Recovering components from water-dissolvable circuit boards

A team of researchers in the United States has developed a printed circuit board (PCB) that can simply be dissolved in water at end of life. Better yet, this innovation allows recovery of nearly all materials.

The University of Maryland leads a unique electronics recycling R&D project, dubbed DissolvPCB. Its work is said to be ‘promising’, enabling a  98% material recovery rate after initial testing.

3-D printing meets water

Unlike conventional PCBs, which rely on complex composite laminates that are difficult to recycle, the new design uses polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the substrate. PVA is a water-soluble synthetic polymer commonly used as a support material in fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing.

For conductivity, the team uses a liquid gallium-indium alloy known as EGaIn. After printing and sealing the circuitry with polymer adhesive, the board is dried at 60°C for one hour.

At end of life, the recycling process is ‘deliberately simple’. When immersed in warm water, the PVA substrate dissolves. Meanwhile, the EGaIn conductor gathers into a reusable liquid metal bead that can be collected and reused to fabricate another board.

First prototypes

The research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Together, they built working prototypes, including a Bluetooth speaker and an electronic three-finger gripper. After prolonged water exposure, the devices disassembled cleanly, allowing safe recovery of components and dissolved polymer.

Produce and recycle locally

Lead author Zeyu Yan, a PhD researcher at the University of Maryland, says the technology could mark an early step towards rethinking how electronics are manufactured and recycled. Rather than relying on globalised supply chains and complex material mixes, future boards could be locally produced and locally recycled.

Beyond recyclability, the approach also lowers the barrier to entry. Because DissolvPCB can be fabricated using standard FDM 3D printers — widely available in university makerspaces and small labs — production is both accessible and low-cost.

Well received

The team presented its findings at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in South Korea, where the paper received a Best Paper award.

While still at research stage, the concept offers a striking alternative to today’s e-scrap challenge. If scaled successfully, dissolvable circuit boards could simplify electronics recycling and reduce material losses in computing and consumer devices.