The Universidade de Coimbra (UC) is internationally recognised as a research university that seeks answers to society’s problems and contributes to sustainable development.
The UC has been developing various activities that position it as an important contributor to the microelectronics and semiconductor sector, including the manufacture of complex soft-matter circuits, which is associated with a process for recycling printed circuits and a project for recovering precious metals from WEEE, contributing to sustainability and the circular economy.
It should also be noted that the UC has a microelectronics laboratory within the Physics Department of the Faculty of Science and Technology. In this project, the UC will contribute to the study of microbiological and chemical processes for recycling precious metals.
– Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing solid wastes, with an accumulation rate of almost 10 million tonnes per year in the European Union alone, where approximately 15-20% of this waste is recycled. In 2021, the estimated production of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEEW) is 55.2 million tonnes worldwide.
The materials to be recovered include valuable metals (gold, platinum, silver, indium and gallium) from end-of-life computers and telecommunications equipment, using integrated systems that combine chemical and biological treatments. The implementation of this approach will enable efficient separation of the target metals with low operating costs and reduced environmental impact of the effluents generated during the application of the different processing stages.
On a scientific level, the methodological approach will be led by UA and UC, based on an initial diagnostic study to identify and map the Portuguese ecosystem of the Microelectronics sector. Subsequently, UA will focus its activities on identifying electronic waste management processes and UC will centre its research on microbiological and chemical processes for recycling precious metals.