Grant: Alliance Grants
York University
$500,000.00
Portable and sensitive platform technologies for rapid isolation, detection, and quantification of critical minerals in fluids: from mine exploration to electronics recycling
FY 2023-24
Summary
Canada ranked 6th globally in lithium (Li) reserves and has many promising Li exploration projects, but only two Li mines are in operation in Canada. Our goal is to advance knowledge, processes, and technologies to support a domestic circular economy of Li, particularly helping advance Li exploration and recycling. This will be achieved via the development and integration of Li-ion imprinted polymer (Li-IIP) microstructures into opto- and electro-microfluidic devices to achieve field-deployable sample preparation, Li isolation, Li detection, and Li quantification technologies. Six industrial partners and collaborators in this project will bring complementary expertise in 1) Li exploration (Frontier Li), 2) Li battery (LiB) recycling (RecycLiCo), 3) solutions to empower mining and recycling industries (pH7 & Sixth Wave Innovation), 4) portable sensors (AfimaCheck), and 5) product commercialization (Elomatic). Successful completion of this research will positively impact the partners by: (i) providing Li explorers immediate access to preliminary assay results in the field for making data-driven decisions to advance their projects; (ii) offering LiB recyclers cutting-edge solutions to promptly detect and accurately quantify Li at different stages of the recycling process for quality control and Li extraction optimization; and (iii) developing novel Li-IIPs and microfluidic-based point-of-need (PoN) solutions for technology developers to efficiently detect, quantify, and extract Li from both primary and secondary resources.The research program will train 28 highly qualified personnel (HQP) over 3 years. They will gain advanced technical skills and develop expertise in technologies related to critical mineral isolation, quantification, and recycling. The partnerships will equip them with the intricacies of customer interactions and technology commercialization. As a result, HQPs will become key contributors to promote a green economy by advancing the development of the critical minerals value chain in Canada. The Li technologies can be easily tailored to provide affinity to other critical minerals immediately upon completion of this project.
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
586684-2023
Name nom
Rezai, Pouya P
Department département
Mechanical Engineering
Organization id
38
Institution établissement
York University
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2023
Award amount
500000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
1208
Area of application group en
Advancement of knowledge
Area of application group fr
Avancement des connaissances
Area of application en
Materials sciences
Area of application fr
Sciences des matériaux
Research subject code
2002
Research subject group en
Materials science and technology
Research subject group fr
Materials processing
Research subject en
Science et technologie des matériaux
Research subject fr
Transformation des matériaux
Application title
Portable and sensitive platform technologies for rapid isolation, detection, and quantification of critical minerals in fluids: from mine exploration to electronics recycling
Keyword
Benchtop Electrochemical Sensor; Critical Minerals (Lithium); Highly Porous IIPs; IIP Microparticle & Membrane Filter; Ion Imprinted Polymers (IIPs); Lithium Detection & Quantification; Lithium Exploration & Recycling; Lithium Isolation; Microfluidics Sample Preparation; Point of Need Optofluidic Sensor
Application summary
Canada ranked 6th globally in lithium (Li) reserves and has many promising Li exploration projects, but only two Li mines are in operation in Canada. Our goal is to advance knowledge, processes, and technologies to support a domestic circular economy of Li, particularly helping advance Li exploration and recycling. This will be achieved via the development and integration of Li-ion imprinted polymer (Li-IIP) microstructures into opto- and electro-microfluidic devices to achieve field-deployable sample preparation, Li isolation, Li detection, and Li quantification technologies. Six industrial partners and collaborators in this project will bring complementary expertise in 1) Li exploration (Frontier Li), 2) Li battery (LiB) recycling (RecycLiCo), 3) solutions to empower mining and recycling industries (pH7 & Sixth Wave Innovation), 4) portable sensors (AfimaCheck), and 5) product commercialization (Elomatic). Successful completion of this research will positively impact the partners by: (i) providing Li explorers immediate access to preliminary assay results in the field for making data-driven decisions to advance their projects; (ii) offering LiB recyclers cutting-edge solutions to promptly detect and accurately quantify Li at different stages of the recycling process for quality control and Li extraction optimization; and (iii) developing novel Li-IIPs and microfluidic-based point-of-need (PoN) solutions for technology developers to efficiently detect, quantify, and extract Li from both primary and secondary resources.The research program will train 28 highly qualified personnel (HQP) over 3 years. They will gain advanced technical skills and develop expertise in technologies related to critical mineral isolation, quantification, and recycling. The partnerships will equip them with the intricacies of customer interactions and technology commercialization. As a result, HQPs will become key contributors to promote a green economy by advancing the development of the critical minerals value chain in Canada. The Li technologies can be easily tailored to provide affinity to other critical minerals immediately upon completion of this project.
