Location
Havener Center, Carver/Turner Room, 9:30am-11:30am
Start Date
4-2-2026 10:30 AM
End Date
4-2-2026 11:00 AM
Presentation Date
April 2, 2026; 10:30am-11:00am
Description
Growing demand for critical minerals increases the need for clear evidence on the environmental burdens of their production. Life‑cycle assessment (LCA) quantifies impacts, but it does not by itself show how to navigate competing environmental performance improvement goals. We examine 63 process configurations for single‑crystal germanium made via chlorinated distillation using five indicators: global warming potential (GWP), water consumption (WC), fine particulate matter (FPM), terrestrial acidification (TA), and cumulative energy demand (CED). Across scenarios, WC is negatively correlated with GWP, weakly related to FPM, TA, and CED, while the other four indicators are strongly positively correlated. Pareto analysis highlights a clear trade‑off: lower GWP generally comes with higher WC. Based on the marginal rate of transformation, reducing GWP by one unit requires 0.0259 units of additional WC, whereas reducing WC by one unit increases GWP by 38.6139 units. Combining multi‑objective optimization with LCA enables transparent, decision‑relevant prioritization of efficient tradeoffs.
Biography
Dennis Dadzie is a Graduate Research Assistant and MSc student at Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he specializes in the sustainability and environmental impacts of low TRL critical mineral processing techniques. He has authored recent works currently under review, including a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of germanium production from coal fly ash, and a methodological study on the LCA of electrochemical CO2 mineralization. His latest research utilizes scenario-based Pareto analysis to optimize process parameters, aiming to balance industrial efficiency with environmental stewardship. Driven by a commitment to "the basics," Dennis focuses on applying rigorous data-driven methods to ensure that today's mineral extraction processes result in a long-term positive impact on the local and global ecosystem.
Meeting Name
2026 - Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference
Department(s)
Mining Engineering
Document Type
Presentation
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 The Authors, All rights reserved
Scenario-Based Pareto Analysis for Multi-Objective Optimization of Process Parameters to Improve Life Cycle Impacts: Case Study of Ge Production
Havener Center, Carver/Turner Room, 9:30am-11:30am
Growing demand for critical minerals increases the need for clear evidence on the environmental burdens of their production. Life‑cycle assessment (LCA) quantifies impacts, but it does not by itself show how to navigate competing environmental performance improvement goals. We examine 63 process configurations for single‑crystal germanium made via chlorinated distillation using five indicators: global warming potential (GWP), water consumption (WC), fine particulate matter (FPM), terrestrial acidification (TA), and cumulative energy demand (CED). Across scenarios, WC is negatively correlated with GWP, weakly related to FPM, TA, and CED, while the other four indicators are strongly positively correlated. Pareto analysis highlights a clear trade‑off: lower GWP generally comes with higher WC. Based on the marginal rate of transformation, reducing GWP by one unit requires 0.0259 units of additional WC, whereas reducing WC by one unit increases GWP by 38.6139 units. Combining multi‑objective optimization with LCA enables transparent, decision‑relevant prioritization of efficient tradeoffs.
Comments
Advisor: Kwame Awuah-Offei, kwamea@mst.edu