Critical metals are essential for a range of technologies that are vital to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. However, the global recycling rate for metals contained in electronic waste is below 20%, indicating that electronic waste is a relatively untapped source of metals. Additionally, it is increasingly urgent to develop effective processes for recycling waste from products like solar panels, as the volume of waste solar pannels generated is set to rise significantly in the coming years. Currently, conventional hydrometallurgical methods often rely on toxic aqueous solutions to dissolve metals, which presents substantial environmental challenges.

This project proposes an innovative alternative by using concentrated brines (aqueous salt solutions) to oxidize and dissolve metals. This thesis will investigate the fundamental properties of brines and their ability to dissolve metals through various techniques, particularly electrochemical methods. Artificial intelligence methods developed within the lab will be employed to screen a wide range of brines that would allow metal dissolution. Subsequently, brine-based recycling processes will be developed to recover metals from printed circuit boards and solar panels. Finally, metal separation and the treatment of used brines will be explored using membrane and electrochemical processes.