Copper-Tin-Nickel Brazing Powder From E-Waste Alloy Purification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The recycling of E-waste alloys is hindered by high impurity content, limiting their efficient utilization and requiring a method to produce copper-tin-nickel brazing material that reduces costs and enhances resource savings.
Innovation Solution
A three-step purification method involving nano-SiO2, refining gas, and heat-preserving directional solidification is used to remove impurities from crude copper-tin-iron-nickel alloys recycled from E-waste, resulting in a high-purity copper-based intermediate alloy for smelting into copper-tin-nickel brazing powder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If crude alloy is directly used from E-waste recycling, then production cost is reduced and resource savings are achieved, but impurity content becomes too high to enable efficient utilization
Solution Approach 1:
The purification process is divided into three distinct stages: (1) slagging to remove Zn and Pb impurities, (2) refining to remove Pb, Fe, S, and O impurities, and (3) directional solidification to remove Fe and Sb impurities. This segmentation allows each stage to target specific impurities systematically, achieving comprehensive purification while maintaining resource efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Different purification methods are applied to remove different types of impurities based on their specific properties. Slagging uses chemical reaction with SiO2 for metal oxide removal, refining uses gas bubbling for inclusion removal, and directional solidification uses controlled cooling for segregating remaining impurities. Each local purification approach is optimized for its target impurities.
2Reliability
If a three-step purification method is applied to remove impurities, then impurity content is reduced to 0.15%, but production process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines three different purification mechanisms (slagging, refining, and directional solidification) into a single integrated process flow. By merging these steps sequentially in one production line, the system achieves comprehensive impurity removal without requiring separate independent systems, thus managing complexity while maintaining high purification effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The purification process operates continuously through sequential stages without interrupting the material flow. The alloy undergoes slagging, then refining, then directional solidification in an uninterrupted sequence, maintaining continuous useful action throughout the purification journey, which improves efficiency despite the multi-step nature of the process.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional acid and alkali solution methods are used for E-waste recycling, then crude alloy is obtained, but the alloy elements remain complex and impurity content stays high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameters of the purification process by replacing chemical dissolution methods with physical and thermal methods. Instead of using acid and alkali solutions, the process employs controlled melting temperatures, gas flow rates, and cooling rates to achieve purification. This parameter change enables better control over alloy composition while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively reduces impurity content to 0.15%, enabling high-value utilization of recycled alloys and improving the strength of welded joints in vacuum brazing of cemented carbide and steel.
Implementation Method 1
heating the crucible to melt the crude copper-tin-iron-nickel alloy into a metal liquid, so that a first impurity in the metal liquid reacts with the SiO2 at the bottom to form a slag that floats out and is removed
Implementation Method 2
introducing a refining gas to the bottom of the metal liquid in step (b) and stirring the resultant, such that a second impurity in the metal liquid forms the scums or gases and then is removed
Implementation Method 3
performing heat-preserving directional solidification on the metal liquid in step (c), so as to bias-aggregate a third impurity at one end and remove the same to obtain a copper-based intermediate alloy
Data Source
AI summary
Copper-tin-nickel brazing material prepared by alloys recycled from E-waste, preparation method therefor, and system thereof are provided. A preparation method for the copper-tin-nickel brazing material includes the following steps: (a) spreading nano-SiO2 on the bottom of crucible and then adding a crude copper-tin-iron-nickel alloy recycled from E-waste; (b) heating the crucible to melt the crude alloy into a metal liquid so that Zn and Pb in the metal liquid react with the SiO2 to form a slag that floats out; (c) introducing a refining gas to the bottom of metal liquid in step (b), thereby removing the scums or gases formed by Pb, Fe, S, and O in the metal liquid; (d) performing heat-preserving directional solidification on the metal liquid, to bias-aggregate the Fe and Sb at one end and remove the same to obtain a copper-based intermediate alloy; and smelting and powdering the copper-based intermediate alloy.