Strategic Metals and Value-Added Products from Recycled Waste Streams via Process Electrification

在各种大宗商品中，一些金属在包括加拿大在内的发达国家被视为战略金属。它们对当今和未来的先进清洁和高科技产业至关重要，如可再生能源、电动汽车、电气和电子设备、航空、军事设备和新兴的量子计算机/电信。然而，从三个不同的角度来看，这些金属的提取存在严重的问题：1)由于技术、经济和环境的限制，从初级（自然）资源中提取并不是一条有趣的道路。2)相当数量的此类金属嵌套在寿命终止（EOL）材料的复杂基质中，被填埋或储存在墓地中，但缺乏有效、清洁和有目的的回收过程。3)金属废物流通常在其附近含有塑料，由于其有害的卤化阻燃剂和呋喃，如果填埋或回收不当，将造成严重的健康和环境问题。因此，随着EOL产生率的不断增加，我们面临着环境问题和资源效率的恶化。我认为应该从垃圾填埋场转移全部资源。没有什么是浪费的！我们需要向大自然学习：一个物种的浪费是另一个物种的资源。因此，我将重点关注价值链：从废物到增值材料，为循环经济做出贡献，同时提供环境保护或可能的改善。我提出的研究计划的长期目标是开发创新的工艺电气化概念，用于开发从金属废物流中提取战略金属（如锂、稀土元素、贵金属、电子金属和难熔金属）以及增值产品的增值技术。过程电气化是一条通向低碳足迹燃料、化学品和材料制造的可持续道路。我的短期目标是正确理解EOL材料的物理化学特性，以创造性的方法采用感应加热作为实现长期目标的起点。本科生2名、硕士生1名、博士生2名，将在平等、多元、包容的研究环境中培养。我的研究计划预计至少有9篇研究论文，5篇会议论文，2项专利，很可能还有一家新的衍生公司。这项研究的结果将有利于加拿大确保其苛刻的金属供应链，从垃圾填埋场转移塑料，外国供应商的独立性，环境保护，创造不同专业水平的就业机会，技术转让，以及作为先进电气化工艺技术开发的全球领导者。行业和加拿大对HQPs的专业知识和资格要求很高。

Among various commodities, some metals are considered strategic in developed countries including Canada. They are essential for today's and tomorrow's advanced clean- and high-tech industries such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, electrical and electronic equipment, aviation, military devices, and emerging quantum computers/telecommunications. However, there are serious issues in extraction of such metals from three different perspectives: 1) The extraction from primary (natural) resources is not an interesting path due to technical, economic and environmental constraints. 2) A considerable mass of such metals, nested in a complex matrix of end-of-life (EOL) materials, is landfilled or stored in graveyards, but there is a lack of efficient, clean, and purposeful recycling processes. 3) Metals waste streams usually contain plastics in their vicinity, which would cause serious health and environmental issues if landfilled or recycled improperly due to their hazardous halogenated flame retardants and furans. Consequently, having rate of EOL generation ever increasing, we are facing with environmental issues and deterioration of resource efficiency. I believe there should be a total diversion from landfills. Nothing is a waste! We need to learn from nature: the waste of a species is the resource of another. Thus, I am going to focus on the value chain: from wastes to value added materials, contributing to the circular economy, while providing environmental preservation or, possibly, improvements. My long-term objective of the proposed research plan is to develop innovative process electrification concepts for development of valorization technologies to extract strategic metals (such as lithium, rare earth elements, precious metals, electronic metals and refractory metals) as well as value added-products from metals waste streams. Process electrification is a sustainable path to low-carbon-foot-print manufacturing of fuels, chemicals, and materials.   My short-term objectives are about a proper understanding of physicochemical properties of EOL materials to employ induction heating with creative approaches as a starting point to reach out the long-term objective. Two bachelor's students, one master's student and two PhD students will be trained at an equal, diverse and inclusive research environment. At least, 9 research articles, 5 conference articles, 2 patents, and most likely a new spinoff company are expected from my research plan.  Outcomes of this research will be beneficial to Canada in terms of securing a supply chain of its demanding metals, diversion of plastics from landfilling, independency of foreign suppliers, environment protection, creation of jobs at different levels of expertise, technology transfer, and as a global leader in development of advanced electrified process technologies. Acquired expertise and qualifications of HQPs will be in high demand in the industry and Canada.