Ottimizzazione termodinamica dei processi innovativi sviluppati per valorizzare i rifiuti industriali contenenti metalli preziosi

Responsabili di progetto

Stefano Ubaldini, Povar Igor

Accordo

MOLDOVA - ASM-not in force - Academy of Sciences of Moldova

Bando

CNR/ASM biennio 2018-2019 2018-2019

Dipartimento

Scienze del sistema terra e tecnologie per l'ambiente

Area tematica

Scienze del sistema Terra e tecnologie per l'ambiente

Stato del progetto

Nuovo

Proposta di ricerca

International relevance.
The use as secondary raw materials from marginal resources as industrial wastes, such as the WEEE (Waste Electronic Electrical Equipment), is of strategic importance for European industry, for economic and environmental reasons, due to their high concentration on valuable metals, in particular Raw Materials (RMs) such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, manganese, nickel, and Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), such as platinum, indium, rare hearts, which are essential for many production processes. EU is almost completely dependent by RMs. Several other countries have dominant supplies of RMs (USA, Brazil and China).
In Italy and Moldova, each year are collected thousands of tons of industrial wastes. European legislation requires the recycling of industrial wastes and obliges member countries to establish schemes for their collection, treatment and disposal. In the next years the problem will also be pressing in Moldova.
The advancement of the innovative integrate circuit proposed, is given by the lowest environmental impact and by the greater degree of purity of the valuable metals obtained.
Industrial companies will be involved for the transfer of technological innovation, strongly interested to realize industrial plants. Technology transfer to undertakings is, with the benefit for the environment, a strong motivation for the development of the cooperation in the years 2018-2019.

Links with Horizon 2020 .
The proposal refers to Horizon 2020, Work Programme 2016-2017, in particular to the pillar Social Challenge of the horizontal activities "Climate action, environment, resource, efficiency and raw materials". Its scope is connected to the calls SC5-13-2016-2017 "New solutions for sustainable production of raw materials" and SC5-14-2016-2017 "Raw materials Innovation actions".
The objectives are consistent with the priorities indicated by the EC in the "Strategic Implementation Plan for the European Innovation Partnership (SIP-EIP ) on Raw Materials (RMs) , 2013" : the proposal refers to the Action area I.4 "Processing and refining of raw materials: Innovative flexible processing and metallurgical systems", under Priority Area "Technologies for primary and secondary raw materials production", of SIP-EIP on RMs. From 2013 IGAG is member of the EIP on RMs. EC approved an IGAG-CNR commitment addressed versus the aforementioned Action and Priority areas (Commitment call 2016); moreover IGAG take part to the network of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) on RMs linked to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on RMs.

Description of the research: methodology
The realization of the project will be accomplished by the operating units IGAG-CNR (OU1) and IC-ASM (OU2). The activities are complementary and articulated as follow:
- physical-mechanical pretreatments to recover the components of interest, as powder containing valuable metals and leaching (OU1 and OU2).
- thermodynamic optimization of the new leaching processes, carried out by different leaching agents (OU2).
- purification of liquid solutions, using new chemical-electrochemical processes (OU1).
- design and realization of integrated circuit process (OU1).
- waste water treatment (OU2).
- integrated process analysis of the results obtained (OU1).
- environmental impact analysis and Life Cycle Assessment (OU2).

Expected Results and Impacts
1. Scientific impact.
For Moldovan team: improvement of the knowledge in the removal, refining and re-use of toxic metals with electro-hydrometallurgical methods. For Italian team: depth of knowledge in the extraction of valuable metals by means of applications of thermodynamic optimization.
2. Technological impact.
Technology transfer of the new integrated and sustainable process in a pilot plant with cost-benefit analysis: Italian, European and Moldovan companies as Bioprojectgroup, Cekometal, The Centre of Waste Processing, ENVIRONCENTRUM SRO, CMC Chimie Srl, FINMECCANICA, will be involved in the project.
3. The impact on future international scientific relations will favor development of scientific and technological relations between Italy and Moldova, the application of new technologies towards zero-waste, creation of joint laboratories, organization of international conferences and seminars, publications.
4. Starting by aforementioned links with Horizon 2020 and by the proven experience in the specific international area and in Horizon 2020 programs of the team members - demonstrated by numerous participation to international projects and commitments - proposal will be presented in the framework of the "Climate action, environment, resource, efficiency and raw materials", of the Programme Horizon 2020, Call "Greening the economy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)", topic CE-SC5-07-2018-2019-2020 "Raw materials innovation for the circular economy: sustainable processing, reuse, recycling and recovery schemes".
5. Training of young Moldovan researchers on new analytical methods and innovative technologies integrated. Young Italian researchers will learn thermodynamic optimization methods.

Resources available.
The two institutions are complementary in terms of equipment and methodologies:
IGAG-CNR will use the skills acquired in electrochemistry and hydrometallurgy. The following techniques and equipments will be utilized: microscopic analysis, RX Diffraction, RX Fluorescence, UV-VIS Spectrophotometry, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, Optics Spectrophotometry, Electrochemical equipment, stirred reactors, magnetic stirrers, centrifuges, laser granulometers and electro-hydrometallurgical circuit.
IC-ASM will use the skills acquired in thermodynamic studies, new compounds, pollution control, pollution assessment and research of environmental technologies.
Moldovan team will utilise the following main equipments: Spectrophotometer UV VIS, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers, Spectrometer, Potentiostat, Polarograph.

Obiettivi della ricerca

General
Thermodynamic optimization of innovative integrated hydrometallurgical-electrochemical process, economic and environmentally, to enhance the valuable metals recovery (such RMs and CRMs) from various types of industrial wastes, with technology transfer and development, achieving a degrees of purity of commercial interest.

Specifics
o Production of gold, silver, copper, zinc, manganese, nickel, platinum, indium, rare hearts, with a degree of purity > 99 % .
o High energy efficiency of the process (>95 %) , with recovery >98 %.
o Industrial assessment cost-benefit .
o Reduction of pollution from toxic elements.

Scientific/technological innovations that will permit to reach the objectives
o Application of simple processes, industrially applicable - to dispose of toxic elements with contemporary production of valuable metals.
o Adoption of an integrated and flexible process for different types of materials.
o Implementation of the integrated optimized processes with use of different innovative leaching agents, environmentally friendly, improving the recovery yields selective extraction.
o Multidisciplinary and innovative treatment of wastewater process with nanofiltration in very acidic conditions and ultrafiltration with surfactants to work at lower pressures, with consequent energy savings.
o Application of LCA , innovative methodology for the study of the environmental impact of the process, in the area of secondary raw materials.

Ultimo aggiornamento: 08/06/2025