Non-Equilibrium Plasma for Selective Material Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional recycling methods for electronic devices, which involve hydrometallurgic and pyrometallurgic operations, are energy-intensive, generate pollutants, and fail to selectively extract and recover different materials with high purity due to their non-adaptability to varying compositions and lack of control over thermal plasma temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A process using a non-equilibrium plasma, generated at pressures below 10,000 Pa, to selectively extract compounds by controlling the plasma temperature and vapor pressure, allowing for the separation of materials without deterioration, using a carbon felt to capture the extracted compounds in a gaseous or solid state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If thermal plasma is used to extract compounds from a matrix, then extraction efficiency is improved, but temperature control becomes difficult and thermal sensitive materials are deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of plasma type from thermal equilibrium plasma to non-equilibrium cold plasma. This parameter change allows the plasma to maintain lower temperatures (below 10,000 Pa pressure) while still achieving effective compound extraction, thus resolving the contradiction between extraction efficiency and temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition of extracted compounds by condensing them onto a cold finger or cold wall where the temperature is maintained below the condensation point of the target compound. This phase transition from gas to solid/liquid enables selective recovery while preventing thermal degradation.
2Productivity
If thermal plasma is used for compound extraction, then extraction capability is improved, but selectivity decreases and contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different temperature zones within the system: the plasma region maintains high energy for extraction while the cold finger/cold wall region maintains low temperature for selective condensation. This spatial differentiation of temperature conditions enables both high extraction capability and high selectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cold finger or cold wall acts as an intermediary element between the plasma source and the collected compound. It mediates the temperature difference, allowing compounds to be extracted in the hot plasma region and then selectively condensed in the cold region, achieving both high extraction capability and selectivity.
3Loss of substance
If conventional recycling methods are used, then material recovery is achieved, but energy consumption increases and environmental pollution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical and chemical recycling methods (hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy) with a plasma-based extraction method. This substitution uses electromagnetic energy to directly extract compounds from materials, reducing the need for multiple sequential processing steps and associated energy consumption while minimizing chemical waste and pollution.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional recycling methods are used, then material processing is achieved, but adaptability to different material compositions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The plasma extraction system demonstrates universality by being able to extract different types of compounds (metals, metal complexes, organic compounds) from various material matrices using the same fundamental mechanism. By adjusting plasma parameters and cold finger temperature, the system can be adapted to different target compounds without requiring fundamentally different processing methods.
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
Enables selective and efficient recovery of materials with high purity by minimizing energy consumption and avoiding contamination, allowing for the extraction of valuable compounds while maintaining the integrity of thermally sensitive materials.
Implementation Method 1
A process using a non-equilibrium plasma, generated at pressures below 10,000 Pa, to selectively extract compounds by controlling the plasma temperature and vapor pressure
Implementation Method 2
A non-equilibrium plasma is a plasma which is not at thermodynamic equilibrium because the electrons temperature is higher than the temperature of heavy species such as ions, and neutral atoms and/or molecules
Implementation Method 3
the extracted first compound is in a gaseous state and is captured in a liquid or solid state in a carbon felt traversed by the non-equilibrium plasma flow comprising said extracted first compound, wherein the temperature of the carbon felt is lower than the condensation point or lower than the solidification point of the first compound
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a process for treating, with a plasma, a composition comprising at least a first compound and a second compound, characterized in that said process comprises at least: - generating, within an enclosure, a non-equilibrium plasma flow from a gas present in said enclosure, and - treating the composition contained in said enclosure with said non-equilibrium plasma flow so as to extract at least a portion of said first compound.