European JV to Develop Technology to Recover Metals from Circuit Boards

ITRI Innovation Ltd. (a subsidiary of ITRI, based in Hertfordshire, U.K.) has launched a joint venture with its partner Ultromex Ltd. to recover tin and other metals from scrap circuit boards. The joint venture company has been named Itrimex Ltd.

According to a news release issued by the JV partners, ITRI Innovation “has extensive knowledge of tin-based technologies” while Ultromex “brings expertise in plant construction, design and novel processes for recovering both base and precious metals from all types of substrate and matrices.”

The news release indicates that a low-cost, low-energy technology for rapid removal of metals for final recovery from circuit board scrap is being developed. The companies say the technology will enable the joint venture to efficiently recover tin, copper and lead as well as silver and other precious metals. A pilot plant is under construction in Wirral, U.K., and will be operational within three months.

"Pressure to recover metals efficiently from waste electronics scrap is growing with increasing commodity prices and constrained supplies,” says David Bishop, ITRI managing director. “At the same time, new regulations such as the revised WEEE Directive in Europe will mandate increasing targets for waste electronics collection. We believe this technology represents a significant advancement in metals recycling."

Once proven at pilot plant scale, the JV partners plan to license the technology globally. Itrimex will offer licensees the option of including the design, build and commissioning of plants as part of any agreement. It will also retain the capability to process scrap printed circuit boards on behalf of customers.

"The Itrimex process extracts metals at high concentrations and recoveries, ensuring that maximum returns are achieved from the final refining stage,” says Jonathan Quinn, Ultromex managing director. “It is simple and cost-effective and can treat any grade and type of scrap boards (low, medium and high grade).”