Lighting

Our world is much more illuminated than ever. To save costs and CO2 in the private, the industrial, and the public sector energy, efficient lighting technology is preferably used, in particular energy-saving lamps and increasingly LED-based lighting technology. Modern lighting products contain metals such as aluminum, plastics such as polycarbonate, glass and a variety of other materials of partly critical materials like Indium, Gallium, rare earth elements and precious metals. Since these elements are used in very small quantities, there are currently only a few economical methods for their recovery. Especially for the recycling of LED-products there is currently no process.

Dissipation of important raw materials is the consequence. Our aim is the development and optimization of innovative recycling processes for lighting systems and in particular LED-lamps. For this purpose not only well known technics are applied. We investigate new methods for product-specific and efficient recovery of critical materials.

 

Research focus

 

Adaptation of common processes for comminution, sorting and recovery of secondary raw materials

Process loops which include extraction of rare earth, technology and precious metals

Recyclable lighting systems

Substitution of rare earth metals

Alternative rare earth-free lighting products and materials, that allows for simple recycling