Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits'
The Marketing Minute: The First Step to More Sales—Marketing
It’s Only Common Sense: Customer Service Is Sales in Disguise
'Crabs' Project Wins Environmental Award
October 6, 2016 | STOWURCEstimated reading time: 1 minute
A multi-partner UK R&D project that developed a method for de-polluting printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing waste has won an important environmental award. The Sustainable Treatment of Waste Using Recycled Chitosans (STOWURC) project had a focus on developing sustainable materials and processes that used waste products from the seafood industry to treat effluent, and recover metals, from the PCB and related industries.
The Env-Aqua Team: L to R; Professor Martin Goosey, Dr Emma Goosey and Dr Rod Kellner
The PCB industry is well known for using chemical processes that generate expensive-to-treat waste products. The shells of crabs, and other crustaceans, are a source of materials known as chitosans which can absorb metals such as copper, found in typical PCB manufacturing effluent. The UK's seafood industry generates large volumes of shellfish waste and the project used this waste to produce chitosan-based materials that could sustainably treat effluent, while also enabling the captured metals to be recycled.
On Friday, 30 September, members of the Env-Aqua Solutions team, who led the project, attended the Surface Engineering and Heat Treatment Associations' Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Already knowing that they were one of three finalists, the team were delighted to learn that they had subsequently won the Environmental Award. The awards were presented by Lord Hoyle of Warrington in a ceremony led by the SEA's Honorary President, Mrs Linda Evans MBE. Dr Emma Goosey collected the award on behalf of Env-Aqua and the STOWURC project consortium, which comprised Env-Aqua Solutions, Kynance Cornish Crab, Institute of Circuit Technology, Surface Engineering Association, A-Gas Electronic Materials, Amphenol-Invotec and C-Tech innovation.
The project partners have subsequently identified additional international interest in using chitosan-based materials to treat waste and there are also much larger applications in other sectors that could benefit from the novel technology. Crab shells are typically expensive to dispose of and the project has enabled them to be converted from a waste product into valuable raw materials. The team are now exploring additional UK and European opportunities to take the technology forward. The project was co-funded by Innovate UK (Innovate UK is the UK's innovation agency). More information is available from the project website: www.stowurc.co.uk.
Dr Emma Goosey collecting the award from Lord Hoyle of Warrington with Mr Darren Welch, from QMS International.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Elephantech Launches World’s Smallest-Class Copper Nanofiller
07/17/2025 | ElephantechJapanese deep-tech startup Elephantech has launched its cutting-edge 15 nm class copper nanofiller – the smallest class available globally. This breakthrough makes Elephantech one of the first companies in the world to provide such advanced material for commercial use.
Copper Price Surge Raises Alarms for Electronics
07/15/2025 | Global Electronics Association Advocacy and Government Relations TeamThe copper market is experiencing major turbulence in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on imported copper effective Aug. 1. Recent news reports, including from the New York Times, sent U.S. copper futures soaring to record highs, climbing nearly 13% in a single day as manufacturers braced for supply shocks and surging costs.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.
Trump Copper Tariffs Spark Concern
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPresident Donald Trump stated on July 8 that he plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking concern in a global industry whose output is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors, and a wide range of consumer goods. According to Yahoo Finance, copper futures climbed over 2% following tariff confirmation.