Composition of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by direct sampling

Journal Article · Fri Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.02.010· OSTI ID:21612985

Martinho, Graca ^[1]; Pires, Ana ^[1]; Saraiva, Luanha; Ribeiro, Rita ^[1]

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1. Departamento de Ciencias e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The article shows WEEE plastics characterization from a recycling unit in Portugal. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The recycling unit has low machinery, with hand sorting of plastics elements. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Most common polymers are PS, ABS, PC/ABS, HIPS and PP. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Most plastics found have no identification of plastic type or flame retardants. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ecodesign is still not practiced for EEE, with repercussions in end of life stage. - Abstract: This paper describes a direct analysis study carried out in a recycling unit for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Portugal to characterize the plastic constituents of WEEE. Approximately 3400 items, including cooling appliances, small WEEE, printers, copying equipment, central processing units, cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and CRT televisions were characterized, with the analysis finding around 6000 kg of plastics with several polymer types. The most common polymers are polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polycarbonate blends, high-impact polystyrene and polypropylene. Additives to darken color are common contaminants in these plastics when used in CRT televisions and small WEEE. These additives can make plastic identification difficult, along with missing polymer identification and flame retardant identification marks. These drawbacks contribute to the inefficiency of manual dismantling of WEEE, which is the typical recycling process in Portugal. The information found here can be used to set a baseline for the plastics recycling industry and provide information for ecodesign in electrical and electronic equipment production.

• OSTI ID: 21612985
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Journal Name: Waste Management Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 32; ISSN WAMAE2; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACRYLONITRILE
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
AROMATICS
BUTADIENE
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
DIENES
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
HYDROCARBONS
MANAGEMENT
NITRILES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYCARBONATES
POLYENES
POLYMERS
PROCESSING
SORTING
STYRENE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES