German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG has announced that it has produced a water-soluble printed circuit board (PCB). The plant-based Soluboard from British startup Jiva Materials could provide a new way for the tech industry to reduce e-waste as it seeks to meet climate targets by 2030.water soluble PCB
Jiva’s biodegradable PCB is made from natural fibers and a halogen-free polymer that has a much lower carbon footprint than traditional boards made with fiberglass composites. In a 2022 study by the Washington University School of Engineering and Microsoft Research, the team developed an Earth-friendly mouse using the Soluboard PCB as the core. Researchers found that Soluboard dissolved in hot water in less than six minutes. However, it can take several hours to decompose at room temperature, so you’ll have time to clean it up whenever you spill water on the equipment.
In addition to dissolving PCB fibers, this process also makes it easier to recover precious metals attached to it. “Once it’s defrosted, we’re left with chips and circuit lines that we can filter out,” said Vikram Iyer, UW assistant professor working on the Mouse project. The video below shows Soluboard dissolving in a bowl of boiling water:
Reduces carbon footprint by 60 percent
“The adoption of a water-based recycling process can result in higher efficiency in precious metals recovery,” said Jonathan Swanston, CEO and co-founder of Jiva Materials. Jiva says the board has a 60 percent smaller carbon footprint than traditional PCBs
Infineon produced three different circuit board prototypes using the Soluboard framework. The company currently only uses soluble PCB for demo and evaluation boards, and says about 500 units are currently in use. The firm is also working on the potential to use the material for all cards in order to expand adoption over the next few years.
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