Electrifying hydrometallurgical processes to advance the supply chain of critical raw materials from all possible sources.

amilton.b.b.junior [at] ntnu.no

Quant. data (Dec/2025) - Prof. Amilton B Botelho Junior (PI)

GoogleScholar: H-index = 29 (i10-index = 58), 2,735 citations.

Scopus: H-index = 23, 1,988 citations.

Web of Science: H-index = 22, 1,730 citations.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals = 83

PhD thesis supervision = 2 under development and 1 concluded

MSc dissertation supervision = 3 under development and 7 concluded

Undergraduate student supervision = 25 concluded

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

LATEST NEWS

The first PhD student of the group started on May 4th (Star Wars Day).

🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 WELCOME, DIEGO! 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

Diego Teuber Gijon arrived from Brazil, working on biohydrometallurgy for the recovery of critical raw material, and now Diego will be working on #electrohydrometallurgy to obtain critical raw materials from Norwegian #brines.

⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡ ⚡

Diego did BSc at Pós Graduação - Faculdades Oswaldo Cruz and MSc at USP - Universidade de São Paulo. Now, he will make a huge contribution to the Department of Chemical Engineering - NTNU in advancing the implementation and possibilities of #electrodialysis in #hydrometallurgy.

Here are Diego's contributions to science from the MSc:

The circularity of turning wastes into valuable resources: Rare earth elements recovery from phosphogypsum – A short review, Hydrometallurgy. https://lnkd.in/ewT9CUnE

A review on bioprocesses for the recovery of rare earth elements and its challenges, World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. https://lnkd.in/eDWnYq26

Novel niobium biosorption through Pseudomonas aeruginosa dead dry biomass, Bioresource Technology Reports. https://lnkd.in/eViYfYwQ

Hydrometallurgical recovery of heavy rare earth elements (HREE) from columbite leachate via aqueous complexation solvent extraction and precipitation route, Minerals Engineering. https://lnkd.in/ed3NzG2P

Participation at TMS2026

Last week, I was in (beautiful and sunny) San Diego for the #TMSANNUALMEETING organized by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society.

For the first time, the Recycling Committee organized the symposium "Advances in Recycling and Environmental Technologies" with amazing talks, such as James Amphlett, Steven Stieg, Bowen Li, Lucas Fonseca Guimarães, Ph.D. (PhD alumni), Tomás Villalón Jr., PhD, Alaércio Salvador Martins Vieira, Lexi Kng, and so many others.

This conference also represents my conclusion in the Secretary role and starting as Vice-Chair with Adam C Powell IV in the leadership of Recycling Committee.

Beyond the technical committee, I gladly supported early-career professionals as Vice-Chair of the Emerging Professional committee, such as with Janelle Wharry on a day of training on CVs, interviews, and LinkedIn.

Looking forward to TMS2027.

PhD position open

I invite PhD applicants for this position under my supervision at the Department of Chemical Engineering - NTNU in the NTNU Faculty of Natural Sciences. The position is focused on the electrochemical separation of critical metals as part of my start-up packages.

Preferred selection criteria:

- Experience in hydrometallurgy and biohydrometallurgy.

- Experience in laboratory work and mentoring students (undergraduate).

- Experience and interest in circular chemical engineering, process system design, and value-chain evaluations.

- Industrial experience and academic projects (industrial or governmental) are desired.

The deadline for the application is 12.02.2026. If the candidate needs more information, please feel free to contact.

Link for the application.

Incoming Associate Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU, Norway

It is a pleasure to announce that I will start my new position as Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU - Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet) in January/2026. My position is focused on Hydrometallurgy, and my research group will develop new electrochemical processes and materials for the extraction of critical minerals towards Sustainable Mining. We will work on the following techniques (but not limited to): electrodialysis, supported liquid membranes, developing of new membranes and resins, solvent extraction, ion exchange resins, and electrochemical leaching.

We are looking forward to projects that involve primary and secondary sources such as spent batteries (alkali, Ni-MH, Li-ion, and Na-ion), mining waste, low-grade ores, polymetallic nodules from deep-sea mining, and industrial wastewater.

Positions for graduate students (MSc and PhD) and postdocs will be open soon. Visitor researchers are welcomed.

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