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

1706905(公园)。电子垃圾(如手机和个人电脑)是美国增长最快的垃圾类别，它正在成为当今社会的一个主要环境挑战。一种从现有产品和废物中回收金属和化学品等有价值成分的新方法，也被称为城市采矿，对于电子废物的可持续处理至关重要。通过综合材料循环循环从废流中回收金属和化学品，可以带来许多好处：通过重复使用金属和化学品实现环境可持续性，减少对天然矿石的需求，减少环境污染，节省金属提取的能源(从电子废物中回收金属所需的能源比矿石少10%-15%)，以及减少直接处置这些废物对健康的危害。该项目将制定的电子废物综合处理计划涉及电子废物的系统元素测绘和表征、利用创新的配基系统和更安全的溶剂对金属进行化学强化浸出，以及金属的量身定制的沉淀和电积。最后，将通过全面的生命周期分析来调查拟议技术对环境的整体影响。目前这项为期三年的研究的最终目标是建立一个创新的、综合的、环境上可持续的电子废物处理计划，以便能够有效地处理和回收电子废物中的金属和化学品。如果成功，拟议的技术将大大减少电子废物的填埋、危险卤化阻燃塑料的排放和对有毒化学品的需求，同时允许从电子废物中更好地回收有价值的材料。从这项研究中获得的基本理解将为涉及复杂化学和结构的其他材料/废物回收方案提供重要的见解。作为该项目的组成部分，该小组的教育和外联活动与研究计划密不可分。这一努力的四个主要目标包括：促进拟议研究领域的国际研究和教育合作；激励K-12学生，特别是女性学生和少数族裔学生，从事科学和工程事业；为研究生和本科生提供学术研究经验；以及使新课程的开发能够反映出人们对绿色能源和环境问题越来越感兴趣。为实现这些目标，PIS计划了具体的计划，包括：(A)通过一本名为《青年思维前沿》的新儿童杂志，让8-15岁的孩子作为审稿人参与科学期刊的出版；以及(B)开发将在美国、欧洲、中国和韩国的多所机构举办的关于能源和材料可持续性的MOOC硕士课程。

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.