techspot Water-soluble circuit boards promise a drastic reduction in e-waste

[UltraMega]

Quote

Infineon recently announced it will be adopting Jiva Materials' Soluboard, a biodegradable printed circuit board constructed of natural plant-based fibers. Instead of shredding and burning the PCB once it has been discarded, recyclers can submerge it in hot water (90 C / 194 F) for half an hour. The hot bath causes the PCB fibers to disintegrate, leaving behind solid chips and other components that can easily be recovered and reused or sent downstream for further recycling.

 

Should a Soluboard slip through the cracks and end up with other electronics, it will burn just the same as regular PCBs, the company said.

 

Quote

Last year, Microsoft used a Soluboard PCB to create a biodegradable computer mouse. As part of the testing process, the circuit board was dissolved in water. The main chip was recovered, baked in an oven to remove moisture and reused with no signs of performance loss. Microsoft concluded the design reduced the mouse's environmental carbon impact by 60.2 percent compared to a traditional mouse.

Water-soluble circuit boards promise a drastic reduction in e-waste

WWW.TECHSPOT.COM

---

Infineon recently announced it will be adopting Jiva Materials' Soluboard, a biodegradable printed circuit board...

 

Seems pretty neat. Sure would make e-waste a lot less of an issue. I wonder if there are any downsides. 

 

 

[bonami2]

That pretty cool!

 

Just have to wonder what will happen if your in a commercial boat or by the beach with the high humidity if it will fail?

 

 

 

[UltraMega]

20 minutes ago, bonami2 said:

That pretty cool!

 

Just have to wonder what will happen if your in a commercial boat or by the beach with the high humidity if it will fail?

 

 

 

Probably not an idea solution for tech that gets near water. For everything else, seems pretty perfect. 

[Sir Beregond]

I was going to make a joke about spilling water on it to @firedfly expense. But obviously not the same thing as putting it in hot water for 30 minutes.

 

Honestly seems like a fantastic idea.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Sir Beregond

[ENTERPRISE]

Excellent product. Fantastic for helping with e-waste, though after the PCB has dissolved, you would be left with the other board components and solder which I assume there is another process for dealing with these. That or we find a way of making everything water soluble haha, but I think that is a ways off.

[firedfly]

16 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

I was going to make a joke about spilling water on it to @firedfly expense. But obviously not the same thing as putting it in hot water for 30 minutes.

 

Honestly seems like a fantastic idea.

 

I never spilled water on my motherboard...it was much worse