SuSCheM: Environmentally Sustainable Pathways for Extracting Valuable Elements from Electronic Wastes

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1706905 (Park). E-waste (e.g., cell phones and PCs), which is the fastest growing waste segment in the United States, is emerging as a major environmental challenge in today's society. A novel approach to reclaim valuable components such as metals and chemicals from existing products and wastes, also known as urban mining, is essential for the sustainable treatment of e-waste. By recovering metals and chemicals from waste streams with integrated material looping cycles, a number of benefits can be accrued: environmental sustainability achieved via the reuse of metals and chemicals, reduced need for natural ores, reduced environmental contamination, and energy savings for metal extraction (10-15% less energy is needed for metal recovery from e-waste than ores), and reduced health hazards from direct disposal of those wastes. The integrated e-waste treatment scheme to be created by this project involves the systematic elemental mapping and characterization of e-wastes, chemically enhanced leaching of metals using innovative ligand systems and safer solvents, and tailored precipitation and electrowinning of metals. Finally, the overall environmental impact of the proposed technology will be investigated via a comprehensive life cycle analysis.The ultimate goal of the present three-year study is to establish an innovative, integrated, environmentally sustainable e-waste processing scheme that allows for the efficient treatment and recovery of metals and chemicals from e-waste. If successful, the proposed technology will significantly reduce the landfilling of e-wastes, the emissions from hazardous halogenated flame retardant plastics, and the need for toxic chemicals, while allowing for enhanced recovery of valuable materials from e-waste. The fundamental understanding obtained from this study will provide important insights into other material/waste recycle schemes involving complex chemistry and structures. As an integral part of the project, the team's educational and outreach activities are inseparably linked to the research plan. The four main goals in this effort include: to promote the international research and educational collaborations in the proposed research area; to motivate K-12 students, particularly female and minority students, to pursue a career in science and engineering; to provide academic research experience for both graduate and undergraduate students; and to enable the development of a new curriculum reflecting an increasing interest in green energy and environmental issues. To achieve these goals, the PIs have planned specific programs including: (a) K-12 outreach via a new kids' journal called Frontiers for Young Minds where kids from 8 to 15 will be engaged in scientific journal publication by serving as reviewers; and, (b) the development of MOOC Masters program on energy and material sustainability to be hosted at multi-institutions in USA, Europe, China and Korea.