The separation of waste printed circuit board by dissolving bromine epoxy resin using organic solvent

Separation of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) has been a bottleneck in WPCBs resource processing. In this study, the separation of WPCBs was performed using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent. Various parameters, which included solid to liquid ratio, temperature, WPCB sizes, and time, were studied to understand the separation of WPCBs by dissolving bromine epoxy resin using DMSO. Experimental results showed that the concentration of dissolving the bromine epoxy resin increased with increasing various parameters. The optimum condition of complete separation of WPCBs was solid to liquid ratio of 1:7 and WPCB sizes of 16 mm² at 145 °C for 60 min. The used DMSO was vapored under the decompression, which obtained the regenerated DMSO and dissolved bromine epoxy resin. This clean and non-polluting technology offers a new way to separate valuable materials from WPCBs and prevent the environmental pollution of waste printed circuit boards effectively.     

从废印制电路板元器件中分离电容器的方法

以典型废印制电路板湿法剥离得到的元器件为研究对象,通过筛分和磁选相结合的物理方法,分离其中的电容器。研究发现,筛分后电容器分布在9.5-19 mm和4.0-9.5 mm范围内,并且50%以上的元器件与电容器得到分离。9.5-19 mm范围内的元器件经过磁选,可以将强磁性的铜线绕阻类元器件分离出来,剩余元器件采用8 mm宽的条形筛进行筛分,筛上物主要为电容器,筛下物主要为芯片和引脚;4.0-9.5 mm范围内的元器件经过磁选,可以将92.93%的电容器分离出来。     

废旧电子线路板资源再生处理技术

介绍了目前废旧电子线路板资源回收处理现状、方法及检测技术,并提出正确回收处理废旧电子线路板的方法及对未来的展望。     

废弃印刷线路板中环氧树脂的资源化技术

印刷线路板是电子工业的基础,伴随着电子废弃物的快速增长,废弃印刷线路板的回收已经成为迫切需要研究的领域。对废弃印刷线路板中环氧树脂常用的资源化方法、物理法、热解法、超临界法及化学溶剂法等进行了介绍,并比较了几种方法的优缺点。     

Pyrolysis characteristics of the mixture of printed circuit board scraps and coal powder

Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and infrared spectroscopy were used to analyze the pyrolysis characteristics of printed circuit board scraps (PCBs), coal powder and their mixtures under nitrogen atmosphere. The experimental results show that there is a large difference between waste PCBs and coal powder in pyrolysis processing. The pyrolysis properties of the mixing samples are the result of interaction of the PCBs and coal powder, which is influenced by the content of mixture. The degree of pyrolysis and pyrolysis properties of the mixture are much better than that of the single component. The TG and the differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of the PCBs mixed with coal powder move towards the high-temperature zone with increasing amount of coal powder and subsequently the DTG peak also becomes wider. The Coats–Redfern integral method was used to determine the kinetic parameters of pyrolysis reaction mechanism with the different proportion of mixture. The gas of pyrolysis mainly composes of CO₂, CO, H₂O and some hydrocarbon. The bromide characteristic absorption peak has been detected obviously in the pyrolysis gas of PCBs. On the contrary, the absorption peak of the bromide is not obvious in pyrolysis gas of the PCBs samples adding 40% coal powder.     

Thermal decomposition of tetrabromobisphenol-A containing printed circuit boards in the presence of calcium hydroxide

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Recycling of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is complicated by the presence of flame retardants containing halogen and phosphorus, as the degradation...     

Steam gasification of tyre waste, poplar, and refuse-derived fuel: a comparative analysis

In the field of waste management, thermal disposal is a treatment option able to recover resources from "end of life" products. Pyrolysis and gasification are emerging thermal treatments that work under less drastic conditions in comparison with classic direct combustion, providing for reduced gaseous emissions of heavy metals. Moreover, they allow better recovery efficiency since the process by-products can be used as fuels (gas, oils), for both conventional (classic engines and heaters) and high efficiency apparatus (gas turbines and fuel cells), or alternatively as chemical sources or as raw materials for other processes. This paper presents a comparative study of a steam gasification process applied to three different waste types (refuse-derived fuel, poplar wood and scrap tyres), with the aim of comparing the corresponding yields and product compositions and exploring the most valuable uses of the by-products.     

Steam gasification of waste tyre: Influence of process temperature on yield and product composition

An experimental survey of waste tyre gasification with steam as oxidizing agent has been conducted in a continuous bench scale reactor, with the aim of studying the influence of the process temperature on the yield and the composition of the products; the tests have been performed at three different temperatures, in the range of 850–1000 °C, holding all the other operational parameters (pressure, carrier gas flow, solid residence time). The experimental results show that the process seems promising in view of obtaining a good quality syngas, indicating that a higher temperature results in a higher syngas production (86 wt%) and a lower char yield, due to an enhancement of the solid–gas phase reactions with the temperature. Higher temperatures clearly result in higher hydrogen concentrations: the hydrogen content rapidly increases, attaining values higher than 65% v/v, while methane and ethylene gradually decrease over the range of the temperatures; carbon monoxide and dioxide instead, after an initial increase, show a nearly constant concentration at 1000 °C. Furthermore, in regards to the elemental composition of the synthesis gas, as the temperature increases, the carbon content continuously decreases, while the oxygen content increases; the hydrogen, being the main component of the gas fraction and having a small atomic weight, is responsible for the progressive reduction of the gas density at higher temperature.     

Evaluation of gold and silver leaching from printed circuit board of cellphones

Electronic waste has been increasing proportionally with the technology. So, nowadays, it is necessary to consider the useful life, recycling, and final disposal of these equipment. Metals, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Sn and Ni can be found in the printed circuit boards (PCB). According to this, the aims of this work is to characterize the PCBs of mobile phones with aqua regia; obtaining “reference” values of leaching, to gold and silver, with cyanide and nitric acid, respectively; and study the process of leaching of these metals in alternative leaching with sodium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate. The metals were characterized by digesting the sample with aqua regia for 1 and 2 h at 60 °C and 80 °C. The leaching of Au with a commercial reagent (cyanide) and the Ag with HNO₃were made. The leaching of Au and Ag with alternative reagents: Na₂S₂O_3, and (NH₄)₂S₂O₃ in 0.1 M concentration with the addition of CuSO₄, NH₄OH, and H₂O₂, was also studied. The results show that the digestion with aqua regia was efficient to characterize the metals present in the PCBs of mobile phones. However, the best method to solubilize silver was by digesting the sample with nitric acid. The leaching process using sodium thiosulfate was more efficient when an additional concentration of 0.015 and 0.030 M of the CuSO₄ was added.     

Treatment of waste printed circuit board by green solvent using ionic liquid

Recycling of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) is an important subject not only for the protection of environment but also for the recovery of valuable materials. A feasibility study was conducted to dissolve bromine epoxy resins of WPCBs using ionic liquid (IL) of 1-ethyl-3-methylimizadolium tetrafluoroborate [EMIM(+)][BF(4)(-)] (nonaqueous green solvent) for recovering copper foils and glass fibers. Experimental results indicated that the initial delamination had seen from the cross-section of the WPCBs by mean of metallographic microscope and digital camera when WPCBs were heated in [EMIM(+)][BF(4)(-)] at 240°C for a duration of 30min. When temperature was increased to 260°C for a duration of 10min, the bromine epoxy resins of WPCBs were throughout dissolved into [EMIM(+)][BF(4)(-)] and the separations of copper foils and glass fibers from WPCBs were completed. This clean and non-polluting technology offers a new way to recycle valuable materials from WPCBs and prevent the environmental pollution of WPCBs effectively.     

Liberation characteristic and physical separation of printed circuit board (PCB)

Recycling of printed circuit board (PCB) is an important subject and to which increasing attention is paid, both in treatment of waste as well as recovery of valuable material terms. Precede physical and mechanical method, a good liberation is the premise to further separation. In this study, two-step crushing process is employed, and standard sieve is applied to screen crushed material to different size fractions, moreover, the liberation situation and particles shape in different size are observed. Then metal of the PCB is separated by physical methods, including pneumatic separation, electrostatic separation and magnetic separation, and major metal contents are characterized by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Results show that the metal and nonmetal particles of PCB are dissociated completely under the crush size 0.6mm; metal is mainly enriched in the four size fractions between 0.15 and 1.25 mm; relatively, pneumatic separation is suitable for 0.6-0.9 mm size fraction, while the electrostatic separation is suitable for three size fractions that are 0.15-0.3mm, 0.3-0.6mm and 0.9-1.25 mm. The whole process that involves crushing, electrostatic and magnetic separation has formed a closed cycle that can return material and provide salable product.     

Recovery of gold from computer circuit board scrap using aqua regia.

Computer circuit board scrap was first treated with one part concentrated nitric acid and two parts water at 70 degrees C for 1 h. This step dissolved the base metals, thereby liberating the chips from the boards. After solid-liquid separation, the chips, intermixed with some metallic flakes and tin oxide precipitate, were mechanically crushed to liberate the base and precious metals contained within the protective plastic or ceramic chip cases. The base metals in this crushed product were dissolved by leaching again with the same type of nitric acid-water solution. The remaining solid constituents, crushed chips and resin, plus solid particles of gold, were leached with aqua regia at various times and temperatures. Gold was precipitated from the leachate with ferrous sulphate.     

我国废弃电子线路板资源化再生利用技术现状与展望

随着电子行业的迅猛发展,废弃电子线路板的处理和利用成为各方关注的热点。废弃电子线路板处理不好将成为一大环境污染问题,而利用好了又可变废为宝,产生巨大的价值。阐述我国进行废弃电子线路板资源化再生利用的重要性和紧迫性,介绍废弃电子线路板处理利用技术的研究现状,并时其研究重点和发展趋势做出展望。     

Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic study on large particles of printed circuit board wastes

Pyrolysis of large printed circuit board (PCB) waste particle was conducted on a specially designed laboratory-scale thermobalance (Macro-TG) with sample loading of 30 g under dynamic nitrogen atmosphere. The effects of heating rate (10, 15, 20 and 25 °C min^?1) and particle size (1 mm × 1 mm, 5 mm × 5 mm, 10 mm × 10 mm and 10 mm × 20 mm) were examined. To compare the different decomposition behavior of fine and large one, the thermal decomposition of PCB waste powder (approximately 5 mg) was also performed on a thermogravimetric analyzer (common TG) under various heating rates (10, 15, 20 and 40 °C min^?1) and particle size ranges (0.198–0.165 mm, 0.165–0.074 mm, 0.074–0.055 mm and 0.055–0.047 mm). Experimental results show that large particle has a pyrolysis reaction retardancy compared to fine one. The distributed activation energy model was used to study the pyrolysis kinetics. It was found that during pyrolysis process, values of frequency factor (k₀) changed with different activation energy (E) values. On common TG, the E values range from 156.95 to 319.37 kJ mol^?1 and k₀ values range from 2.67 × 10¹³ to 2.24 × 10²⁷ s^?1. While, on Macro-TG, the range of E was 31.48–41.26 kJ mol^?1 and of the frequency factor was 19.80–202.67 s^?1.     

Chemical composition and liberation characterization of printed circuit board comminution fines for beneficiation investigations

Chemical composition and liberation are critical attributes in characterizing a resource stock for beneficiation investigations. Though end-of-life printed circuit board is recognized as a valuable secondary resource stock, no procedural standard exists for the determination of its chemical composition, nor for the ?75 μm fines generated during its comminution. The effect of the digestion procedure on the final assays in wet spectroscopic analyses was assessed in this work. Liberation was also explored against literature background. Determination of assays of all constituent elements in printed circuit board comminution fines was found to require comparison of data from more than one digestion condition, while composite particles still persist at the fines sizes, though very few. The discussion reflects how these impact the beneficiation investigations.     

废印刷线路板(PCB)中金回收的新方法

研究了一种从废印刷线路板（PCB）中回收金的方法。该方法的主要影响因素有：反应时间,硝酸浓度,双氧水浓度。合适的反应条件是：固液比为1：2,反应时间9h,硝酸浓度2mol／L,双氧水浓度2mol/L。研究表明,硝酸-双氧水能够非常有效地从废印刷线路板中回收金。     

Thermodynamic analysis of metals recycling out of waste printed circuit board through secondary copper smelting

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this paper, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of processing of electronic waste (e-waste), particularly printed circuit boards (PCB), through...     

Production of hydrogen by steam gasification of dehydrochlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) or activated carbon in the presence of various alkali compounds

Steam gasification of dehydrochlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) or activated carbon was carried out in the presence of various alkali compounds at 3.0 MPa and 560°C–660°C in a batch reactor or in a semi-batch reactor with a flow of nitrogen and steam. Hydrogen and sodium carbonate were the main products, and methane and carbon dioxide were the minor products. Yields of hydrogen were high in the presence of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. The acceleration effect of the alkali compounds on the gasification reaction was as follows: KOH > NaOH > Ca(OH)₂ > Na₂CO₃. The rate of gasification increased with increasing partial steam pressure and NaOH/C molar ratio. However, the rate became saturated at a molar ratio of NaOH/C greater than 2.0.