Recovery of precious metals from E-waste by sustainable porous membranes (ReMe2)

Purpose and goal

The project aims to develop sustainable membranes made of cellulose and porous organic materials (POMs) that can recover precious metals from electronic waste (E-waste). The project will use sustainable and industrially available organic monomers as raw materials for the synthesis of POMs. Cellulose will be used as substrates for processing POMs into flexible membranes. The long-term objectives of this project are to promote E-waste recycling, decrease E-waste disposal, and conserve precious metals.

Expected effects and result

The project will demonstrate a fundamental and technological understanding of designing efficient membranes from sustainable materials for recovering precious metals from E-waste. The membranes will be synthesized in large scales and implemented in prototypes for practical use in precious metal recovery. The project will promote the development of “urban mining”, which has the potential to advance sustainability, conserve resources, and contribute to efforts to mitigate climate change and reduce environmental pollution.

Planned approach and implementation

The project will initially focus on designing, synthesizing, and studying the properties of functional POMs. The selected POMs that fulfill the requirements for precious metal recovery will be fabricated into freestanding membranes with the assistance of cellulose nanofibers. The obtained membranes will be tested for proof-of-concept application of precious metal recovery. In the final stage, we will collaborate with industrial partners to test the industrial feasibility of the membranes and the developed separation technology.