Recycling of WEEE: Characterization of spent printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers

Journal Article · Thu Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.07.006· OSTI ID:21578443

Yamane, Luciana Harue, E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]; Tavares de Moraes, Viviane, E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]; Crocce Romano Espinosa, Denise, E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]; Soares Tenorio, Jorge Alberto, E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]

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1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2463 Sao Paulo, SP 05508-030 (Brazil)

Highlights: > This paper presents new and important data on characterization of wastes of electric and electronic equipments. > Copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers. > Printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers would not be mixed prior treatment. - Abstract: This paper presents a comparison between printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones. Since printed circuits boards are becoming more complex and smaller, the amount of materials is constantly changing. The main objective of this work was to characterize spent printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones applying mineral processing technique to separate the metal, ceramic, and polymer fractions. The processing was performed by comminution in a hammer mill, followed by particle size analysis, and by magnetic and electrostatic separation. Aqua regia leaching, loss-on-ignition and chemical analysis (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy - ICP-OES) were carried out to determine the composition of printed circuit boards and the metal rich fraction. The composition of the studied mobile phones printed circuit boards (PCB-MP) was 63 wt.% metals; 24 wt.% ceramics and 13 wt.% polymers; and of the printed circuit boards from studied personal computers (PCB-PC) was 45 wt.% metals; 27 wt.% polymers and ceramics 28 wt.% ceramics. The chemical analysis showed that copper concentration in printed circuit boards from personal computers was 20 wt.% and in printed circuit boards from mobile phones was 34.5 wt.%. According to the characteristics of each type of printed circuit board, the recovery of precious metals may be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from personal computers and the recovery of copper should be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from mobile phones. Hence, these printed circuit boards would not be mixed prior treatment. The results of this paper show that copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers.

• OSTI ID: 21578443
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Vol. 31, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2011.07.006; PII: S0956-053X(11)00311-4; Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
AQUA REGIA
CERAMICS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COMMINUTION
COPPER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
IGNITION
LEACHING
MATERIALS
MINERALS
PARTICLE SIZE
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
POLYMERS
PRINTED CIRCUITS
PROCESSING
RECYCLING
WASTES
AROMATICS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
COMPUTERS
DIGITAL COMPUTERS
DISSOLUTION
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
METALS
MICROCOMPUTERS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SIZE
SPECTROSCOPY
TRANSITION ELEMENTS