Research Projects

The present work is focused on the combined recycling of E-waste stream, taking end-of-life solar panels and waste printed circuit boards as raw materials for the development of valuable products. With the National Solar Mission emerging as one of the chief initiatives of the Government of India, it is important to develop complete strategy of recycling solar panels. Similarly, the growing technology in telecommunication and IT sector has led to development of newer electronic devices. The printed circuit board in these devices are rich source of many base, precious and hazardous metals and materials. It is indeed an important step to plan the recycling of WPCBs. In 2050, the total solar panel waste is projected to be nearly 78 million tons, as the end-of-life solar panels will become one of the major contributors to E-waste streams. There is a lack of holistic process to deal with E-waste streams. Dealing with E-waste by assuming each E-waste segment in isolation may not be viable for future needs. The major challenges in the present work are: 1. Proper delamination to reach the Si-wafer in solar panels and delamination, followed by safe removal of components from WPCBs 2. Removal of EVA and epoxy resins for recovery of valuables from solar panels and WPCBs. The proposed methodology is as follows: 1. To use the end-of-life solar panels and WPCBs as a combined source of valuables and achieve ~90% material recovery. 2. The primary pretreatment involving dismantling and delamination will be done, followed by hydrometallurgical recycling, followed by solvent extraction and precipitation for the recovery of metal-rich compounds, like oxides, chlorides, sulphates, oxalates etc. 3. The non-metallic fraction will also be used as a raw material for the development of composites and other important materials. The novelty of the present work lies in the following: • Development of in-house delamination equipment for efficient delamination of the E-waste streams (end-of-life solar panels and WPCBs). • Recovered materials will be used as secondary raw materials for product development (use of leach liquor, residual solids and other material streams for metal-rich compounds, composites, etc.). • Methods for recycling polymers and ceramics from the end-of-life solar panels and WPCBs (use of materials for composite production etc. based on the chemical composition). The key deliverables of the proposed work are: A. Development of innovative and novel method for combined E-waste recycling B. Material reuse and recycling technology and its implementation and filing of patents for technology developed. C. Dissemination of knowledge through reputed journals and conferences. D. Optimized combined E-waste recycling process to be utilized for scaling up the process Target beneficiaries of the outcomes of the proposed work: 1. Solar panel and electronic device manufacturing industries 2. Government 3. Recyclers 4. Glass and polymer manufacturing industries