Syllabus

• Week 1

  WEEE and their chemical content

  • European urban mining: resources and recycling

    This activity discusses the role of some elements in new technologies and renewable energy production. You will learn to identify critical elements, which are both essential for our economy and come with a high supply risk.

  • E-waste recycling across the globe

    A smartphone is a good example of WEEE (Waste from Electronic and Electrical Equipment). A smartphone contains up to 45 differents metals. Most of them are critical or valuable and require specific treatment to recycle.

  • Lithium-ion batteries and their specific aspect

    Lithium batteries are a challenge. The market is rapidly increasing, and the technology is changing rapidly. Recycling lithium batteries can be very risky.

  • E-waste treatment and safety issues

    This activity explores WEEE management: from collection to recycling; depollution of WEEE and safety issues; toxicity and impacts of dioxins and furans; and short- and long-term effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

  • Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

    This activity will define Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), and using phones and cars as examples explain how LCA can be used to quantify advantages and disadvantages of a technology.

  • Reflection: WEEE and their chemical content

    What have you learned about WEEE and the chemical content of these devices?

• Week 2

  Industrial recycling and thermal methods of recycling

  • Mechanical processing and sorting on the industrial scale

    Challenges in WEE collection and recycling by mechanical methods. How to dismantle and separate WEEE and how to separate and sort polymers before thermal treatments.

  • Pyrometallurgical processing theory

    In the state of the art, e-waste recycling is dominated by pyrometallurgical routes. The different techniques using heat are discussed. They decompose organics and deliver liquid metals.

  • Pyrometallurgical processing on the industrial scale

    We describe some industrial processes and discuss the pros and cons of pyrometallurgy.

  • Industrial applications of WEEE processing

    Some complete industrial applications are presented that show the complementarity between pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy.

  • Hydrometallurgical processing of spent batteries

    This activity describes the specific aspects of recycling batteries. Where pyrometallurgy meets hydrometallurgy.

  • Conclusion on Week 2: physical methods and pyrometallurgy

    Let's conclude Week 2. The test in this activity will help you validate your learning on pyrometallurgy from this week.

• Week 3

  Hydrometallurgy: how to recover materials from waste

  • Introduction to hydrometallurgy

    This week you will learn about the basics of hydrometallurgy, including a closer look at the first step: leaching. You will learn about the principles of leaching, the equipment that is used, and how waste is managed.

  • Leaching

    This week dives deeper into leaching. You will learn about thermodynamics and kinetics, and about controlling your process via pH, potential, or changing the oxidation state.

  • How metals are separated using precipitation

    In this activity you will learn how to separate metals via precipitation, including the principles and how to achieve separation and then recovery. This activity also covers the industrial applications of precipitation.

  • Solvent extraction of metals

    Solvent extraction is the most common method used in the recycling of Li-ion batteries nowadays. You will learn about the principles, equipment, and how it is applied in industry.

  • Metal recovery through ion exchange (IX)

    Ion exchange (IX) is widely applied in metal production and purification. You will learn about the principles, types of resins and columns, and about how ion exchange is used in the recycling and metallurgical sectors.

  • Conclusion of Week 3: Solution chemistry and hydrometallurgy

    A lot of material has been covered this week! Let's wrap up Week 3 by reviewing key terminology and processes in hydrometallurgy.

• Week 4

  Emergent recycling methods

  • Extra challenges around rare and strategic raw materials

    Electrochemical methods can be used to reduce metals, to purify metals such as copper, or to recover rare or precious platinum group metals.

  • Selective separation of oxides

    This activity describes more academic and fundamental approaches for recovering metal oxides with different acido-basic character.

  • Scaling up and integrating new green emerging methods I: New chemical methods

    Emergent technologies use new solvents such as non aqueous phases, molten salts or supercritical fluids. They also use new reaction methods such as mechanochemistry.

  • Scaling up and integrating II: Advanced mechanical and thermal preparation

    The activity describes advanced physical treatment such as microwaves, plasma and sonochemistry. Such techniques are promising for the recycling of uncommon systems such as thin films (In, Ta) or magnets (rare earths).

  • Future trends in battery recycling strategies

    An increasing fraction of lithium batteries will have to be recycled to meet the need for Li, Co and even Ni resources. Batteries will have to be eco-designed and low-cost methods will have to be developed.

  • Conclusion on Week 4 on Emergent recycling methods and the future of recycling

    This section allows you to get the essential points out of the emerging recycling methods presented.

Who will you learn with?