Authors:

Lilyana Gundayao

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

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About Paper:

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills represent an underexplored yet potentially rich secondary source of critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. As global demand for these materials accelerates, driven by the transition to renewable energy technologies and electronic infrastructure, the recovery of critical metals from landfill sites offers a promising alternative to environmentally intensive primary production. In addition to using waste, this approach enables a deeper understanding of the complex chemical and biological processes occurring within landfills. This project aims to develop and optimize integrated biochemical and physicochemical processes for the recovery of critical metals from landfill-derived materials, including leachate. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis will be conducted using a cradle-to-gate analysis. This study will employ openLCA, an open-source LCA software tool. Using openLCA, the environmental impacts of secondary metal production through recovery from MSW landfills will be evaluated and compared to previously conducted studies of primary metal production from mining. The goal is to assess the environmental and economic viability of critical metal recovery compared to current business-as-usual approaches. The analysis will quantify and compare global warming potential, water consumption, and resource depletion of each scenario. These indicators will inform the scalability and feasibility of landfill-based recovery strategies and help evaluate their potential to support a circular economy and reduce reliance on primary metal extraction. Keywords: [no keywords provided]

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Lilyana Gundayao