Environmental burdens in the management of end-of-life cathode ray tubes
Highlights: • The paper deals with different management options for end-of-life CRTs. • The environmental burdens for disposal and recycling are presented. • Recycling treatments allows to gain benefits for the environment. • Further treatments for fluorescent powders determine CO{sub 2} credits. • More efforts should be directed towards recycling. - Abstract: We compared the environmental burdens in the management of end-of life cathode ray tubes (CRTs) within two frameworks according to the different technologies of the production of televisions/monitors. In the first case, CRT recycling is addressed to the recovery of the panel and funnel glass for the manufacturing of new CRT screens. In the second case, where flat screen technology has replaced that of CRT, the recycling is addressed to the recovery of the glass cullet and lead for other applications. The impacts were evaluated according to the problem-oriented methodology of the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Our data confirm that in both cases, the recycling treatment allows benefits to be gained for the environment through the recovery of the secondary raw materials. These benefits are higher for the “CRT technology” framework (1 kg CO{sub 2} saved per CRT) than for the “flat screen technology” (0.9 kg CO{sub 2} saved, per CRT, as the highest possible), mainly due to the high energy consumption for lead separation from the funnel glass. Furthermore, the recovery of yttrium from the fluorescent powders that are a residue of the recycling treatment would further improve the CO{sub 2} credit for both the frameworks considered, which would provide a further saving of about 0.75 kg CO{sub 2} per CRT, net of the energy and raw materials needed for the recovery. Overall, this study confirms that, even with a change in the destination of the recovered materials, the recycling processes provide a benefit for the environment: indeed the higher loads for the environment are balanced by avoiding the primary production of the recovered materials.
- OSTI ID:
- 22304619
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 34, Issue 2; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 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
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CARBON DIOXIDE
CATHODE RAY TUBES
EMISSIONS TAX
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUORESCENCE
GLASS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
NETHERLANDS
POWDERS
RAW MATERIALS
RECYCLING
RESIDUES
YTTRIUM