Electronics

Plant-based PCB substrate breaks down in water for easier recycling

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When immersed in hot water, the polymer holding the natural fibers together dissolves, allowing for recovery and reuse of the components
Infineon
When immersed in hot water, the polymer holding the natural fibers together dissolves, allowing for recovery and reuse of the components
Infineon
Infineon has developed three PCBs based on Jiva's Soluboard substrate, which breaks down in hot water for easier recovery of the electronic components
Infineon
Jiva's Soluboard PCB substrate is made from plant-based fibers, a non-toxic polymer and a halogen-free flame retardant
Jiva Materials
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Our appetite for new gadgets is resulting in a huge e-waste problem, with just a fraction of the 50 million tonnes of tech thrown away each year being recycled. Looking to tackle a significant part of the problem, the UK's Jiva Materials has developed a PCB substrate that breaks down in water for easier recovery of materials. The startup is now partnering with European manufacturers to demo and evaluate the Soluboards.

Jiva says that some 18 billion square meters of printed circuit boards (PCB) are produced each year, but recovering valuable materials from a spent board can be a complex, costly and energy intensive process where the epoxy resin and fiberglass boards are shredded and incinerated to reclaim the metals.

The Soluboard is made from plant-based fibers, a non-toxic polymer and a halogen-free flame retardant. When immersed in hot water, the polymer dissolves, which breaks apart the natural fibers for composting while allowing 90% of the electronic components to be recovered for reuse or recycling. The remaining water/polymer solution can then "be disposed of using standard domestic waste water systems."

Infineon has developed three PCBs based on Jiva's Soluboard substrate, which breaks down in hot water for easier recovery of the electronic components
Infineon

Jiva's board is reported to have an estimated carbon footprint of 7.1 kg per square meter produced, whereas fiberglass-based boards (FR-4) come in at 17.7 kg, with the company also pointing to a significant saving in plastic of 620 g per sq m.

Germany's Infineon is among the first to research the use of Soluboard for demonstration and evaluation boards. Three different demo boards have so far been produced, with more than 500 units already in use across its power discretes range (including one specifically designed for refrigeration applications).

Stress testing is currently underway, but the hope is to develop more boards over the next few years ahead of possibly "using the material for all boards to make the electronics industry more sustainable." The company will use the lessons learned from the project to help customers incorporate the new material in core applications, while providing guidance on the reuse and recycling of components recovered from Soluboards.

Sources: Jiva, Infineon

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4 comments
paul314
I'm impressed by something that can apparently withstand the heat needed for soldering and the immersion needed for board cleaning (flux removal) and still come apart when soaked. For a lot of things, the natural reinforcement will also be a big deal -- the fiberglass in regular boards is really difficult to deal with and hard to drill through.
Grunchy
Oh my god, this is a disaster. Manufacturers should be forced to divulge if their products are made out of this stuff.
TechGazer
That sounds good. Glass fiber boards are probably expensive to shred (diamond-coated blades?). I do wonder how the boards handle moist air.
TechGazer
If cool moisture causes degradation, then device packaging can be made moisture-proof relatively easily. There would be a minor increase in cost, since epoxy boards often depend on air flow to remove heat, but adding a finned aluminum panel might be adequate. So, I don't see why it would be "disastrous", as Grunchy suggests.

Marketers will love its "greenness".