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About the unit of processes

Welcome to the home page of the Unit of Processes at the KTH Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The unit focuses on the transformation of raw materials into useful products. This includes mining, primary metals extraction, secondary processing, recycling and end-of-life disposal. As part of these areas, we always consider economic, environmental and social sustainability impact.

Unit of Processes ecosystem
Research ecosystem for the Unit of Processes

This page contains an introduction to the work we do and who is responsible for each area. There are also pages where you can read about our lab facilities, ongoing projects, upcoming conference presentations and recent publications and theses.

You can click on each link to find out more information and please feel free to get in touch with the relevant member of staff if you have any questions about our work, want to know more about our subject, or if you want want to discuss the possibility of collaborating with us on research or receiving teaching or training from us.

Key Research Areas

Photograph of pouring of liquid steel from a ladle. Photograph taken by Serg Chanouian at Swerim AB,
Photograph of pouring of liquid steel from a ladle. Photograph taken by Serg Chanouian at Swerim AB, Luleå, Sweden and used with permission.

We all work together within our unit, so that we get the greatest possible amount of collaboration and cooperation. We do not divide ourselves into research groups, but our work naturally falls within themes. These themes are outlined below and you can click to see more information and the academics who spend most of their time within each theme. However, we all make sure we get involved in every area to some extent!

  • Casting
    • Ingot casting
    • Continuous casting
    • Remelting
    • Solidification

  • Circular economy of metals

    • Critical materials

    • Recycling of slag

    • Energy consumption

    • Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

  • Clean steel
    • Reaction thermodynamics
    • Reaction kinetics
    • Transport phenomena
    • Electrolytic extraction of inclusions
  • Computational fluid dynamics
    • New ingot casting procedures
    • Up-scaling of plasma reduction of oxides
    • Reactions in the Argon Oxygen Decarburisation (AOD) furnace
    • Behaviour of gas bubbles
    • Validate using water
  • Energy and furnace technology
    • Renewable electricity and fuels
    • New fuels and fuel replacement
    • Treatment of electrical and vehicle waste
  • High-temperature experimental kinetics
    • Focus on metallurgical processes
    • Specialised equipment
    • Modelling
    • Industrial collaboration

  • Hybrit Process (fossil-free steelmaking)

    • Hydrogen-based iron making

    • Decarbonisation

    • reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

  • Powder metallurgy
    • Powder flow and spreading behaviour
    • Powder production
    • Microstructre and chemistries of powder particles
Hot steel bars in a furnace at the unit of processes.
Hot steel bars in a furnace at the unit of processes.

Head of unit

Björn Glaser
Björn Glaser Head of the Unit of Processes