Worcester Polytechnic Institute researches new metal recycling technologies

The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts has entered into a five-year collaborative agreement with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) to help equip soldiers in the field with a reliable supply of tools and spare parts.

According to a news release from WPI, the institute, along with seven U.S. and international universities and six industry members, plans to work to ensure critical supplies are available when needed to support military defense supplies. The research program has received $7.6 million in congressional funding and builds on an earlier collaboration with DEVCOM ARL for which WPI received $9 million.

Through the collaborative agreement, the team plans to develop methods to recover critical materials, primarily rare earth metals, as well as apply advanced manufacturing techniques, identify field waste material recovery processes and study the use of recycled polymeric materials. WPI says it will leverage its work with the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling, a research center dedicated to developing new technologies for maximizing recovery and recycling of metals used in manufacturing products and structures. WPI also will apply its experience as a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center to bring together the right experts, labs and industry-vetted research agendas to identify the best approaches to the program.

“Our national safety and security strongly depend on the uninterrupted supply of all kinds of materials. Therefore, recovery and recycling play a pivotal role in maintaining the resiliency in the supply chain,” says Brajendra Mishra, Kenneth G. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering. “This effort will maintain the flow of products and technologies to the Department of Defense and our national industrial base. In addition, the program is intended to create environmentally friendly, energy efficient and economically viable materials via recycling.”