With the implementation of circular economy principles and the European Green Deal and reducing the dependence on authoritarian countries for the supply of critical materials, the need for resource recovery from waste is increasing. Recycling of waste is complicated by the fact that many of them are multi-layered composites consisting of layers of metals, other inorganic materials and polymers. Some electronic waste, including waste printed circuit boards (WPCB) and end-oflife photovoltaic modules (ELPM), belongs to this category. These wastes contain various metals (Fe, Al, Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Sn, Ni, Pb, Zn) and non-metallic materials (crystalline Si, glass, fiberglass, resins, plastic). After extraction, these components can be used for the production of new products. However, due to the low economic return of recycling, most of the research conducted has focused on the direct recovery of metals without addressing the problem of non-metals. In order to avoid such problems, a number of scientific institutions, including KTU, conducted research on the possibility of WPCB and ELPM delamination by solvents with further hydrometallurgical extraction of metals from delamination products (the 3rd stage of R&D has been reached). However, effective production equipment has not yet been developed and used, so the valuable materials on an industrial level are not yet recovered and recovering efficiency remains unknown. Therefore it becomes appropriate to create and test a prototype of the required industrial device (6th and 7th stages of R&D), while at the same time extracting larger quantities of valuable materials and studying their properties and application possibilities. The aim of this project is the development and testing of a technological device prototype for the
delamination and recovery of valuable materials from WPCB and ELPM. Duration of the planned project – 16 months. Project partners – Kaunas University of Technology and JSC “Ipsas ir Ko”.
Project funding:
Technological development projects
Project results:
–
Period of project implementation: 2023-08-01 - 2024-10-31
Project coordinator: Kaunas University of Technology
Project partners: Ipsas ir Ko, UAB
