Project description
A new route to precious metal recovery
From Platinum Group Metals to gold and silver, precious metals are irreplaceable industrial goods. Used in a broad range of sectors, they are critical for the EU economy. Hence, the recycling of precious metals is important. Under the EU-funded project PEACOC, a consortium of 19 partners from 8 European countries and Turkey will work together to develop a first-of-a-kind economically and environmentally viable pre-commercial metallurgical system for recovering precious metals. The project will reduce the supply risk of precious metals in the EU and enable new business opportunities for SMEs who recycle end-of-life products. Its concept is based on the recovery and refining technologies previously developed in the frame of the H2020-funded PLATIRUS project (i.e. microwave-assisted leaching, gas-diffusion electrocrystrallisation, and deep eutectic solvents).
Objective
PEACOC will showcase a first-of-a-kind economically and environmentally viable pre-commercial metallurgical system for recovering Precious Metals (PMs) (i.e. Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) identified as critical raw materials by the European Commission (EC), as well as gold (Au) and silver (Ag)), highly important for the EU economy, from a wide variety of abundant end-of-life (EPEACOC will showcase a first-of-a-kind economically and environmentally viable pre-commercial metallurgical system for recovering Precious Metals (PMs) (i.e. Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) identified as critical raw materials by the European Commission (EC), as well as gold (Au) and silver (Ag)), highly important for the EU economy, from a wide variety of abundant end-of-life (EoL) products in Europe. The concept is mainly based on previously developed recovery and refining technologies to TRL 5 in the PLATIRUS Research and Innovation project (Micro-Wave assisted leaching and Gas Diffusion Electrocrystallization GDEx), which were flagged by the Innovation Radar initiative of the EC as excellent innovations and showed a significant cost reduction and lower environmental impact compared to state-of-the-art hydrometallurgical processes as will be shown throughout the proposal. The PEACOC system will be demonstrated at pre-commercial scale at TRL7 with capacity to treat ~50t of PMs concentrates/year i.e. with a recovery capacity of i)2 kg PGMs/week from spent autocatalysts (containing ~2.5kg PGMs/t), ii) 0.5-1 kg Au/week from Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) with a focus on low and medium grade PCBA (containing 20-100 g Au/t) that are currently poorly valorized in industrial smelting processes due to low PM concentrations, and iii) 10 kg Ag/week from EoL Photovoltaic (PV) panels (containing ~3-10 kg Ag/t) which will be an abundant resource in Europe in the coming few years. The project will demonstrate the production of PMs at a profit margin up to 80% with respect to current PMs market prices.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringmining and mineral processing
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsradio technologyradar
Keywords
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-LOW-CARBON-CIRCULAR-INDUSTRIES-2020
See other projects for this callSub call
H2020-LCCI-2020-EASME-twostage
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
20009 DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIAN (GIPUZKOA)
Spain
See on map
Participants (20)
10043 Orbassano
See on map
30030 FOSSO'
See on map
6200 Chatelet
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
11476 Athina
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
34885 Istanbul
See on map
31030 Carbonera
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
31100 Treviso
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
See on map
12100 Castellon De La Plana
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
31320 CASTANET-TOLOSAN
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1130 Wien
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
4000 Liege
See on map
2628 CN Delft
See on map
2400 Mol
See on map
1930 Zaventem
See on map
67100 L Aquila
See on map
34379 Istanbul
See on map
1822 CD Alkmaar
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
EC4A 4AB London
See on map
18348 ATHENS
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.