Professor Peter Hayes' research focuses on the high temperature processing of minerals and materials, with particular application to the pyrometallurgical production and refining of metals. His interests include chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics and mechanisms.

His current research projects encompass:

High temperature phase equilibrium measurements and determination of liquidus isotherms in complex industrial slag systems relevant to the smelting of copper, ferro-chromium, ferro-manganese, iron, ferro-nickel, lead and zinc production and metal recycling.
The development of thermodynamic databases, and their use in conjunction with FactSage, to predict phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties in oxide systems.
Reaction kinetics and mechanisms in metal and materials processing, smelting and refining; in particular, gas/solid reactions.