Electrochemical Mining of MSWI Ash

Default ARPA-E Project Image


Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$2,700,000
Location:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
06/01/2021 - 05/31/2025
Website:

Technology Description:

MIT will develop an electrochemical approach to extracting and purifying valuable elements from municipal solid waste incinerator ash, powered solely by electricity from the waste-to-energy plant. The approach is capable of recovering at least 95% of critical materials and at least 90% of other metals while avoiding producing additional hazardous emissions. MIT’s approach uses electrochemical reactions to extract elements that include rare-earth elements and valuable base and noble metals. The proposed technology can upcycle major elements in fly and bottom ash, including calcium and silicon, to value-added products such as lime and silicates for use in construction applications.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Douglas Wicks
Project Contact:
Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
ychiang@mit.edu

Related Projects


Release Date: