Al-recycling: Next discovery to improve our planet comes from research off the planet
How can we reimagine the production, use, and recycling of aluminum alloys to reduce the consumption of water, energy, and resources?
The ESA project MICAST utilizes the Materials Science Laboratory (MSL, ESA) integrated in NASA’s Materials Science Research Rack-1 (MSRR-1) on the ISS and operated by MUSC to advance sustainability research that addresses aluminum recycling and, more generally to deepen our understanding of the physical principles that govern solidification processes in aluminum alloys. The MICAST project involves research groups in 9 countries and is led by DLR – Institute of Materials Physics in Space, Cologne (D).
During the ESA mission Cosmic Kiss ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer exchanges the MICAST samples in MSL. With MICAST3#10, the first set of MICAST Batch-3a experiments is completed now. The experimental results together with parametric studies using numerical simulations, will be used to optimize industrial casting processes.
Quelle: ESA