The company, based in Morecambe, has been involved in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the University’s School of Engineering.
The project received £129,000 from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) alongside further funding from ICT Reverse.
The process was based around “bioleaching” which uses bacteria to extract precious metals like copper and gold from metal ores in the PCBs to be commercially recycled.
Following the completion of the KTP, a three-year PhD studentship will take the project further. ICT Reverse said that it plans to retain the technology and invest in infrastructure, products and services to capitalise further on it.
Dr Farid Aiouache from the Lancaster University School of Engineering said: “The process operates spent PCBs from various domestic appliances and uses an efficient bioreactor design to run the process at moderate conditions of acidity and temperature and promoted safety. The aim is to design a technology that is scalable and economically viable.”
Craig Smith, group managing director of ICT Reverse, said: “Many Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) have committed to stop using rare earth metals, Apple’s commitment to stop using cobalt by 2025 for example. So having a sustainable and financially viable way to reuse these rare metals and ores within our existing electronic devices creates a true circular economy, and we see bioleaching as the best way to achieve this goal.”
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