View in EDS

Sustainable valorization of semiconductor industry tantalum scrap using non-hazardous HF substitute lixiviant.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Sustainable valorization of semiconductor industry tantalum scrap using non-hazardous HF substitute lixiviant.
Authors: Swain, Basudev1 (AUTHOR) Swain@iae.re.kr, Lee, Jieun1 (AUTHOR), Woo Gu, Bon2 (AUTHOR), Lee, Chan-Gi1 (AUTHOR), Yoon, Jin-Ho1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Waste Management. May2022, Vol. 144, p294-302. 9p.
Subjects: Tantalum, Semiconductor industry, Electronic waste, Waste recycling, Industrial safety, Industrial electronics, Electronics recycling, Semiconductor manufacturing
Geographic Terms: Rwanda
Abstract: [Display omitted] • An eco-efficient tantalum recovery process from e-waste has been developed. • Two different competitive feasible routes for extraction of tantalum are purposed. • Quantitative extraction of tantalum without using HF has been archived. • Calcination, HF substitute lixiviant are two important components for recovery. • The mechanism involved in calcination-assisted oxidation has been explored. Global tantalum production from mines averages 1800 tons per year and hardly increases, but demand for tantalum in the electronics industry consistently increasing. Globally, 50% of total tantalum produced is being used for tantalum capacitors manufacturing, almost all demand from various industries is mainly met by primary resources only. Tantalum production and supply predominantly dominated by Congo and Rwanda which accounts for > 50%, add disadvantages for the strategic and economic competitiveness of other nations. To address the monopoly dominated by Congo and Rwanda, and the disparity of tantalum primary reserve, exploitation of secondary resources can alternatively address the drawbacks of primary resource distribution. Currently, hardly < 1% of tantalum getting recycled, and the poor recycling rate of tantalum is mainly contributed by the lack of efficient and sustainable valorization technology for recycling tantalum-bearing scraps like electronic capacitors and semiconductor industry tantalum scrap. In the current investigation, a sustainable tantalum extraction process from scrap dominated by hydrometallurgical route has been developed. Tantalum scrap which is passive to leach for tantalum recovery was calcinated for oxidation of TaN content and followed by tantalum has been leached using a mixture of NaF and HCl, a specially developed novel lixiviant for the purpose as an HF substituent. Calcination process parameter like temperature and time requirement for oxidation was optimized varying one parameter at a time. Then, the efficient leaching condition was optimized for quantitative leaching of tantalum. The process can achieve 99.99% efficient leaching, the process can successfully be applied for feasible industrial-scale tantalum scrap recycling. The HF substituent lixiviant can add advantages to overcome occupational and industrial operation safety challenges associated with HF lixiviant. The reported valorization process can be a sustainable tantalum recycling process that simultaneously can address UNO sustainable development goal, WEEE directive, and UNEP E-Waste Management goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Waste Management is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:[Display omitted] • An eco-efficient tantalum recovery process from e-waste has been developed. • Two different competitive feasible routes for extraction of tantalum are purposed. • Quantitative extraction of tantalum without using HF has been archived. • Calcination, HF substitute lixiviant are two important components for recovery. • The mechanism involved in calcination-assisted oxidation has been explored. Global tantalum production from mines averages 1800 tons per year and hardly increases, but demand for tantalum in the electronics industry consistently increasing. Globally, 50% of total tantalum produced is being used for tantalum capacitors manufacturing, almost all demand from various industries is mainly met by primary resources only. Tantalum production and supply predominantly dominated by Congo and Rwanda which accounts for > 50%, add disadvantages for the strategic and economic competitiveness of other nations. To address the monopoly dominated by Congo and Rwanda, and the disparity of tantalum primary reserve, exploitation of secondary resources can alternatively address the drawbacks of primary resource distribution. Currently, hardly < 1% of tantalum getting recycled, and the poor recycling rate of tantalum is mainly contributed by the lack of efficient and sustainable valorization technology for recycling tantalum-bearing scraps like electronic capacitors and semiconductor industry tantalum scrap. In the current investigation, a sustainable tantalum extraction process from scrap dominated by hydrometallurgical route has been developed. Tantalum scrap which is passive to leach for tantalum recovery was calcinated for oxidation of TaN content and followed by tantalum has been leached using a mixture of NaF and HCl, a specially developed novel lixiviant for the purpose as an HF substituent. Calcination process parameter like temperature and time requirement for oxidation was optimized varying one parameter at a time. Then, the efficient leaching condition was optimized for quantitative leaching of tantalum. The process can achieve 99.99% efficient leaching, the process can successfully be applied for feasible industrial-scale tantalum scrap recycling. The HF substituent lixiviant can add advantages to overcome occupational and industrial operation safety challenges associated with HF lixiviant. The reported valorization process can be a sustainable tantalum recycling process that simultaneously can address UNO sustainable development goal, WEEE directive, and UNEP E-Waste Management goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:0956053X
DOI:10.1016/j.wasman.2022.04.005