Electronics Recycling
electronics_recycling_system
Specialized recovery system for electronic components extracting precious metals, rare earth elements, copper, and semiconductor materials from circuit boards and assemblies.
Purpose
Recover irreplaceable Earth-origin materials (platinum, gold, rare earths, silicon) from failed electronics that cannot be sourced from lunar regolith.
Context
The most critical recycling pathway since many electronic materials cannot be produced from lunar resources and the initial Earth-supplied inventory must be preserved indefinitely.
Principles
- ▸Electronics contain the highest concentration of irreplaceable materials per kg
- ▸Staged disassembly preserves reusable components before destructive recovery
- ▸Hydrometallurgical processes dissolve and selectively precipitate target metals
- ▸Pyrometallurgical smelting concentrates precious metals in copper collector phase
- ▸Component-level reuse is preferred over material-level recycling when feasible
Typical implementations
- ▸Automated PCB disassembly with hot-air desoldering
- ▸Acid leaching (aqua regia, HCl/HNO3) for gold and platinum recovery
- ▸Cyanide-free gold recovery using thiosulfate or halide chemistry
- ▸Copper electro-winning from leach solutions
- ▸Rare earth separation by solvent extraction
- ▸Component testing and reuse library for functional ICs
Lunar considerations
- ▸Platinum, gold, and rare earths are irreplaceable from lunar sources
- ▸Chemical reagents for leaching must be recycled or synthesized on-site
- ▸Failed IC chips may be repurposed at reduced specification
- ▸Radiation-damaged semiconductors require special handling
- ▸Recovery efficiency for every gram of precious metal is existentially important
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Recover precious metals, rare earths, and semiconductor materials from end-of-life electronics |
| inputs | failed_circuit_boards, electronic_assemblies, sensors, connectors, wiring |
| outputs | recovered_gold, recovered_platinum_group, recovered_copper, recovered_rare_earths, reusable_components, residual_waste |
| precious metal recovery | >99.9% of contained Au, Pt, Pd |
| rare earth recovery | >95% of contained REE |
| copper recovery | >99% |
| component reuse rate | >20% of functional ICs reused |
Physical
| materials | acid_resistant_reactors, electrolysis_cells, solvent_extraction_columns, desoldering_stations, fume_hoods |
| location | chemical processing module with fume extraction |
| atmosphere | pressurized with acid fume scrubbing |
| safety | chemical handling protocols, PPE storage |
Operational
| thermal range c | -173, 127 |
| lifetime years | 100 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Gold, platinum, palladium for re-use in electronics
- REE for magnets, sensors, and catalysts
- Copper for electrical wiring and components
- Tested and certified reusable IC chips and connectors
Requires
- Identified electronic waste separated from other streams
- Acids and solvents for hydrometallurgical processing
- Power for heating, electrolysis, and automation
Decomposes into
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Electronics Recycling" (L2-WMS-ELEC). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L2-WMS-ELEC
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.