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Recycling & Recovery

Low-Cost, High-Value Metal Recovery from Electronic Waste to Increase Recycling and Reduce Environmental Impact

Low-Cost, High-Value Metal Recovery from Electronic Waste to Increase Recycling and Reduce Environmental Impact

This project seeks to adapt relatively low-cost and low-energy leaching technologies to directly recover copper and precious metals from e-waste.  This approach will enable the recovery of these metals from the mixed metals and plastics streams from e-waste and also enable recovery of the plastics. This technology could replace energy-intensive pyrometallurgical processes such as high-temperature smelting that might otherwise be used to recover metals, but due to the high-temperature the plastics are consumed. 

Utilizing these less energy-intensive and lower-cost technologies will provide the economic incentive to dramatically increase e-waste recycling by as much as 20%. The potential energy and emissions reduction are estimated at 21PJ per year and 1.2 million MT of CO2eq per year.

Project Team:
University of Utah, Sunnking, Inc.

18-02-RR-06

Scalable High Shear Catalyzed Depolymerization of Multilayer Plastic Packaging

Scalable High Shear Catalyzed Depolymerization of Multilayer Plastic Packaging

Industry is increasingly combining layers of different polymer materials to construct highly functional, lightweight packaging (e.g. to extend food life). These multilayer films are unfortunately less recyclable than single layer films. This project will investigate catalytic depolymerization as a cost-effective approach to process these films into higher value products suitable for use in a variety of applications.

Project Team:
University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Michigan State University, Unilever, American Chemistry Council, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

18-01-RR-20

Demineralization of Carbon Black Derived from End-of-Life Tires

Demineralization of Carbon Black Derived from End-of-Life Tires

Alternative process technologies will be experimentally evaluated to upgrade carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires to meet carbon black market quality specifications. Approximately 3.87 Mt of waste tires accrue every year in the United States. If all these tires were processed to recover the carbon black, about 1.1 Mt of carbon black could be recovered to use as a secondary feedstock.

Project Team:
University of Utah, OTR Wheel Engineering/Green Carbon Inc., Idaho National Laboratory

18-01-RR-19

Reinforced Recycled Polymer Composites

Reinforced Recycled Polymer Composites

This project seeks to increase recycling of bottles and carpeting materials by combining both materials into desirable composite materials (such as repairable plastic pallets and acoustic panels) of a combined value significantly greater than each separately. Increasing the value of the recycled materials will motivate collection, recovery and recycle rates.

The project also provides the opportunity and motivation for the recyclers to introduce new technologies for recycling, including and especially that for the secondary material streams such as PET and carpet, making recycled plastic more economically attractive.

Project Team:
Oklahoma State University, Niagara Bottling LLC, Shaw Industries

18-02-RR-13

Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills

Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills

This project aims to evaluate the impact of single stream recycling (SSR) on paper contamination in recovery operations and explore emerging recovery processes for minimizing fiber contamination.

Project Team:
University fo Miami

17-FP-RR-03

Development of New Cost-Effective Methods for Removing Trace Contaminants in Recycled Metals

Development of New Cost-Effective Methods for Removing Trace Contaminants in Recycled Metals

Cost-effective technologies for the in-melt removal and/or neutralization of trace contaminants in metals is critical for secondary feedstocks to achieve cost parity with primary feedstocks. This exploratory project will experimentally evaluate the addition of “scoping” elements in molten aluminum to neutralize trace contaminants that would otherwise constrain the recycling of aluminum.

Project Team:
The Ohio State University, Alcoa, Computherm

18-01-RR-21

Low-Concentration Metal Recovery from Complex Streams Using Gas-Assisted Microflow Solvent Extraction (GAME)

Low-Concentration Metal Recovery from Complex Streams Using Gas-Assisted Microflow Solvent Extraction (GAME)

The objective of this project is to develop GAME for efficient and cost- effective extraction and purification of low-concentration, high-value metals from complex streams. The successful development of this technology will contribute to the production of high- purity precious metals from end-of-life PCBs of various sources. GAME uses three phases (aqueous, organic, and gas) to achieve an efficient separation in a confined microchannel.

Project Team:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Phinix, LLC

19-01-RR-03

Pushing the State of the Art in Steel Recycling through Innovation in Scrap Sorting and Impurity Removal

Pushing the State of the Art in Steel Recycling through Innovation in Scrap Sorting and Impurity Removal

Increasing the utility of steel scrap through innovation in sorting and impurity removal will increase the use of secondary feedstock and achieve cost parity for secondary materials for steel products. This study will investigate: 1) physical methods such as optical sorting to upgrade scrap steel and 2) chemical or metallurgical treatment methods to remove or neutralize the effect of impurities in molten steel.

Project Team:
Colorado School of Mines

18-01-RR-16

Rapid Sorting of Scrap Metals with Solid State Device

Rapid Sorting of Scrap Metals with Solid State Device

This project focuses on improving the separation of non-ferrous scrap metals from other non-ferrous metals using electrodynamic sorting (EDX) at high throughput and with greater purity and yield.

Project Team:
University fo Utah

17-FP-RR-01

Material Characterizations and Sorting Specifications That Can Allow the Development of Advanced Tire Constructions with High Incorporation of Recovered Rubber Materials

Material Characterizations and Sorting Specifications That Can Allow the Development of Advanced Tire Constructions with High Incorporation of Recovered Rubber Materials

This project seeks to improve the recycling efficiency of recovered rubber materials from used tires back into new tires, by increasing the addition of micronized rubber powder (MRP) from used tires in the production of composite polymer materials (CPM) which is used in the production of new tires. CPM is a blend of MRP and virgin rubber. Increasing the use of MRP for new tires significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions versus other tire recycling processes such as tire burning in cement kilns, crumb or reclaimed rubber manufacturing. While MRP is an attractive cost-effective option for recycling of tires, its incorporation into new tire compounds is limited to ensure that those compounds have properties equivalent to virgin polymers.

This project will develop an understanding of the properties of MRP as a function of the MRP feedstock (used tires) and processing conditions for the production of MRP. This would enable the development of specifications for sorting of used tires and grinding of the tires MRP, together with the associated formulations and tire constructions that will allow higher incorporation of MRP back into new tires without degradation in tire performance, including reliability, durability and rolling resistance. The estimated energy savings for this project are 21PJ per year.

Project Team:
Michelin, Northwestern University, Nike

18-02-RR-02

Evaluation of Logistics Systems for the Collection, Preprocessing and Production of Secondary Feedstocks from E-waste

Evaluation of Logistics Systems for the Collection, Preprocessing and Production of Secondary Feedstocks from E-waste

The objective of this project is to develop an e-waste logistics model that integrates transportation, manufacturing processes, and markets to enable optimal recovery and recycling of e-waste. The model will enable identification of least cost options for increasing e-waste collection and recycling.

Project Team:
Idaho National Laboratory, Sunnking, Inc.

18-01-RR-18

Determining Material, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Sorting and Recycling Mixed Flexible Packaging and Plastic Wrap

Determining Material, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Sorting and Recycling Mixed Flexible Packaging and Plastic Wrap

This project will further develop technology to recover flexible plastic film from a material recovery facility (MRF). Market opportunities for the recovered film will be examined and the resulting economic and environmental impacts will be evaluated. The technology to be developed in the project, if implemented broadly, has the potential of capturing almost 11 billion pounds of flexible plastic packaging and plastic wrap that is currently landfilled each year.

Project Team:
American Chemistry Council , Resource Recycling Systems, Idaho National Laboratory

18-01-RR-17

 

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