I-Corps: Sorting of Metals for Electronics Recycling

I-Corps：电子产品回收的金属分类

• 批准号: 1542252
• 负责人: Luat Vuong
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: CUNY Queens College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-06-01 至 2016-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1542252&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Sorting; Metals; Electronics; Recycling

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.

消费电子垃圾(金、钯、银、铜)中贵金属的价值估计为每年5亿美元，而且还在不断增长；然而，只有20%的电子垃圾被收集并分离回收，每年有4亿美元的贵金属被留在垃圾填埋场。目前的贵金属回收流程主要包括人工分选、热解、水解、报废和冶炼，这些流程耗能大，或涉及硝酸和氯气等危险化学品。各地区正开始实施规定负责任地处置电子垃圾的法规，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量和化学环境可帮助分离和分类金属纳米颗粒。对不同金属表面强化机械效应的选择性控制将应用于化学废物的清理和金属颗粒的提取或回收。该团队开发了一种光学分离和分选的方法，可以使用节能激光或LED在安全的水环境中通过微流控通道进行远程控制。建议的产品是一种即插即用的解决方案，适用于电子垃圾前处理公司，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，消耗的能源更少，并且可以作为一个更小、可扩展的系统运行。