{"id":14959,"date":"2025-06-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=14959"},"modified":"2025-06-13T15:41:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T15:41:50","slug":"e-waste-microwave-recycling-critical-minerals-gallium-indium-tantalum-sustainable-tech-june-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/e-waste-microwave-recycling-critical-minerals-gallium-indium-tantalum-sustainable-tech-june-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical minerals don\u2019t belong in landfills \u2013 microwave tech offers a cleaner way to reclaim them from\u00a0e-waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Broken electronics still contain valuable critical minerals.\n Beeldbewerking\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Terence Musho<\/a>, West Virginia University<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

When the computer or phone you\u2019re using right now blinks its last blink and you drop it off for recycling, do you know what happens?<\/p>\n\n

At the recycling center, powerful magnets will pull out steel. Spinning drums will toss aluminum into bins. Copper wires will get neatly bundled up for resale. But as the conveyor belt keeps rolling, tiny specks of valuable, lesser-known materials such as gallium, indium and tantalum will be left behind.<\/p>\n\n

Those tiny specks are critical materials<\/a>. They\u2019re essential for building new technology, and they\u2019re in short supply in the U.S. They could be reused, but there\u2019s a problem: Current recycling methods make recovering critical minerals from e-waste too costly or hazardous, so many recyclers simply skip them.<\/p>\n\n

Sadly, most of these hard-to-recycle materials end up buried in landfills<\/a> or get mixed into products like cement. But it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. New technology is starting to make a difference. <\/p>\n\n

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\n A treasure trove of critical materials is often overlooked in e-waste, including gallium in LEDs, indium in LCDs, and tantalum in surface mount capacitors.<\/span>\n Ansan Pokharel\/West Virginia University<\/span>, CC BY<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

As demand for these critical materials keeps growing, discarded electronics can become valuable resources. My colleagues and I at West Virginia University<\/a> are developing a new technology to change how we recycle<\/a>. Instead of using toxic chemicals, our approach uses electricity, making it safer, cleaner and more affordable to recover critical materials from electronics.<\/p>\n\n

How much e-waste are we talking about?<\/h2>\n\n

Americans generated about 2.7 million tons of electronic waste in 2018<\/a>, according to the latest federal data. Including uncounted electronics, a survey by the United Nations suggests that the U.S. recycles only about 15%<\/a> of its total e-waste.<\/p>\n\n

Even worse, nearly half the electronics that people in Northern America sent to recycling centers end up shipped overseas. They often land in scrapyards, where workers may use dangerous methods like burning or leaching using harsh chemicals to pull out valuable metals. These practices can harm both the environment and workers\u2019 health<\/a>. That\u2019s why the Environmental Protection Agency restricts these methods in the U.S<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

The tiny specks matter<\/h2>\n\n

Critical minerals are in most of the technology around you. Every phone screen has a super-thin layer of a material called indium tin oxide. LEDs glow because of a metal called gallium. Tantalum stores energy in tiny electronic parts called capacitors.<\/p>\n\n

All of these materials are flagged as \u201chigh risk<\/a>\u201d on the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s critical materials list<\/a>. That means the U.S. relies heavily on these materials for important technologies, but their supply could be easily disrupted by conflicts, trade disputes or shortages. <\/p>\n\n

Right now, just a few countries<\/a>, including China, control most of the mining, processing and recovery of these materials, making the U.S. vulnerable if those countries decide to limit exports or raise prices.<\/p>\n\n