces supports characterization using NMR
• LKAB Minerals AB – has a process for the production of phosphoric acid and rare earth elements