Project: “Chemical recycling of electronic waste for sustainable livelihood and material consumption in India. Tackling global development challenges through physical science 

Funded by: UKRI through the EPSRC-GCRF scheme

Date: June Oct 2021 to Feb 2023

As Co investigator: 

Amresh Panigrahi (NID ahmedabad /scholar of Design & craft/co-investigator)

Collaboration Partner:

This is a bilateral research effort between research teams at the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee in the UK and the National Institute of Design,Ahmedabad  and IIT BHU Varanasi in India.  

Dept in NID Contributed : International program NID & International center for indian craft (ICIC), Lifestyle accessory design ,NID Gandhinagar (LAD)

Project outcome:

My Specific Contribution to the Project  

1. 1. Field Research about gold jewellery consumption and the perception around the subject in Semi-urban areas of Delhi,Varanasi, and Muzaffarnagar in Northern India . Researched on Traditional craft minakari and explored the possibilities of extracted precious metal within traditional craft practices.  

   2. Invited as a keynote speaker for the international conference “Metwaste” 2023 and 2024 .Published the abstract in their abstract book.the topic of the presetation is  "Urban mining to precious object: an opportunity for Design to contextualise Sustainable development - Indian's Case study"

   3. A presentation to student community in NID Gandhinagar introducing  system perspective  "Urban mining to precious object: an opportunity for Design to contextualise Sustainable development - Indian's Case study"

   4. Published 3 chapters as part of the project book  - “Brick, Bread and Biscuit” -The Chemical Recycling of Precious Metals from E-Waste for Jewellery Design in India ISBN 978-1-3999-8916-0. Project outcome link

The topics of my article are as follows

• • Bridging Tradition and Innovation: Promoting Conscious Consumption in India: By Amresh Panigrahi (The chapter describes : Gold Buying Behaviour in Northern India - a strategy of e-waste recovery and changing perception for the extracted metals ) 

  • Copper Patination By Amresh Panigrahi and Adwit Bhale(The chapter describes - possible artisan choice of Aesthetics and innovation in craft through frugal innovation and cleaver use of copper powder for consumer choice)

  • Gulabi Meenakari exploring metal from e waste uses By Amresh Panigrahi(The chapter describes - artisanal practice of Gulabi mikanari and exploring the possible use of gold powder to counter the material deficit )

4. Guided one Mdes student graduation project specific to this project 

MDes students: Adwit Bhale LAD

Topic of the GP : Co-Design a demonstrative sensorial space object collection from extracted metals from urban mining.

5. Initiated lab space and encouraged electroforming and patination within the students to experiment and explore finishes in their classroom Projects. This has become part of the regular workshop culture. 

6. Presented in NID Faculty forum as Part of NID's international Activity in Yr.2023  

Wider Dissemination of Knowledge:

1. Project Book gifted: Printed in 500 copies and distributed internationally to promote sustainable design innovations.

2. 6 Copies in KMC,NID, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Bangalore - Title: Brick, Bread, and Biscuit: The Chemical Recycling of Precious Metals from E-waste for Jewellery Design in India. Editor: Sandra Wilson Call Number: 739.2 BRI Accession Numbers: GN0010674 & GN0010675 Link 

Key contribution of different knowledge Team:

1. Scholar of chemistry and Metallurgy Research Team contributed: The team developed new hydrometallurgy chemical methods that are less damaging to the environment and can be conducted on a local scale. They optimized the hydrometallurgy processes used to recover precious metals from e-waste. on possible scaling up the methods might generate a new metal supply chain for artisanal jewellers in India and work towards creating a more formalised e-waste recycling system.The team focused on gold and copper due to their prevalence in modern electronics.

2. Scholar of Design research team ,chemistry research  and Metallurgy Research Team with contributed: Their research contributions involve determining suitable alloy compositions based on the recovered metals, conducting melting and casting experiments, and analyzing the properties of the resulting alloys. The design team  gave a qualitative illustration of workmanship of artisan and possible character in a metal craftmanship.

3. Scholar of  Metallurgy Research Team & Design Research team contributed: The team Identifying the techniques to utilize the metal powder from e-waste: The team worked with artisanal jewellers to identify techniques that can utilise the outputs from e-waste, such as gold powder and copper powder as patina formation. They explored traditional Indian jewellery and metalwork techniques, such as Meenakari, Koftgari, and electroforming, to find ways to use these materials in form, color, texture lustier creation .

4. Scholar of Design Research Team & Craft maker (Artisan)Team contributed: The team sought to bridge tradition and innovation by combining ancient traditional metalworking techniques with new hydrometallurgy processes. They saw a way to connect with new technologies while also developing culture sensitive product form ultimately sustainable. They found a way to counter the perception issues.

A collaborative approach to achieve a higher goal : The team brought together scientists, designers, and makers from India and the UK to work on this project. This collaborative approach allowed them to create a "third way" that synthesizes science and craft to address a higher goal

the team's efforts as having the potential to:

1. Negate the high global-warming potential of precious and critical-metal production.

2. Provide metal resources with provenance at a local level.

3. Limit environmentally damaging and socially exploitative practices.

4. Traverse from an informal market to a formal market with provenance.

5. Build towards current global circular economy and net-zero ambitions.

6. Transform the lives of artisans so that they and their future generations are motivated to take these ancient art forms to the global stage.