Characterisation of metals in the electronic waste of complex mixtures of end-of-life ICT products for development of cleaner recovery technology

Journal Article · Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.WASMAN.2014.09.021· OSTI ID:22443612

Sun, Z. H.I. ^[1]; Xiao, Y. ^[2]; Sietsma, J. ^[1]; Agterhuis, H.; Visser, G. ^[3]; Yang, Y. ^[1]

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1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, TU Delft, 2628 CD Delft (Netherlands)
2. Ironmaking Department, R and D, Tata Steel, 1970 CA IJmuiden (Netherlands)
3. Business Development, Van Gansewinkel Groep BV, 5657 DH Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Highlights: • New characterisation methodology has been established to understand an industrially processed ICT waste. • Particle size distribution, composition, thermal–chemical behaviour and occurrence of metals were considered. • The characterisation provides direct guidelines for values recovery from the waste. - Abstract: Recycling of valuable metals from electronic waste, especially complex mixtures of end-of-life information and communication technology (ICT) products, is of great difficulty due to their complexity and heterogeneity. One of the important reasons is the lack of comprehensive characterisation on such materials, i.e. accurate compositions, physical/chemical properties. In the present research, we focus on developing methodologies for the characterisation of metals in an industrially processed ICT waste. The morphology, particle size distribution, compositional distribution, occurrence, liberation as well as the thermo-chemical properties of the ICT waste were investigated with various characterisation techniques, including X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersed spectroscopy (EDS). Due to the high heterogeneity of the material, special sample preparation procedures were introduced to minimise the discrepancies during compositional analyses. As a result, a clearer overview of the ICT waste has been reached. This research provides better understanding of the extractability of each metal and improves the awareness of potential obstacles for extraction. It will lead to smarter decisions during further development of a clean and effective recovery process.

• OSTI ID: 22443612
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Vol. 35; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); 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
CALORIMETRY
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METALS
MORPHOLOGY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECYCLING
SAMPLE PREPARATION
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS