Metallurgical use of glass fractions from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE)

Journal Article · Fri Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2009.09.025· OSTI ID:21359406

Mostaghel, Sina ^[1]; Samuelsson, Caisa ^[1]

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1. Division of Extractive Metallurgy, Lulea University of Technology, 971 87 Lulea (Sweden)

Within the European Union, it is estimated that between 8 and 9 million tonnes of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) arises annually, of which television sets and computers account for an important part. Traditionally, Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) have been used for TVs and computer monitors, but are rapidly being replaced by flat-screen technology. Only part of the discarded CRT glass is being recycled. Primary smelters use large amounts of silica flux to form iron-silicate slag, and can, in most cases, tolerate lead input. Use of discarded CRT glass in copper smelting is a potential alternative for utilization of the glass. The mineralogical composition of a slag sampled during ordinary slag praxis has been compared with that of a mixture of slag and CRT glass when re-melted and slowly cooled. Slag (iron-silicate slag) from Boliden Mineral AB, Sweden, was used for the experiments. Slag and glass have been mixed in various proportions: pure slag, pure glass, 90% slag-10% glass and 65% slag-35% glass, and heated in an inert atmosphere up to 1400 deg. C in a Netzsch Thermal Analysis (TA) instrument. The re-melted material has been analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine changes in mineralogical composition after mixing with glass. The results show that the main mineralogical component of the slag is fayalite; the CRT glass is amorphous. The main crystalline phases of the slag do not change with addition of glass. An amorphous phase appears when the addition of glass is increased, which gives the sample a different structure.

• OSTI ID: 21359406
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Vol. 30, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2009.09.025; PII: S0956-053X(09)00379-1; Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AMORPHOUS STATE
CATHODE RAY TUBES
COMPUTERS
COPPER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EUROPEAN UNION
GLASS
INERT ATMOSPHERE
IRON SILICATES
METALLURGY
MONITORS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SILICA
SLAGS
SMELTERS
SOLID WASTES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
ATMOSPHERES
COHERENT SCATTERING
CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERES
DIFFRACTION
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELECTRON TUBES
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FURNACES
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
IRON COMPOUNDS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
MICROSCOPY
MINERALS
OXIDE MINERALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SCATTERING
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
WASTES