WHILE USE OF GAAS IN ELECTRONICS IS GROWING RAPIDLY AND MAY APPROACH 10% OF ALL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS BY 1990, EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SATISFACTORY METHODS FOR RECOVERING GALLIUM, A RARE METAL IN NATURE, FORM PROCESS SCRAP DO NOT EXIST.

WHILE USE OF GAAS IN ELECTRONICS IS GROWING RAPIDLY AND MAY APPROACH 10% OF ALL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS BY 1990, EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SATISFACTORY METHODS FOR RECOVERING GALLIUM, A RARE METAL IN NATURE, FORM PROCESS SCRAP DO NOT EXIST. HANDLING OF ARSENIC, A TOXIC SUBSTANCE AND EXPECTED CARCINOGEN IN MINUTE AMOUNTS, IS A PROBLEM BOTH WITH RESPECTTO WORKPLACE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEVELS OF ARSENIC CONTAMIN- INATION. RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED INTO METHODS OF RECOVER ING GALLIUM FROM SCRAP WHILE ISOLATING ARSENIC SAFELY. PRIMARY EMPHASIS WILL BE ON A SMELTING SEPARATION WITH ARSENIC COLLECTED IN AN ALLOY COLLECTOR AND GALLIUM OXIDIZEDINTO A SODA ASH SLAG. RESULTS FROM THIS APPROACH WILL BE COMPARED WITH DIRECT HYDROMETALLURGICAL METHODS; LEACHING, SOLVENT EXTRACTION, AND PRECIPITATION. THE POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION AS DESCRIBED BY THE AWARDEE: THE COMMERCIAL OBJECTIVE IS AN ECONOMIC METHOD OF RECOVERING GALLIUM FORM ELECTRONIC SCRAP WITHOUT ARSENIC CONTAMINATION OF THE WORKPLACE OR ENVIRONMENT. TECHNICAL SUCCESS WILL LEAD TO A COMMERCIAL PROCESS PLANT BY BARTLETT TECHNOLOGIES.