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Biolix

illustration

Hydrometallurgy applied to metal recycling

 

Partners

Comet Traitements

GeMMe, Université de Liège

 

Duration

5 years

 

Key Words

Leaching, Cathodes, Copper, Rare metals.

 

Context

The "Biolix" line of development, coordinated by Comet Traitements, will see the construction and operation of a first demonstration unit for the hydrometallurgical production of copper cathodes from polymetallic concentrates resulting from the treatment of waste residues from scrap metal : End-of-life vehicles (VHU), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), scrap collection.

 

Objectives and results

Based on an innovative process, in development since 2011 at the GeMMe laboratory of the University of Liège and Comet Traitements, this first unit allows the selective dissolution of copper contained in ultimate waste (which is currently being landfilled) to produce some 750 tons per year of cathode grade A (Cu of purity 99.99%). Following detailed engineering studies, the Biolix process will be industrialized with a demonstration unit providing employment opportunities for 14 new collaborators.

 

Until today, traditional recycling technologies did not allow Comet Traitements to recover all the copper present in electrical and electronic waste, as well as in end-of-life vehicles currently being recycled by the company. Thanks to Biolix, this will be a thing of the past.

 

The Biolix technology, initially promoted by the Marshall Plan (MécaTech competitiveness cluster) and the European Union (ECO-Innovation), required 6 years of research and development. Residues from the crushing of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and scrap metal are immersed in an acid bath with specific properties that have been fine-tuned by the research consortium. Only certain metals, including copper, are selectively dissolved (leaching principle). After extracting the impurities and purifying the copper-rich liquid, the latter is electrically deposited in the form of plates - cathodes - with an exceptional purity of 99.99%. These cathodes will replace primary copper in conventional applications such as the construction industry or electrical and electronic equipment (cables, printed circuits, ...).

 

The financing of this project was made possible by the Reverse Metallurgy program of the Walloon Region, with the support of SRIW, SFPI and the local investment IMBC. Wallonia is home to several technological innovation projects dedicated to the recycling of metals. They are developed with public-private partnerships within the Walloon Mecatech cluster with a global budget of EUR 65 million and the objective to position Wallonia as a "Recycling Valley" at the heart of Europe.

 

In support of this industrial transfer, the continuous process development research carried out at the GeMMe Laboratory has unlocked important technological barriers leading to the optimization of the economic and environmental performances of the project. The laboratory also evaluated potential applications of the hydrometallurgy principles to a variety of recycling streams from Comet Traitements containing high technology metals. The evaluation of rare earth elements

contained in the permanent magnets of new generation hybrid and electric vehicles was part of this exercise. The basic principles of a new process have been demonstrated at the laboratory scale and the construction of a mini-pilot unit within the University was completed.