Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKSSolid-gas reactions offer the possibility of selectively converting certain valuable metals into a gaseous compound and thereby separating them. In this process, the recycled material is reacted with a suitable, usually gaseous reaction partner. Such reactions can be of interest for the extraction of certain metals, for example from mineral raw materials or concentrates, as well as from electronic scrap, but also for the separation of pollutants.
Procedure
Fraunhofer IWKS uses so-called ‘chemical transport reactions’ as the basis for the development of new technologies in close cooperation with industrial partners for the recovery of valuable materials.
The reaction conditions are tailored to the customer's specific material. They can be calculated in advance using thermodynamic data and only require minor optimisation on a laboratory scale. This eliminates the need for lengthy preliminary tests and enables rapid implementation on an industrial scale.
Advantages
- Solid material can be used directly: no solution or precipitation reactions required
- No environmentally harmful chemicals necessary
- Required gas can be recycled
Application examples
- Recovery of indium from displays
- Separation of cadmium from battery waste
- Recovery of metals from slag