Can an old computer help reduce transport emissions? The answer is yes—at least according to the research presented by Francesca Derobertis, PhD candidate at the Polytechnic University of Bari, during the III National Conference of the SCI Division of Chemistry for Technologies and the XIV AICIng Conference. Her study, titled “Copper recovered from waste printed circuit boards as catalytic drive for methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether”, is a virtuous example of advanced recycling and chemistry applied to the ecological transition.
The research was carried out within the national MOST project (National Centre for Sustainable Mobility), supported by the PNRR – NextGenerationEU, under Spoke 14 “Hydrogen and New Fuels”, which focuses on alternative, sustainable fuels.
Recovering copper from e-waste to produce clean fuels
The starting point is one of today’s most pressing environmental issues: electronic waste (e-waste). Among the most common components in discarded devices are printed circuit boards (PCBs), rich in copper—a valuable and strategic metal, listed among the EU’s critical raw materials.
The research focused on selectively recovering copper from these boards through advanced chemical processes, and reusing it as a catalyst for the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME), a clean, alternative fuel.
DME: a high-performance green fuel
Dimethyl ether is a fuel with excellent energetic properties (high cetane number) and low NOx emissions. It can be produced from renewable methanol (derived from biomass or syngas) and is emerging as a clean alternative to diesel, particularly for heavy-duty transport.
Typically, using commercial zeolites (such as ZSM-5) as catalysts, methanol dehydration tends to yield olefins. However, by loading the catalyst with copper, the reaction pathway is shifted towards DME production as the main product. This is a remarkable result, demonstrating copper’s effectiveness in modulating the acidity of zeolites.
The next step: green catalysts from waste
At the heart of the research is also the preparation of a new green catalyst, made from copper recovered from old computer PCBs. The metal was extracted using functionalised mesoporous silica (MCM-41), modified with organic ligands capable of selectively capturing copper from the leaching solution.
The resulting material was fully characterised using advanced analytical techniques (XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS, TPD, and others), confirming the uniform distribution of copper and the suitability of its catalytic properties for DME production.
High-tech recycling for low-emission mobility
The presentation showed how it is possible to combine sustainable e-waste management, critical raw material recovery, and green fuel production in a single circular process, with potentially transformative applications for sustainable transport.
Within the CO-SMART project, this research paves the way for a new approach: recycle to refuel, turning yesterday’s technological waste into the clean engine of tomorrow.
