Electro-Recovery: Turning E-Waste into Valuable Metals

🔍 Introduction

Electronic waste, or e-waste, has become the fastest-growing waste stream globally due to rapid technological advances and short product life cycles. These discarded electronics contain valuable metals like copper, gold, and silver, yet are often dumped or inadequately processed, leading to environmental hazards.

This blog presents a summary of our B.Tech major project at MIT Academy of Engineering, Pune, where we developed an electrolysis-based cold extraction system to treat e-waste and recover metals sustainably.

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🎯 Project Objectives

• ✅ Efficient recovery of valuable metals (Cu, Ag, Au)

• 🌱 Minimize environmental impact using green electrolysis

• ⚡ Optimize electrolysis parameters for high purity

• 📊 Assess scalability and cost-effectiveness

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🛠️ Methodology

1. Pre-treatment of E-Waste

• Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) were manually shredded.

• Dissolved in a diluted sulfuric acid solution (H₂SO₄) for metal ion extraction.

2. Electrolysis Setup

Reactions:

• Anode (Oxidation): Cu → Cu²⁺ + 2e⁻

• Cathode (Reduction): Cu²⁺ + 2e⁻ → Cu (s)

3. Post Processing

• Deposited particles were collected, dried, and analyzed.

• Techniques used:

  • SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy)

  • EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy)

  • XRD (X-ray Diffraction)

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📊 Results & Observations

✅ Visible Metal Deposition

• Copper was successfully deposited on the cathode within 10 minutes.

• Deposition was consistent and adhered well to the surface.

🔬 SEM & EDS Analysis

High porosity and granulated morphology indicated efficient extraction and high surface area.

📈 XRD Analysis

• Confirmed presence of crystalline Cu, Au, and Ag

• Minimal impurities → Indicates high purity metal recovery

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📌 Key Takeaways

• Electrolysis is a cleaner, scalable technique for e-waste treatment.

• More than 85% metal recovery efficiency achieved.

• Environmentally superior to pyrometallurgy or chemical leaching.

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🔭 Future Scope

• 🌿 Use green electrolytes to reduce toxicity.

• 🤖 Integrate automation to enhance consistency.

• ⚙️ Combine with bioleaching for rare earth metals.

• 📦 Scale up to handle larger e-waste volumes industrially.

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🎓 Project Team & Acknowledgments

Project Title: E-waste Treatment and Metal Recovery using Electrolysis
Team Members: Harsh Bhoir, Prajwal Kokate, Mukul Sandyanshi, Ningappa Kharatamol
Guide: Dr. Prashant Jikar
Institute: MIT Academy of Engineering, Pune

We thank the Mechanical Engineering Department and our mentors for continuous guidance and lab support.

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📚 References

1. Forti et al., Global E-Waste Monitor, 2020 – UNU

2. Kumar et al., E-waste Recycling Overview, 2018 – Elsevier

3. Widmer et al., Global Perspectives on E-Waste, 2005 – Environmental Review
   ... [More available in the full report]

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📥 Want to Know More?

📄 Download our full research report here.

📫 Feel free to reach out in the comments if you're working on something similar or have questions about sustainable metal recovery!

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