I-Corps: Sorting of Metals for Electronics Recycling

消费电子垃圾中贵金属（金、钯、银、铜）的估计价值为每年5亿美元，而且还在增长；然而，只有20%的电子垃圾被收集和分离用于回收，每年有价值4亿美元的贵金属留在垃圾填埋场。目前的贵金属回收过程主要包括人工分类、热解、水解、报废和冶炼，这些过程都是能源密集型的，或者涉及硝酸和氯气等危险化学品。各地区正开始实施规定，要求负责任地处置电子废物，从而进一步刺激市场增长和对不同技术的需求。了解控制纳米颗粒流体动力学的不同光学力和化学环境有助于金属纳米颗粒的分离和分选。对不同金属表面增强的机械效应进行选择性控制，可应用于化学废物的清理和金属微粒的提取或再循环。该团队开发了一种光学分离和分选方法，可以在安全的水环境中通过微流体通道远程控制，使用节能激光器或led。提议的产品是一个即插即用的解决方案，为电子废物预处理公司使用光学响应来分离不同的材料。拟议中的技术将比传统冶炼更具成本效益，更容易操作，使用更少的能源，并且可以作为一个更小、可扩展的系统运行。

The estimated value of precious metals from consumer-electronic e-waste (gold, palladium, silver, copper) is $500M/yr and growing; yet only 20% of e-waste is collected and separated for recycling, leaving $400M/yr of precious metals in landfills. The current precious metals recycling processes primarily include manual sorting, pyrolysis, hydrolysis, scrapping and smelting that are energy intensive or involve hazardous chemicals such as nitric acid and chlorine gas. Regions are beginning to implement regulations mandating the responsible disposal of e-waste, thus further spurring market growth and the need for different technologies.Knowledge of the distinct optical forces and chemical environments that control the hydrodynamics of nanoparticles could assist with the separation and sorting of metal nanoparticles. Selective control over the surface-enhanced mechanical effects on different metals would have applications towards the clean-up of chemical waste and the extraction or recycling of metal particulates. This team has developed a method for optical separation and sorting that could be controlled remotely via microfluidic channels in a safe aqueous environment, using energy-efficient lasers or LEDs. The proposed product is a plug-and-play solution for e-waste pre-processing companies using an optical response to separate different materials. The proposed technology will be more cost-effective than traditional smelting, easier to operate, will use less energy and can operate as a smaller, scalable system.