Video on Critical Element Extraction from Electronic Waste

Introduction

Electronic waste recycling plays a crucial role in reducing environmental impact and recovering valuable material resources to be recycled back into global manufacturing.

In this video, Johanna Irrgeher from Montanuniversität Leoben, and Sean Lancaster from the University of Calgary explain the challenges and benefits of TCE extraction (Technology Critical Element ) from electronic waste, and explain how their analytical studies support;

• The development of effective analytical methods needed for industrial scale-up of more profitable recycling operations
• Opportunities to monitor leakage into urban green spaces and safeguard the impacts on human health
• The development of SI traceable reference methods, and certification to support efficient future government regulation

The research presented features atomic spectroscopy techniques XRF, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and ICP-MS/MS, and demonstrates results from experiments conducted on a PerkinElmer NexION^® 5000 multi-quadrupole ICP-MS using nitrous oxide (N2O) reactive gas.

Their work is underpinned by a range of EU-funded projects, including MetroCycleEU which involves over 15 European metrology and non-metrology institutes who are leading the way in setting real-world standards for safe element extraction, and supporting industrial growth in recycling, Once complete, all research is published free online.

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