ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Dr. Kenneth N. Han is the Regents Distinguished Professor and Douglas W. Fuerstenau Professor in the Department of Materials & Metallurgical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T). He was with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia from 1971-1980. In 1981, he joined SDSM&T. He was head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering from 1987-94 and dean of the College of Materials Science and Engineering from 1994-99. His research interests include hydrometallurgy, interfacial phenomena, metallurgical kinetics, solution chemistry, fine particle recovery, and electrometallurgy. He has directed over 70 graduate students and post-doctorate researchers, published more than 150 papers in national and international journals, and presented more than 100 papers at international conferences. He is an author of 10 monographs and holds eight patents in the area of extractive metallurgy. In 1987, Dr. Han received the Presidential Professor Award from SDSM&T. In 1994, he received the Ernest L. Buckley Award, a South Dakota State Governor’s Award for his industrial research efforts. He received the Milton E. Wadsworth Award and the Arthur F. Taggart Award from the Society of Mining, Metallurgical and Exploration in 1995. In 1997, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Engineering of SNU. He became an SME Distinguished Member in 1998. In 1998, he was awarded the Excellence in Research by the SD Board of Regents. In 2000, he received the AIME Mineral Industry Education Award and in 2002, the Robert H. Richards Award from AIME. Dr. Han was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1996. He has been a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea since 1998 and was inducted to the Korea Academy of Science and Technology in 1999.

Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Location: San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, Marina Ballroom D
Time: 1:45 PM–2:30 PM

“The Interdisciplinary Nature of Hydrometallurgy”

Presented by:
Kenneth N. Han, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

About the topic:
Hydrometallurgical extraction of metals is an important widely-practiced technology in the metallurgical industry for treating both primary and secondary resources of valuable metals.

Successful hydrometallurgical approaches to metal extraction require full understanding of a wide spectrum of scientific and engineering principles in many disciplines. These include solution chemistry, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, transport processes and, frequently, biology.

In this paper, intricate relationships among various disciplines influencing hydrometallurgical extraction are reviewed and analyzed with pertinent examples. The effect of operating parameters on the overall extraction strategy are examined and discussed.