SILEXE - Extract strategic metals from weee sources

Process to extract strategic metals from weee sources, notably to recycle tantalum from electronic boards

Context
To handle issues related to diminishing natural resources, recycling is emerging as an essential vector for change. Like the rest of Europe, France has confirmed its desire to reduce its dependence on metals considered as strategic, and thus to favor internal supply.

The Silexe project seeks specifically to recycle tantalum derived from urban resources, namely from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), in particular electronic boards used in mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, laptop computers, and more. Silexe focuses on developing a process to extract and electroplate, in an ionic liquid medium, the tantalum derived from WEEE

Benefits
The process notably makes it possible to collect highly pure tantalum in metal form, which is the most desirable form for the electronics market. The use of ionic liquids helps ensure operator protection while also enabling recycling.

Applications
Recycling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) by recovering strategic metals contained, in particular, on electronic boards.