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Zhu Lab
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A lab that produces metals through molten salt electrolysis and turns them back into resources.
AboutAbout the lab
Controlling molten salt to create metals.
The Zhu Lab researches how to produce and recycle metallic materials using electrolysis in molten salts.
Molten salt is a liquid obtained by heating and melting an ionic crystal that is solid at room temperature. It is also used to produce aluminum metal.
The lab also works on recycling and synthesizing functional materials with high-temperature chemical processes, and on the physical properties of molten salts themselves.
By freely controlling highly functional liquids, the lab aims to create new materials.
Key terms
- Molten salt
- A liquid made by heating and melting an ionic crystal that is solid at room temperature. It contains no water and can be used for electrolysis at high temperatures.
- Molten salt electrolysis
- A method of passing electricity through molten salt to extract the metal ions in it as metal.
- Upgrade recycling
- Recycling that removes impurities from waste material and regenerates it at a higher quality than the original material.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab works on producing and recycling metallic materials using molten salt electrolysis and high-temperature chemical processes. Its research includes recycling aluminum and rare-earth magnets and producing titanium alloy powder.
*Illustrative imageRecycling Aluminum by Molten Salt Electrolysis
Although the recycling rate of aluminum cans is high, regeneration by remelting is downgrade recycling that degrades quality. The lab has developed a molten salt electrolytic regeneration method that uses scrap as a solid electrode, aiming for upgrade recycling that raises quality.
*Illustrative imageRecycling Nd Magnets into Nd-Fe Alloy
With the spread of electric vehicles, home appliances, and IoT, demand for neodymium magnets is growing, and the amount that can be recovered is also rising sharply. The lab is developing a method that recovers Nd-Fe alloy by co-reduction from discarded Nd-Fe-B magnets in molten salt, aiming to establish the technology.
*Illustrative imageElectrochemistry of Titanium Ions in Molten Salt
Ti-Al alloys have excellent corrosion and oxidation resistance even above 600°C and are used in space components and aircraft engines. However, they are difficult to process and expensive to manufacture, so the lab is developing a process that controls electrolysis conditions and ion supply to produce Ti-Al alloy powder with a uniform composition.
MembersFaculty
The Zhu Lab's members consist of faculty, researchers, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduates.As of 2025
- ProfessorHongmin Zhu
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “FLiBe” ornl.gov / Public domain (cropped)
- Recycling Aluminum by Molten Salt Electrolysis: “DillingenAluminiumSchrott” Lokilech / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Recycling Nd Magnets into Nd-Fe Alloy: “Neodymium magnet” Tremaster at en.wikipedia / Public domain (cropped)
- Electrochemistry of Titanium Ions in Molten Salt: “Titanium products” Mark Fergus / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takeda-Zhu Lab): “Molten Flinak Salt” Brian Kelleher / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Shibata (Hiroyuki) Lab): “In-stream inoculation addition while molten cast iron is poured to a green sand mold in a foundry in Bangladesh” Sm faysal / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Miki-Saito Lab): “Blast furnaces at Scunthorpe Steelworks - geograph.org.uk - 5844975” Gareth James / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamada Lab): “Si3N4bearings” David W. Richerson and Douglas W. Freitag; Oak Ridge National Laboratory (federal lab.) / Public domain (cropped)
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