About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T24: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Enhancing Recycling and Reuse of Secondary Materials to Support a Circular Economy
|
| Presentation Title |
Refining Tantalum and Manganese from E-Waste |
| Author(s) |
Ansan Pokharel, Shavinka Jayasekera, Edward Sabolsky, Terence Musho |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Ansan Pokharel |
| Abstract Scope |
The rising demand and disruption in the supply chain of critical elements like tantalum and manganese have spurred urgency in the domestic electronic material supply chain network. There is a current need to develop local approaches to recycle end-of-life electronics. Capacitors are a specific e-waste component with a high concentration of tantalum, comprising up to 50% tantalum and 18% manganese which is currently being targeted for recovery and refinement.
This research presents a method of separating and refining both tantum and manganese from e-waste. We have developed a selective carbothermal reduction technique that utilizes a microwave heating approach. The refining process was divided into four stages based on temperatures and pressures. The processing parameters were determined using a CALPHAD method. Characterization and analysis of the phases obtained at each stage are reported. We have demonstrated that the developed approach can recover tantalum from e-waste at a purity above 97%. |