Industrial Materials Recycling

The Industrial Materials Recycling research group has been significantly active and worldwide recognized in the research of battery recycling since 2007. We have been focusing on the Li-ion chemistries including new generation chemistries and solid-state batteries.
We are performing the research and have competences in: - The thermal pre-treatment including pyrolysis, incineration, and calcination of the black mass to recover/remove the organic components. - The application of supercritical CO2 to selectively recover the electrolyte salts and solvents, binder, and separator to achieve higher material recovery. - The development of hydrometallurgical processes using leaching, precipitation, solvent extraction, ion exchange and the crystallization. - The synthesis of innovative and greener solvents and molecules including ionic liquids for metal separation and recovery. - The combination of mentioned techniques in the development of more efficient and flexible processes. - The verification of the developed technologies in the semi pilot scale. - The direct recycling methods for Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.
We are also supporting the LCA research with the experimental data and competence in the recycling and providing the consultation for the industry in the same area. We have collaborations and research projects together with our industrial partners; Northvolt AB, Volvo Cars AB, Stena Metall AB, Nouryon AB, MEAB AB, Librixer AB, etc. In the past we have developed recycling processes for NiMH batteries and alkaline batteries.
 We also yearly supervise several bachelor, master and international students and we invite everybody interested to contact us.

The recycling of materials from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) poses many challenges. Electronic and electrical equipment contains many valuable materials and some harmful substances. The valuable materials include common metals, critical metals and some organics such as plastics.
The valuable elements are those that are only present at low concentrations in minerals or have a profoundly limited supply. These include elements such as gold and platinum group metals. Some of these valuable elements have been listed as critical elements which are needed for key technologies in today´s society. These include the “rare earths” (Lanthanides) needed for the development of environmentally friendly energy systems, such as the neodymium magnets used in electric vehicle motors and wind mill turbines.
Another challenging substance is the cobalt and other metals which are used in many types of batteries. While cobalt might be only a “base metal”, the metals required for use in batteries and some electrical / electronic systems must have a very high purity. For example, the electrical conductivity of copper is very sensitive to the presence of impurity metals. For the efficient electrical power distribution system needed by modern railways and by the rest of society a large amount of high quality copper wire is required since a large fraction of the power distribution system uses copper wire.
Even the recycling of base metals requires care since the presence of impurities can compromise the functionality of the material the metals are used in. One example is the presence of copper in recycled steel which has a harmful effect on the mechanical properties of the steel. During the recycling of WEEE it is very easy for components containing both copper wire and ferromagnetic materials to cause contamination of the steel with copper. These components include motors, transformers, electromagnets and many transducers. Within IMR we have the pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical skills which allow us to develop methods that avoid such problems. The research on recycling methods for materials in WEEE at the group Industrial Materials Recycling (IMR) covers the materials mentioned above but also many more. Hydrometallurgical methods give the opportunity to extract important metals with high purity from mixtures of materials. The development of hydrometallurgical methods is a central area in the research. These methods are based on a leaching with for example an acid solution followed by extraction of the target elements using specially designed molecules (extractants). Our research covers the whole chain from synthesis of extractants with the desired properties to optimization of industrial separation processes based on commercially available extraction chemicals.
The group has also a significant experience on pyrometallurgical processes and their applications on recycling technologies. The high-temperature processes are used as the main recycling method as well as pre-treatment method before hydrometallurgical processing. The high temperature research in the group focuses on developing direct metal recovery from various waste, pretreatment methods and combustion/pyrolyzing of organics from waste streams.
Our research includes also the development of reagents, conditions and methods for the future recycling methods. One example is the development of selective dissolution and separation using supercritical CO2 where the IMR group is unique in the Nordic countries using this method for dissolution and recycling of batteries and WEEE-fractions. We work to obtain a deep understanding of the behavior and form of atoms and molecules in both waste and at each stage of the separation processes which are needed in recycling. We are also working towards a greater understanding of greener solvents (ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents) and their possible utilization in recycling processes with lower carbon footprint that those used today.
We also investigate possible methods to produce new technical materials directly from the recycled material fractions. One method that is used for doing this is spray pyrolysis where a dissolved material is used to produce small particles of a metal or a metal compound.
Examples of research on special materials in waste electronics:
Permanent magnets The most effective, modern, permanent magnets are based on the rare earth elements Neodymium, Praseodymium and others. These magnets are used in modern technology applications, like in hard discs, motors in electric vehicles and in wind mill turbine generators. Recycling methods based on leaching and metal separation has been shown to give good results. The rare earth elements and other metals can be recovered from the magnets in fractions that are pure enough to be reused in new magnets.
Solar panels
A net of metallic conductors on the surfaces of solar panels is needed in order to reduce their resistance. Silver particles in a paste is commonly used and applied by screen printing to produce these conductors. The cost of the silver is a significant part of the cost of the entire module. The possibility to replace silver with another metal is being investigated but there are challenges to be handled before a new technology is in place. Until then the availability of silver, and the reserves of silver in the earths crust is an important factor that can hinder the expansion of the photovoltaic energy production. Recycling of the silver from end-of-use solar panels and from production waste is necessary to make sure that solar power can be an important part of the energy system. The IMR group has developed a method that makes it possible to recover silver from waste solar panels and to re-create silver particles that can be used in new silver paste for screen printing. The work has been funded by SIP Re:Source.
LCD screens and fluorescent lamps LCD screens contain indium in the transparent electrode film on the LCD glass and rare earth elements in the fluorescent lamps included in the screens. Both indium and rare earths are valuable elements and recycling methods are needed. Alternative recycling methods based on hydrometallurgy were studied in a PhD project. A process for recovery of indium and rare earth elements was developed in laboratory scale and published in a thesis.
Fluorescent lamps are in common use since they are efficient and energy saving. The technology is based on the use of rare earth elements, yttrium, lantanum, cerium, europium, gadolinium and terbium. Mixes of these metals and their oxides are used in the fluorescence powder that gives red, green and blue color to the light. Recycling methods for these metals from waste fluorescent lamps have been developed and published in a PhD thesis.
Magnetocaloric materials The traditional technology for refrigeration is based on the reversable evaporation and condensation of a gas. This technology has been associated with health, safety and environmental issues. As a safer alternative the freons such as (Freon-12 dichlorodifluoromethane) were developed and these were widely used in refrigeration and other applications until it was recognized that they cause serious damage to the ozone layer. The later generation (ozone friendly freons) of halogenated refrigerants such as freon-134a (1,2,2,2-tetrafluoroethane) were used in food preservation, air conditioning and asthma inhalers. Now even these ozone friendly freons are being phased out as they have great global warming potentials so there is a need to move to a totally different heat pumping system. The magnetocaloric effect offers means of creating a fluid free refrigerator. It gives better cooling effect which means that the devices can be made smaller and, in addition, it gives less emissions of carbon dioxide than the present technology. Magnetocaloric materials based on rare earth metals among others are presently being developed. Since the availability of these elements is critical, recycling methods for these new magnetocaloric materials need to be developed to make sure that their use can be sustainable. The IMR group has developed hydrometallurgical methods to recover the components in a magnetocaloric material, i.e. an alloy consisting of cerium, iron, lantanum, manganese and silicon. The results have been published in Journal of Cleaner Production.

Combustion of waste is used to recover energy from waste that is not suitable for material recycling. At the same time the volume of waste that needs to be landfilled decreases significantly. The ashes formed have different properties and contain different types of chemical compounds. At the bottom of the combustion chamber the bottom slag or bottom ash is taken out. This ash flow consists of solidified ash melt, pieces of metal and other non-combustible materials. The gas flow from the combustion, i.e. the flue gas, is treated with chemicals to absorb acid gases, volatile metals or metal compounds and dioxins. After that the particles carried by the flue gas are collected in filters. This ash flow is called fly ash or filter ash. The chemical components of the fuel are transformed chemically during the combustion and the flue gas treatment. Knowledge about which chemical products are formed during these reactions is important when landfilling or utilization of the ash in some application is planned. Examples are utilization of bottom slag as construction material like a filling material in a road or as replacement for cement in concrete.
Knowledge about the chemical nature of the ash components is also valuable for the development of methods for recovery of valuable metals from waste combustion ash.
Our research in ash chemistry includes 3 tracks:
 1. Identification of the chemical compounds of important metals in the fly ash 2. Development of methods for recovery of valuable metals from waste combustion ash 3. Development of environmentally sound ways to utilize the waste combustion bottom ash in construction materials
A fly ash from combustion of waste can contain valuable metals like copper and zinc in concentrations of 0.5-several weight percent which is comparable to the ores that are considered worth mining. Unfortunately, there are only very few analytical methods that can show the identity of the chemical compounds of metals in such concentrations. One of those is X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) based on synchrotron generated radiation. We have used XAS to study the speciation of Cd, Cu, Zn och Sb in ashes from combustion of bio fuels and municipal waste. The measurements have been made at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble (http://www.esrf.eu/ ), at MaxLab in Lund and during 2019 at the new synchrotron facility MAXIV in Lund. Our results show that it is possible to recover Cu and Zn from waste combustion fly ash with a good yield with hydrometallurgical methods at the same time as Pb and Cd are removed from the ash. We have also found that several of the metals are bound in ferrites and similar compounds which have low solubility. This explains why the leaching yield for those metals did not reach 100%.
Since the bottom ash contains slag that has chemical properties that are close to those of cement, we are investigating if it can be used as replacement for cement in some applications or as raw material for manufacturing of geopolymers.
The research is funded by Formas, Vinnova, Energimyndigheten och SIP Re:Source

The group are working with characterization and investigation of the possibility to recycle the plastics from electronic waste, WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), to new product with remaining quality. The plastic fraction can contain up to 15-20 different plastic types which are not generally miscible. By blending in compatibilizers and make a miscible and mixed plastic fraction, which is recyclable, both time and money is saved due to less sorting of the material. The work is focused evaluation the mechanical- and thermal properties of the recycled plastic when adding different compatibilizers, using gamma irradiation and/ or different processes and process parameters.
Project the group has worked with:
• Composition analysis of the plastics included in WEEE • Antimony leaching from plastics included in WEEE • Influence by gamma irradiation for repeated recycling • The influence of process parameters on mechanical- and thermal properties and process parameters

Steelmaking residues The Industrial Materials Recycling is actively researching new methods for recycling hazardous wastes from the steel industry. We have a competence in working with byproducts from different parts of the steel value chain such as steelmaking dusts, swarf and slag, and have cooperations with industrial partners such as Höganäs, Erasteel, Befesa and SKF. The focus lies on using hydrometallurgy to extract both valuable and hazardous metals from steelmaking residues and providing an alternative to energy intensive pyrometallurgical recycling processes. In our labs, we have the possibility to verify bench scale experiments with semi-pilot scale tests. Among others, our research involves recycling of critical metals for the Swedish and European economy such molybdenum from steelmaking dusts, and production of water purification chemicals from metallic wastes. These efforts contribute to safer and more economic handling of steelmaking residues and promotes a more sustainable and circular use of materials.

Solar energy contributed to about 3.6 % of global electricity production in 2021 and is expected to continue increasing. This means that the production and consequently the waste of photovoltaic (PV) systems, which produce this electricity, increases accordingly. Although both manufacturing waste and end of life waste are expected to reach a considerable volume in the upcoming decade, their recycling is yet not well developed. The recovery of the elements present in this waste is of great importance for environmental, economic and resource efficiency related reasons. In the Industrial Materials Recycling research group, we work with all the types of common PV technologies, namely silicon, thin film and organic. We focus on the recovery of critical and valuable elements from various PV related materials, from targets and chamber waste to solar cells and modules. We develop recycling solutions using mechanical, thermal and hydrometallurgical treatment in order to achieve high purity recovered materials and we combine lab work with thermodynamic process modeling. We aim for creative solutions that can assist and accelerate the industrialization of PV materials recycling. For this reason, we work with real waste, both from manufacturing processes and end-of-life products, and we have close collaboration with the PV industry and other stakeholders.

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Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Industrial Materials Recycling

Batteries

WEE, electronic waste

Ashes

Plastic

Industrial wastes

Solar cell (Photovoltaic) recycling

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