I-Corps: Translation potential of a chemical-free recycling process to recover materials from post-consumer electronic waste

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is the development of a chemical-free and zero waste recycling method for printed circuit boards and other waste streams, including solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. Currently, the surge in digitalization has led to a staggering amount of electronic waste (e-waste), with approximately 53.6 million metric tons discarded annually, and only 17.4% of which is collected and recycled. This technology addresses e-waste by using a sustainable process for recycling. The goal is to recover base and precious metals from printed circuit boards and other urban waste streams to reduce the need for mining and its associated environmental impact. This approach may minimize material and energy consumption and may create new revenue streams through the recovery of valuable materials from post-consumer electronic waste.This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a process for the selective and efficient physical separation of components in e-waste. Current recycling methods, marked by high energy consumption, environmental pollution, and low recovery of valuable materials, typically involve energy-intensive size reduction, hydrometallurgical process. This process departs from current methods by leveraging inherent material properties and differences in malleability and size among e-waste components. This technology efficiently liberates components without the need for intensive energy use. It further capitalizes on physical separation techniques, exploiting differences in size, density, and magnetic susceptibility to isolate high-grade, saleable elements and other products, including base metals (such as copper and aluminum), precious metals (such as gold, silver, and palladium), ferrous metals (such as iron, cobalt, nickel, and manganese), silicon, and plastics. High-purity metals were obtained when the process was tested with a char-metal mixture from e-waste thermolysis. Embracing circular economy principles, this chemical-free and zero-waste approach not only maximizes resource recovery and product quality but also reduces the carbon footprint, offering a sustainable and economically viable alternative to current recycling methods.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.