Waste-minimization assessment for a manufacturer of printed-circuit boards. Environmental research brief
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has funded a pilot project to assist small- and medium-size manufacturers who want to minimize their generation of hazardous waste but who lack the expertise to do so. Waste Minimization Assessment Centers (WMACs) were established at selected universities and procedures were adapted from the EPA Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003, July 1988). The WMAC team at Colorado State University inspected a plant producing printed circuit boards -- a plant that already had taken steps to control its hazardous wastes. Producing a circuit board involves many major processes and subprocesses: preparing the board; depositing copper on the board by electroless plating; applying dry film; electrolytically plating copper; electrolytically plating tin; etching and stripping; applying solder; and, perhaps, plating gold on connectors. Each of these steps produces hazardous wastes, e.g., electrolytic copper plating results in acid soap dumps, copper and tin drag-out, and sulfuric acid. The main sources of metallic contamination (copper (both dissolved and metallic), tin, lead, gold) are the rinses after scrubbing, plating, and etching. Although the greatest amount of waste can be reduced by reusing effluent from the MEMTEK (with some further treatment), the greatest dollar savings can be found by changing the dry film developer. The present brand adheres strongly to the unexposed film and requires an aggressive acid soap; a less aggressive, nonhazardous soap could be used with a less-adhering dry film developer. The Research Brief was developed by the principal investigators and EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of an ongoing research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title available from the authors.
- Research Organization:
- University City Science Center, Philadelphia, PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 5166275
- Report Number(s):
- PB-91-234542/XAB; CNN: EPA-R-814903
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
320305* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Industrial Waste Management
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
CLEANING
DEPOSITION
ELECTRODEPOSITION
ELECTROLYSIS
ELECTROPLATING
ELEMENTS
GOLD
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
INORGANIC ACIDS
LEAD
LIQUID WASTES
LYSIS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METALS
MINIMIZATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PLATING
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECYCLING
SULFURIC ACID
SURFACE COATING
TIN
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT