Advanced Electrochemical Refining (SEM-Tech)
A modular, multi-loop electrochemical platform for high-purity recovery of critical minerals from e-waste and complex scrap.
Our system utilizes modular electrolytic cells to generate necessary acids (anolytes) and bases (catholytes) entirely on-site. By passing current through specialized aqueous loops separated by custom 3D-printed ion exchange membranes, we eliminate the need to transport or store hazardous bulk chemicals. This creates a safer, self-sustaining chemical plant capable of localized operation.
Rather than a single chaotic digestion, our process employs targeted alkaline and acidic leaching phases. This staged approach efficiently dissolves a wide range of metals from complex, high-value inputs like e-waste, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and battery black mass, liberating a full spectrum of valuable elements into solution for precision extraction.
By precisely controlling the voltage and utilizing our internally generated pH buffers, we selectively extract specific metals from the solution. Elements are either electroplated onto removable cathodes as pure metal sheets (like copper) or precipitated as high-purity hydroxide powders (like cobalt and nickel). This targeted recovery allows us to process up to 60 different critical minerals into market-ready materials.
Our refinery doesn't just consume power; it acts as a grid-scale chemical battery. The core technology relies on the same principles as modern fuel cells and redox flow batteries, which enables us to dynamically schedule our operations. We run power-intensive extraction steps during periods of excess or low-cost renewable generation. When grid demand spikes, our system can rapidly reverse operational flow, utilizing stored chemical energy to provide power back to the grid on demand, without the long ramp-up times of traditional power plants.
Deployable Solutions for Complex Challenges
We deploy containerized extraction cells directly to polluted industrial or mining sites to strip toxins and heavy metals from soil and water, transporting only the concentrated liquid assets back to our main facility.
We provide defense and enterprise clients with molecular-level destruction of sensitive or classified e-waste. Hard drives and secure chips are not just shredded; they are entirely dissolved into their base elements, ensuring zero possibility of data recovery.
We process traditionally difficult-to-recycle green technologies, including end-of-life solar panels and high-capacity lithium-ion batteries.
We adapt the foundational open-source concepts of seawater-based extraction, pioneered by Rowow, to create on-ship recycling plants that process ocean waste or maritime scrap using the saltwater beneath the hull.
Built on an Open-Source Foundation
Our advanced refining architecture is proudly built upon the foundational open-source research pioneered by Rowow.net. Planetary Prototyping is committed to collaborative innovation, safety standardization, and deploying this technology to solve global supply chain challenges.
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