The world's first circuit board that can be dissolved in water

Soluboard circuit boards are made of natural fibers and halogen-free polymers and have 60% low carbon emissions compared to traditional glass fibers. For every square meter PCB Soluboard helps to reduce 10.5kg of carbon and 620g of plastic.

Especially when not in use, one can dissolve Soluboard in hot water about 90 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, and at room temperature it can take up to several hours. When the PCB filaments dissolve in water, the valuable metals attached to it can be easily recovered for reuse.

However, Soluboard is more than double the cost of traditional PCB. In the early stages of use, Soluboard costs about 50% to 75% more.

Jiva is currently working with several companies including German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG to produce prototype versions of the world's first water-soluble circuit board.

The researchers hope that major technology firms in the world will soon apply this design in production lines to join hands to protect the environment, towards a more environmentally friendly future instead of standing and watching the amount of electronic waste (e-waste) is increasing day by day.

Jiva also revealed that they are continuing to work on improving Soluboard to be able to withstand high humidity environments.

Lesley Montoya

Update 08 August 2023