| Abstract: | 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
a 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 article, 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.
The Extraction and Processing Lecturer Award honors an outstanding scientific leader in the field of nonferrous extractive
metallurgy with an invitation to present a comprehensive lecture at the TMS Annual Meeting.
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 obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees
from Seoul National University (SNU), an M.S. from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from the University of California,
Berkeley. He was with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) from 1971 to 1980.
In 1981, he joined SDSM&T. He was head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering from 1987 to 1994 and dean of the College
of Materials Science and Engineering from 1994 to 1999.
His research interests include hydrometallurgy, interfacial phenomena, metallurgical kinetics, solution chemistry, fine particle
recovery, and electrometallurgy. He has directed over 70 graduate students and postdoctorate 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 ten monographs and holds eight patents in the area of extractive metallurgy.
In 1987, he 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. In 2003, he received the 2003 Extraction and Processing Distinguished Lecturer
Award at the 132 TMS annual meeting in San Diego.
He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1996. He is a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering
of Korea since 1998 and was inducted into the Korea Academy of Science and Technology in 1999. |
