We are forming a transnational consortium for a proposal under RAMP JTC 2026 Topic 2 – Targeting secondary sources to enhance access to raw materials, focused on the selective recovery of valuable, precious and critical raw materials from electronic waste using porous polymer platforms.

Our existing work provides a laboratory-validated technological basis for polymer-assisted recovery from real electronic-waste matrices. Building on this foundation and on a broader portfolio of pre-selected porous polymer candidates, the proposed project is envisaged to advance the technology from TRL 4 to TRL 6.

The central objective is not simply high overall adsorption capacity, but controlled selectivity, enabling one or a limited number of targeted valuable metals to be preferentially recovered from complex multi-element matrices. The project will investigate structure–selectivity relationships, optimise selective adsorption and recovery conditions, evaluate desorption and polymer regeneration/reuse, and develop simplified and cost-efficient polymer systems suitable for further process development.

Our team already covers the core activities related to porous polymer development, e-waste pretreatment, hydrometallurgical leaching, selective metal recovery and multi-element analytical evaluation.

We are therefore particularly seeking complementary partners who can help advance the technology towards higher readiness levels through expertise in advanced analytical characterisation, process engineering and scale-up, industrial or application-oriented validation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), techno-economic assessment, material-flow analysis, modelling and process optimisation.

Partners with relevant experience are very welcome to propose how their expertise and infrastructure could contribute to the project, including additional approaches that could strengthen scale-up, sustainability, economic feasibility and practical implementation.

Our previous peer-reviewed publication and related patent documentation demonstrating the underlying proof of concept are available to interested potential partners.

TÜBİTAK UME – National Metrology Institute of Türkiye is Türkiye's national metrology institute and conducts research, measurement science and technology-development activities through multidisciplinary laboratory infrastructure and international metrology collaborations.

The Organic Chemistry Laboratories have extensive experience in the design, synthesis and characterisation of functional organic and porous polymeric materials. Research activities include porous organic polymers, conjugated and hyper-crosslinked polymer systems, gas adsorption and separation, heterogeneous catalysis, and functional materials for selective capture and recovery applications.

A major research focus is the development of porous polymer systems for CO₂ capture and gas adsorption as well as the selective recovery of valuable and precious metals from electronic waste. The group has demonstrated polymer-based recovery of precious metals from real e-waste matrices, supported by peer-reviewed publication and related patent protection. Current infrastructure also enables multi-element screening and quantitative metal analysis using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) together with complementary material and surface characterisation techniques.

The team is also actively involved in the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the international metrology community, with expertise in surface-area and gas-adsorption measurements and participation in international comparison activities. This combination of synthetic chemistry, porous-material development, advanced measurement capability and metrological experience provides a strong experimental foundation for the proposed RAMP project.