Recycle Research
Background: Depletion of Critical Elements
With the rapid development of technology, the demand of natural resources increases annually resulting in the depletion of mineral reserves. For example, precious metals such as gold (Au) and Cu (copper) will be in the risk of shortage based on the current extraction rate. Thus, the recycling of valuable elements is necessary to mitigate the depletion of resources. Nowadays, urban mining, a concept that the content of rare metals in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has exceeded the one in natural mineral, reveals the opportunities to reclaim raw materials from spent wastes instead of ores in terms of commercial benefits. Recycling becomes a critical process to increase resource sustainability and fulfill circular economy.
Objective: Purification & Refining of Materials
However, the complexity of elements used in products causes much difficulties on the whole recycling process. The development of recycling technologies such as Sorting and Dismantling are also big issues in industry. To close the circular loop of recycling, our main interests focus on the Purification and Refining of materials. We are devoted to the up-recycling of wastes by developing cutting-edge technologies and integrating the current processes. Students in recycle team will not only conduct academic research but also collaborate with industrial corporation to make things really happen.
Methodology: Pyrometallurgy & Hydrometallurgy
Conventionally, there are two categories of recycling approaches, one is Pyrometallurgy (physical method) and the other is Hydrometallurgy (electro- or chemical method). We combine both approaches regarding different target materials to recover valuable elements with high purity, high recovery rate, and low energy/reagent consumption.
The followings are current topics with government or industrial project in our lab:
(1) Lithium-ion battery discharging and recycling (on going, open for new student)
(2) Rare earth magnet electrochemical recycling (on going, open for new student)
(3) Solution plasma purification technology (on going)
*Please "click" underlined link for the detailed introduction of individual topic
The followings are previous research topics in our lab:
(1) CIGS solar cell recycling and upgrading (finished)
(2) WC-Co scrap electrochemical recycling (finished)
(3) Microwave pyrolysis and purification technology (paused)
*Please "click" underlined link for the detailed introduction of individual topic
*As for freshman to our team, we provide tutorial class videos on Youtube private playlist to pick up the background knowledge of recycling, including but not limited to pretreatment, purification, instrument, and fundamental:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoJnbQvCOLnLubCBE30Z2ERlw9lZjguqS
We are looking for students with positive attitude, innovative idea, and even industrial experience to work together for a greener and better future. If you have any question about our works, please feel free to contact us directly.