Publication: Towards Sustainable Recycling of Critical Metals From E-Waste: Bioleaching and Phytomining

Our institute is a co-author of the paper titled Towards Sustainable Recycling of Critical Metals from E-Waste: Bioleaching and Phytomining, published in the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling.

Critical metals are indispensable components of our daily lives, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to their irreplaceable functions in electronics. As technological advancements continue to drive demand, reevaluating end-of-life devices and electronic waste is a sustainable strategy to secure metal supplies. However, extracting critical metals from e-waste must be carefully managed to avoid material loss and consider environmental sustainability. Conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical methods, often used on a large scale, lack targeted selectivity for critical metals like Ga, In, and REEs. These metals are often lost in pyrometallurgical processes or require extensive purification after chemical leaching. Consequently, alternative selective recovery routes that meet sustainability criteria without excessive investment have shifted focus to emerging bioleaching and phytomining technologies. However, understanding these recovery mechanisms is limited, and their applicability faces challenges such as longer processing times and slower yields. This review article seeks to provide insights into these novel technologies for critical metal recycling from end-of-life materials by examining their mechanisms and key parameters, discussing potential optimization strategies, and evaluating trade-offs to assess their viability and sustainability in large-scale operations.

A.N. Erkmen, R. Ulber, T. Jüstel, M. Altendorfner; Towards Sustainable Recycling of Critical Metals From E-Waste: Bioleaching and Phytomining; Resources, Conservation & Recycling (2024) in press