Dr Charlie Simms
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Sustainable E waste Recycling
Address
- Street
-
Office 28/ Lab 34
Joseph Black Building
David Brewster Road - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH9 3FJ
Availability
Mon-Fri (9 am - 5pm)
Research summary
Metal recovery and recycling, chemistry of the f-elements, Supramolecular Chemistry
Expertise: Separations Chemistry, E-waste Recovery, Sustainability, Circular Economy, F-element chemistry, Luminescence Spectroscopy, Ligand design and synthesis, responsive systems, photochemistry, supramolecular chemistry, Chemistry education, Inclusion and Diversity.
Sectors: Chemical Education, Environment & Sustainability, Synthesis & Manufacture, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology, Isotope Chemistry.
I am currently in working under the supervision of Prof Jason Love, as part of the UKRI green economy center REACT (Responsible Electronics and Circular Economy Centre). My work focusses on the sustainable recovery and recycling of metals (specifically rare-earths) from electronic waste. One of the main challenges is to first understand viable feedstocks, which relies on good communication with various stakeholders in the electronics industry, often involving site visits. A recent project was the development of a sustainable recovery process for rare earths from spent fluorescent lamps in collaboration with Recolight. I have also organized a industry workshop centered around the urban mining community in the UK, where over 50 stakeholders from industry and academia came together to discuss current challenges and propose novel solutions. In the past I have also worked in the biofuels industry with Argent energy and in polymer chemistry with Rosehill Polymers. In addition to this, I have experience in chemistry education, particularly on equality, inclusion and diversity within higher education, for this work I was awarded the RSC Horizon Prize in Education 2024.