Sustainable Recovery of Critical Raw Materials using Electrochemical Technology
ELECTROmonoLITH project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), is led by Prof. Jelena Radjenovic at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA). This ERC Consolidator Grant focuses on the development of electrochemical systems for selective separation and recovery of lithium and other critical raw materials (CRMs) from complex secondary sources and waste streams. The key objectives of the project are to develop three-dimensional monolith electrodes that are functionalized for the highly selective separation of CRMs and offer high surface area for their electrochemically switched ion exchange (ESIX) and implement these in innovative flow-through reactor designs.
The final goal is to obtain an energy-efficient extraction of metals from industrial wastewaters and brines, untap currently unexploited secondary sources of CRMs, and provide a simple and environmentally benign methodology for the removal of toxic heavy metals from waste streams.
State of the art facilities
We develop and evaluate our technology using state-of-the-art equipment. Our tailored electrode materials, produced via additive manufacturing, extract valuable metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel from industrial wastewaters and brines. Using scalable, low-cost synthesis methods, we ensure future applicability.
