Recycling of catalyst coated membrane components

A method of recycling a waste catalyst coated membrane, wherein the waste catalyst coated membrane comprises a membrane including a membrane ionomer, a first catalyst layer disposed on one side of the membrane, the first catalyst layer comprising a first catalyst and a first catalyst layer ionomer, and a second catalyst layer disposed on an opposite side of the membrane, the second catalyst layer comprising a second catalyst and a second catalyst layer ionomer. The membrane is separated by contacting with a solvent, preferably a water/alcohol mix. The alcohol may be chosen from n-butanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, or ethanol. The separation process may also use agitation, preferably sonication. Following separation, the membrane and catalyst layer ionomers are dispersed by increasing the temperature of the solvent mix. This may be carried out at elevated pressure in an autoclave. In some embodiments, the ionomer may be converted to salt form using a base, preferably ammonium solution or metal hydroxide. Proton exchange may by used to convert the salt form ionomers back to acid form. In an embodiment, the catalyst may be platinum, palladium, ruthenium or iridium.