James Mwase, PhD in chemical engineering, joined the NTNU team of ENSUREAL. As a postdoctoral fellow on the project he will primarily investigate the precipitation of alumina from alkaline leach solutions as part of the Pedersen process, trying to identify the optimal process conditions to produce a product with the desired yield, particle size distribution and low silica content. Additionally, shed some understanding on the mechanism, kinetics and thermodynamics of the process. This work conducted at laboratory scale will serve to inform a plan to pilot the process.