Recently, the Annual Meeting of the International Magnesium Association (IMA) and the 83rd World Magnesium Conference were held in Montreal, Canada. The Special Metallurgy Research Team led by Professor Zhang Ting'an from NEU won the 2026 Annual IMA Environmental and Responsibility Award for their comprehensive utilization technology of magnesium reduction slag developed jointly with Baowu Magnesium. This achievement marks another international honor for the team following the Annual Innovative Process Award in 2022 and demonstrates NEU's sustained research strength and technological accumulation in the field of green and low-carbon development of the magnesium industry.
The International Magnesium Association (IMA) is the most authoritative and influential international organization in the global magnesium industry. The Environmental and Responsibility Award established by the association focuses on key areas such as the green transformation of the global magnesium industry, solid waste resource utilization, and ecological environmental protection. The award aims to recognize top technologies and achievements in the industry that demonstrate breakthroughs, innovation, and strong potential for application and promotion. Its evaluation system is rigorous and highly prestigious. It is regarded as an important benchmark for measuring the development level of green technologies in the global magnesium industry.
The comprehensive utilization technology of magnesium reduction slag that received the award was jointly developed by the team led by Professor Zhang Ting'an from NEU and Baowu Magnesium, a leading enterprise in the industry. The technology directly addresses critical challenges in the magnesium smelting industry. It targets long-standing problems in traditional magnesium smelting processes, including large volumes of magnesium slag discharge and severe pollution caused by stockpiling. The team innovatively established a full-chain closed-loop utilization system. They proposed a green, low-carbon and high-value comprehensive utilization technology of magnesium slag for the silicothermic magnesium smelting process, which enables full utilization of magnesium slag. Processing 1 ton of magnesium slag can capture 0.44 tons of CO2 and produce 1.0 ton of light calcium carbonate. The product value is approximately 900 yuan and the net profit is about 340 yuan. This technology has achieved multiple breakthroughs in harmless treatment, resource high-value utilization, and efficient carbon sequestration of magnesium slag. It effectively overcomes the environmental bottleneck restricting the development of the magnesium industry. It also provides a new solution for the green and sustainable development of the industry.
Notably, this is not the first time that the team has received an international award from IMA. In 2022, the relative vacuum continuous magnesium smelting technology independently pioneered by the team won the IMA Annual Innovative Process Award. The technology achieved the award because of its disruptive process innovation and highly efficient energy-saving advantages. It successfully broke the technical barrier of traditional magnesium smelting processes. It also promoted iterative upgrading of magnesium smelting production processes. From innovation in core smelting processes to comprehensive utilization of smelting solid waste, the team has realized full-process technological innovation and green upgrading in magnesium smelting.
