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HERO ID
7089055
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Recent Technologies in Electronic-Waste Management
Author(s)
Aboughaly, M; Gabbar, HA; ,
Year
2020
Publisher
SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG
Location
CHAM
Book Title
E-WASTE RECYCLING AND MANAGEMENT: PRESENT SCENARIOS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Volume
33
Page Numbers
63-80
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-14184-4_4
Web of Science Id
WOS:000487755400005
Abstract
The electrical and electronic industry generates more than 50 million metric tonnes of Electronic-waste annually from discarded and obsolete equipment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 7 million tonnes of electronic equipment become obsolete each year, making Electronic-waste the most rapidly growing waste stream in the world. Electronic-waste often contains hazardous materials as well as base metals such as zinc, copper and iron that can reach up to 60.2% in Electronic-waste products such as refrigerators, washing machines and TVs. Global legislation and regulations play an important role in Electronic-waste recycling strategies and cover 66% of electronic industry practices; most importantly to be mentioned are waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) directive and registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals (REACH) directive regulations.Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are classified into four categories which are photovoltaic (PV) panels, cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and light-emitting diode (LED) displays, computers and laptops and cell phones. Photovoltaic panels are a common silicon-based electronic equipment with 65% recycling rate. The recycling process starts with glass and aluminium recovery followed by thermal treatment at 650 degrees C. Another category is liquid crystal displays and light-emitting diode displays which consume 70% of global indium production, while its recycling requires manual sorting and separation, solvent extraction and acid leaching, respectively. Additionally, cell phones have the lowest recycling rate due to the complexity of recycling caused by compact design and high production rate. Lithium is considered the most valuable recycling material in cell phones and smart batteries. In terms of viable Electronic-waste thermal treatment, thermal plasma consumes 2 kWh/kg in both pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling processes. It plays an important role in the recovery of heavy metals such as silver, gold, lead and copper due to high energy density, gas flux temperature and ionization that increases reactivity.
Keywords
Electronic-waste management; Contaminants; Material composition; Electronic-waste regulations; Waste generation; Metal recovery; Metallurgical recycling; Thermoplastics in Electronic-waste; Hazards in electronic recycling; Recycling hierarchy
Editor(s)
Khan, A; Inamuddin; Asiri, AM;
ISBN
978-3-030-14183-7
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