Doshisha Univ., US Company Enter Metal EW License

Doshisha University in Japan announced the university and USA based Republic Alternative Technologies entered into exclusive patent licensing agreement on electrowinning process to extract base metal and rare metals and on titanium substrate anode for the process, which Doshisha University’s professor Masatsugu Morimitsu developed. They try to commercialize the process in electrowinning industry in 2-3 years.

Professor Morimitsu developed the process by using titanium substrate with amorphous oxide catalyst on the surface as anode. The process can reduce power consumption by 30% compared with traditional lead alloy anode based process when the new anode’s catalytic activity for oxygen evolution is ten times or more compared with the traditional anode. The titanium anode also reduces hazardous byproduct in metal making process.

Doshisha University expects the new process can be used not only in nonferrous metals smelting but also in recovering valuable metals from automobile motor and mobile phone.