Jamshedpur, Sept. 26: National Metallurgical Laboratory ( NML) on the occasion of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research�s (CSIR) 79th Foundation Day celebration received the Best Technology Award in Physical Sciences for 2020 for the developed indigenous technology for �Extraction of cobalt and gold from the black cathode material of Li-Co batteries and gold-coated surface of e-waste, respectively�.
Dr. Manis Kumar Jha, Dr. Jhumki Hait, Ranjeet Kumar Singh, Dr. Pankaj Kumar Choubey, Dr. Archana Kumari, Rekha Panda, Om Shankar Dinkar were part of the winning team. This technology was transferred to M/s EXIGO Recycling Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. The award consists of plaque for each team member and two lakhs rupees in cash.
In the past, CSIR-NML had transferred similar e-waste recycling processes to various other industries for the recovery of rare, rare-earth, precious and strategic metals. In India CSIR-NML, Jamshedpur is a pioneer for the development of various recycling technologies. The scrap or e-waste recycling sector has noteworthy potential to contribute to the country’s economy and create employment.
In India, out of all e-waste generated, only 5% of it gets formerly recycled. About 95% recycling is usually carried out by the informal sector in an unorganized manner with high health risks. Li-Co batteries contain active cathode material with variable concentration of Co, Li, Mn, Cu, etc. which makes the chemical processes more complex for metal recovery. Moreover, the heterogeneous nature of the variety of batteries received from the various sources/ municipal wastes is a great challenge during the technology development to recover Co as a high purity product. The batteries of branded companies possess high percentages of Co and Li while that of local companies possess a variety of impurities which create complexities in recovery.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) � National Metallurgical Laboratory today celebrated the 79th CSIR Foundation Day through a virtual platform (MS Team). Soma Mondal, Director (Commercial), SAIL was present on the occasion as Chief Guest.
The function started with CSIR-NML’s documentary film depicting CSIR-NML’s contributions over the last 70 years in the area of minerals, metals, materials and metallurgy, followed by a video showcasing CSIR’s contributions in combat Covid 19 pandemic.
Dr. Indranil Chattoraj, Director, NML Chattoraj quoted the greetings of Hon’ble Prime Minister, to CSIR, in which he had indicated that CSIR was at the forefront of furthering scientific research and innovation in India and that CSIR had also been playing a valuable role in fighting COVID-19.