People rely on electronics, and that reliance will only grow in the coming years. As the newest gadgets prompt us to dispose of our old ones, we unwittingly become contributors to a major conundrum for our world – electronic litter.
The need to properly recycle electronics is not new, but it has become more of a concern due to the industry’s rapid growth. The Idaho National Laboratory-developed technology known as E-RECOV is working to combat this problem. It was developed with funding from the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute.
Using an electrochemical process for removing metals from electronic devices, E-RECOV eliminates the highly energy intensive and expensive smelting process. Currently, there are no operational smelters that directly process electronic waste in the United States, so the entire recycling effort must be outsourced to other nations. In contrast, the E-RECOV process can be performed domestically, closing the loop for electronics recycling in the U.S.
“When E-RECOV reached a key stage of maturity, we put out a bid for commercialization through the Small Business Innovation and Research, or SBIR, program,” said Ryan Bills, the technology commercialization manager at INL supporting the E-RECOV research team. “The company that won the bid to commercialize E-RECOV was Quantum Ventura.”
Even though Quantum Ventura led the SBIR bid, Bills and the E-RECOV research team said they needed technical support. That’s where Faraday Technologies came into the picture.
“Faraday built an actual test and demonstration unit for E-RECOV,” said Tedd Lister, the project’s principal researcher at INL. “In January 2022, our research team had the opportunity to observe and validate this unit.”
The demonstration unit appeared to be a success. After a week of observation, Lister said the team was satisfied that it was running at close to optimal. They identified a few possible tweaks, which Faraday has already completed.
The system will next be prepared for scale-up, setup and operation. “The SBIR project will be key in moving this technology to commercial application,” Bills said. “Without the SBIR awards, building the E-RECOV demonstration unit would not have been possible.”
See the full story: What to do with your old phone? INL's E-RECOV might have the answer