Metallurgical Engineering and Technical Analysis of Lifecycle and Sustainability

Course information

Learning outcomes

After completing the course student can:

• recognize the role of metals in the modern society
• identify the role and impact of metals in the climate- and eco-systems
• recognize the local and global state of the metals resources
• describe the main metals production technologies

Content

The course is organized entirely online, and it is based on independent study. The course content is divided into six themes.

Theme 1: Where and how are metals used?

• Role of metals in the history of humankind
• Evolution of metals applications
• Metals in modern society and green transition
• Different types of metals and their selected applications

Theme 2: Why are metals used in so many applications?

• Common properties of metals
• Properties of ferrous metals and steel
• Properties of nonferrous and precious metals
• Metals as Critical Raw Materials

Theme 3: How are metals produced?

• The value chain of metals from mining to refining
• Different types of raw materials
• The role of minerals processing and its principles
• Introduction to pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy

Theme 4: Why are metals so critical now?

• Concepts of circular economy and sustainability
• Connection between metals​ and sustainability
• Metals for energy production and storage​

Theme 5: Can we reuse metals?

• Circular economy of metals
• Possible routes of metal recycling
• Challenges related to metal recycling and resource efficiency
• Newest trends in metal recycling technologies

Theme 6: How to assess environmental impact of metals?

• Importance of environmental impacts assessment
• Different categories of environmental impacts
• Life Cycle Assessment as a tool for evaluating environmental impacts
• Example of Life Cycle Assessment analysis of metals production

Teacher

Anna Klemettinen

Study material

All study material is provided on MyCourses (videos recordings, video slides, links to scientific articles and books)

Workload

Online lectures, online quizzes, learning diaries, forum discussion, collaborative whiteboard

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Evaluation

Assessment is based on completion of different activities (i.e. watching videos, completing quizzes), learning diaries and online quizzes.

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 30.4.2026 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 30.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication