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The constantly growing demand for smartphones, computers and batteries has caused the mining industry to expand into new areas in Finland as well. Since mines are considered a potential danger to nature and wildlife, it is extremely important to find new techniques to reduce the environmental impact of mines. One particularly harmful group of chemicals used in the mining industry is xanthates. Alkyl xanthates are used as flotation reagents in the separation of precious metals such as copper, gold and platinum from ores.

Xanthates are very toxic to aquatic organisms, for example to various algae and bacteria. In fish, xanthates have been found to accumulate heavy metals, which eventually end up in other species with the food. In general, the amount of xanthates in mining wastewater in Finland is a few milligrams per liter, depending on the season. Legislation regarding the environmental impact of the mining industry is carefully regulated and is expected to become stricter in the future. From these aspects, in order to recover xanthates, the project develops solid adsorbent materials based on metal-organic frameworks (MOF). MOFs consist of metal ions and organic ligands coordinated to them, form a coordination network with a porous structure, into the channels of which xanthate molecules can be adsorbed selectively.