TSMC Commits to Being a Circular Economy Practitioner
TSMC continues expanding its research and development investment and driving the development of advanced semiconductor processes, spearheading changes in the IC design, manufacturing, and packaging industries. Everyday life has become more and more convenient with the advent of smarter and more diverse devices. Since the semiconductor manufacturing process requires a large number of chemicals, reducing the consumption of chemicals and turning waste into valuable resources is a long-term concern for TSMC.
In 2010, TSMC started introducing in-house waste regeneration facilities to convert the waste from its production processes into various types of products. Taking a step further, TSMC started selling these recycled products to other companies in 2017 as an expansion of its five-year "Action Plans to Turn Waste into High Value Products" program, hoping to achieve our vision of upcycling semiconductor's waste back to their original industry and move towards the goal of the sustainable development of the overall supply chain.
TSMC Amends Articles of Incorporation to Improve Opportunities to Reuse Material Resources
TSMC has enabled the circular economy with practical actions. We hope that people will be able to reduce the earth's burden through resource regeneration while enjoying the convenience provided technology.
Milestones of TSMC's Circular Economy
Four Operating Items
With the development and introduction of the newest regeneration technologies, TSMC converted waste produced from its production processes into various types of products, and chose to sell them directly to improve product traceability and reduce the risk of improper material handling by outsourced vendors.
| Amendment of TSMC's Articles of Incorporation | Potential recycled products (Original waste) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other chemical materials manufacturing | Industrial grade ammonium sulfate (Waste ammonium sulfate)、50% Industrial-grade sulfuric acid (Waste sulfuric acid)、Industrial-grade IPA (Waste IPA) |
| 2 | Other chemical products manufacturing | Cryolite / Artificial fluorite (Calcium fluoride sludge) |
| 3 | Other fabricated metal products manufacturing | Copper tube (Waste copper sulfate), Cobalt tube (Waste cobalt sulfate) |
| 4 | Other plastic products manufacturing | Plastic sheet (Waste chemical drum) |
Promoting its "Action Plans to Turn Waste into High Value Products"
In addition to selling our in-house recycled products, the implementation of the "Action Plans to Turn Waste into High Value Products" aims to reduce natural exploitation through material recycling, transforming manufacturers from waste producers to executors in the circular economy. Moreover, TSMC actively shares relevant experience and processing technology with the industry, in hopes of improving the recycling capabilities of Taiwan's manufacturing sector.
Innovative Circular Economy Model - Material Recycling Reduces Natural Extraction
TSMC's "Action Plans to Turn Waste into High Value Products"
| Waste Category | Action Plans to Turn Waste into High Value Products |
|---|---|
| Waste Ammonium Sulfate | Turning ammonium sulfate waste into industrial-grade recycled productsThe liquid ammonium sulfate produced by ammonia nitrogen wastewater will be treated by low temperature evaporation crystallization process, forming industrial-grade ammonium sulfate. |
| Electronic-grade ammoniaWaste ammonium sulfate will be converted into electronic-grade ammonia water by raw material supplier and returned to TSMC. | |
| Waste Sulfuric Acid | Zero purchasing - Waste sulfuric acid recovery for internal reuse Waste sulfuric acid is removed from hydrogen peroxide then combined with ammonia nitrogen wastewater to convert wastewater into usable ammonium sulfate. |
| Electronic-grade sulfuric acidWaste sulfuric acid will be converted into electronic-grade ammonia water by raw material supplier and returned to TSMC. | |
| Waste IPA | Low-concentration isopropyl alcohol will be concentrated to industrial-grade products15% concentration IPA will be evaporated to 85% concentration. |
| Waste Copper Sulfate | Turning copper sulfate waste into industrial-grade recycled productsCopper-containing waste will be electrolyzed to copper tubes. |
| Waste Cobalt Sulfate | Turning cobalt sulfate waste into industrial-grade recycled productsCobalt-containing waste will be electrolyzed to cobalt tubes. |
| Waste Chemical Drum | Turning waste chemical drums into industrial-grade recycled productsChemical drums will be washed and crushed to plastic sheets, which are used as raw materials for recycled plastic pellets. |