End-of-life of electronic devices printed on cellulosic substrates: recycling and valorization of biosourced materials and functional inks – REVeBIO

Electronic devices printed on cellulosic substrates are in constant development for various applications and uses. They can, therefore, be found on packaging, magazines or labels and after usage, possibly disposed of in conventional selective sorting. These devices are made of more than 90% of cellulosic fibers, a cheap and recyclable, natural and renewable bioresource. However, they also include functional inks containing noble metals, conductive or insulating polymers and silicon components. As their production is expected to grow, new questions arise regarding their end-of-life. The aims of REVeBIO project are (1) to develop eco-efficient recycling processes to selectively separate the materials contained in the electronic device (cellulosic fibers and the components of the functional ink), (2) to quantify the recovered materials in the separated fractions, (3) to valorize and reuse the separated functional ink components, considered as the recycling rejects, by investigating two valorization ways: a. the extraction and purification of silver – by a physico-chemical way and by a complete thermo-conversion - b. the partial thermo-conversion of the carbon-containing recycling rejects into a biochar suitable for the remediation of effluents derived from paper manufacturing, converting and printing processes. Another ambition is to re-use the recovered cellulosic fibers to design new e-devices. The originality of the work consists in valorizing not only the accepted fraction (cellulosic fibers) coming from the recycling but also the rejects (functional ink components). This allows to be part of a circular economy approach by considering an eco-conception of the printed electronic devices.