STTR Phase I: Separation Processes for Advanced Recovery of Critical Minerals and Materials

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is focused on developing a novel framework for selective liberation and separation of components of complex bonded material systems. Using controlled mechanical operating conditions, it will selectively liberate components of laminated structures, including strategic materials and critical minerals. Through partnerships with materials recovery facilities, industrial processors, manufacturers, and downstream material users, the project seeks to establish a scalable pathway for converting underutilized domestic material resources into reliable sources of critical minerals and strategic materials. This Phase I project will investigate a high-risk separation approach that relies solely on mechanical forces to separate the bonded layers of photovoltaic modules without chemical or thermal treatments. The central technical challenge is determining whether differences in mechanical response among glass, polymer, and semiconductor layers can be systematically exploited to achieve selective separation. These force-driven interactions are difficult to predict and control, making the approach technically challenging and fundamentally different from conventional de-bonding systems. The scope of the project includes experimental evaluation of mechanical stress and strain-rate regimes that promote controlled glass fracture while preserving underlying materials. Subsequent experiments will focus on liberating metallic and semiconductor components by exploiting differences in their ductility indices, enabling downstream separation based on physical properties. The research will establish quantitative relationships between applied mechanical forces, fragment size distributions, and separation performance. Laboratory-scale testing will be combined with mechanical property characterization to assess technical feasibility and scalability. By demonstrating that mechanical forces alone can be tuned to achieve targeted separation outcomes, the project aims to advance materials recovery science beyond conventional shredding, grinding, and heat- or chemical-based treatments. Phase I outcomes will provide decision-grade data on technical viability and inform subsequent development toward a scalable, modular materials separation system that re-introduces materials into their supply chains. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.