Using multicomponent recycled electronic waste alloys to produce high entropy alloys

The amount of electronic waste (e-waste) recycled worldwide is less than 20 % of the total amount produced. In a world where the need for critical and strategic metals is increasing almost exponentially, it is unacceptable that tons of these elements remain unrecycled. One of the causes of this low level of recycling is that recycling is based on an expensive and complex selective sorting of metals. Extracting all metals simultaneously is much simpler and if this were done, it would significantly increase the recycling rate. Meanwhile, it was demonstrated that high entropy alloys (HEAs), which are in great demand in applications where very high performance is required, can be made from mixtures of complex alloys, hence reducing their dependence on pure critical metals. Here, we show that it is possible to obtain competitive HEAs from complex alloy mixtures corresponding to typical electronic waste compositions, combining two needs of high interest in our society, namely: to increase the level of recycling of electronic waste and the possibility of developing high-performance HEAs without the need of using critical and/or strategic metals. To validate our hypothesis that e-waste can be used to produce competitive HEAs, we propose an alloy design strategy combining computational thermodynamics (CALPHAD) exploration of phase diagrams and phenomenological criteria for HEA design based on thermodynamic and structural parameters. A shortlist of selected compositions are then fabricated by arc melting ensuring compositional homogeneity of such complex alloys and, finally, characterised microstructurally, using electron microscopy and diffraction analysis, and mechanically, using hardness testing.

Automated summary

The amount of globally recycled e-waste is less than 20% of the total produced. One of the causes for this low recycling rate is the complex and expensive selective sorting of metals. However, recent research has shown that high entropy alloys (HEAs) can be made from complex alloy mixtures, reducing the dependence on pure critical metals. It has been demonstrated that e-waste can be used to produce competitive HEAs.