IX-group starts a new project funded by Academy of Finland

The funding decision of Academy of Finland's 2017 call has been published in June 2018. Within the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering, iX group has received an Academy project funding for four years. The new USEMA-project (Ultra-Selective Hybrid Materials for Separation of Group 3 and f-block Element) starting in September 2018 will develop ultra-selective separation materials based on our strong expertise in inorganic ion-exchange materials. Our project proposal was ranked the best in one of the selection panels assembled by international experts.

Modern society with high-tech materials and related applications relies on pure, high-efficient elements. Some of these elements, such as rare earth elements and actinides that are used for example in wind turbines and nuclear medicine, are so-alike that their separation from each other is time consuming and expensive. USEMA-project will develop hybrid separation materials that are capable of separating these elements so effectively that even recycled material can be used as reliable source of raw material for the relevant industry. This remarkable separation capability is a result combination of the known, good properties of different separation techniques transferred into a novel material with superior separation properties.

Academy of Finland's decision: http://webfocus.aka.fi/ibi_apps/WFServlet?IBIF_ex=x_RahPaatYht_report2&HAKU=201700000000673&TMK=LT&LAJITTELU=PAATOS&UILANG=en

For more information, contact USEMA PI and iX group leader Dr. Risto Koivula (firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi)