Solvometallurgical recovery of critical metals from e-waste concentrate - ON-1196

Project type: Research
Desired discipline(s): Engineering - chemical / biological, Engineering, Chemistry, Natural Sciences, Environmental sciences
Company: Recycling 101 Ltd.
Project Length: 6 months to 1 year
Preferred start date: 09/01/2026
Language requirement: English
Location(s): Welland, ON, Canada
No. of positions: 1
Desired education level: Master'sPhD
Open to applicants registered at an institution outside of Canada: No

About the company: 

Recycling 101 Ltd. is a Welland, Ontario-based company specializing in mechanical pre-processing and chemical recovery of metals from end-of-life electronic waste (e-waste). The company operates a mechanical separation facility that converts mixed e-waste streams (20–30% metal, 70–80% plastics) into 100% metal concentrate through shredding, eddy current separation, density sorting, and magnetic separation.
The resulting concentrate contains economically valuable metals including copper (60-80 wt%), tin, lead, nickel, zinc, and precious metals (gold at 200–500 ppm, silver, palladium, and platinum) at concentrations significantly exceeding primary ore grades. Recycling 101 Ltd. is developing downstream chemical processing capabilities to selectively recover each of these metals, with a strategic focus on green chemistry and solvometallurgical approaches that minimize environmental impact, reduce hazardous waste generation, and comply with Canada’s tightening e-waste processing regulations.
The company serves industrial and municipal clients across North America and is positioned to scale its operations into a regional hub for responsible e-waste processing. The Mitacs Accelerate partnership is central to the company’s technology development roadmap, specifically for developing a proprietary, commercially viable solvometallurgical metal recovery process.

Describe the project.: 

This research project will develop and validate a solvometallurgical process for the selective recovery of critical metals — copper, nickel, zinc, tin, lead, silver, gold, palladium, and platinum — from e-waste metal concentrate using deep eutectic solvents (DES) as green alternatives to conventional mineral acid leaching.
Recycling 101 Ltd. currently operates a mechanical pre-processing facility in Welland, Ontario that converts mixed e-waste streams into 100% metal concentrate. The downstream challenge is selectively recovering each valuable metal from this complex mixture without generating the large volumes of hazardous acid waste associated with conventional hydrometallurgical approaches.
This project will: (1) synthesize and screen five DES formulations (choline chloride paired with urea, oxalic acid, malonic acid, ethylene glycol, or citric acid) for selective leaching of each target metal group; (2) optimize leaching conditions using response surface methodology; (3) develop metal recovery methods from DES leachates (electrodeposition for Cu, selective precipitation for Ni/Zn, and adapted precipitation protocols for precious metals); and (4) perform a life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) benchmarking the DES route against the conventional hydrometallurgical baseline.
The expected outcome is a validated solvometallurgical process sequence with projected reductions of 60–80% in acid consumption and wastewater generation compared to conventional approaches, culminating in a scale-up recommendation for Recycling 101 Ltd.’s 100 kg/day pilot facility.

Required expertise/skills: 

Required: graduate-level training in chemistry, chemical engineering, or materials science; strong practical laboratory skills in wet chemistry and solution preparation; experience with quantitative analytical techniques, ideally ICP-OES or AAS for metal analysis; understanding of electrochemistry fundamentals; proficiency with data analysis tools (Python, MATLAB, or R); ability to design and conduct systematic experiments using response surface methodology (RSM) or design of experiments (DoE); strong technical writing and communication skills for reports, progress presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.
Assets: prior experience with ionic liquids or deep eutectic solvents; familiarity with life cycle assessment (LCA) software (SimaPro, openLCA); knowledge of techno-economic analysis methods; experience with hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical processes; laboratory experience with electrochemical workstations (e.g., BioLogic, Gamry); interest in circular economy, e-waste, or critical minerals policy.