Evaluation of a recycling process for printed circuit board by physical separation and heat treatment

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) from discarded personal computer (PC) and hard disk drive were crushed by explosion in water or mechanical comminution in order to disintegrate the attached parts. More parts were stripped from PCB of PC, composed of epoxy resin; than from PCB of household appliance, composed of phenol resin.In an attempt to raise the copper grade of PCB by removing other components, a carbonization treatment was investigated. The crushed PCB without surface-mounted parts was carbonized under a nitrogen atmosphere at 873–1073 K. After screening, the char was classified by size into oversized pieces, undersized pieces and powder. The copper foil and glass fiber pieces were liberated and collected in undersized fraction. The copper foil was liberated easily from glass fiber by stamping treatment.As one of the mounted parts, the multi-layered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which contain nickel, were carbonized at 873 K. The magnetic separation is carried out at a lower magnetic field strength of 0.1 T and then at 0.8 T. In the +0.5 mm size fraction the nickel grade in magnetic product was increased from 0.16% to 6.7% and the nickel recovery is 74%.The other useful mounted parts are tantalum capacitors. The tantalum capacitors were collected from mounted parts. The tantalum-sintered bodies were separated from molded resins by heat treatment at 723–773 K in air atmosphere and screening of 0.5 mm. Silica was removed and 70% of tantalum grade was obtained after more than 823 K heating and separation.Next, the evaluation of Cu recycling in PCB is estimated. Energy consumption of new process increased and the treatment cost becomes 3 times higher comparing the conventional process, while the environmental burden of new process decreased comparing conventional process.The nickel recovery process in fine ground particles increased energy and energy cost comparing those of the conventional process. However, the environmental burden decreased than the conventional one.The process for recovering tantalum used more heat for the treatment and therefore the energy consumption increased by 50%, when comparing with conventional process. However, the market price for tantalum is very large; the profit for tantalum recovery is added. Also the environmental burden decreased by the recycling of tantalum recovery. Therefore, the tantalum recovery is very important step in the PCB recycling. If there is no tantalum, the consumed energy and treatment cost increase in the new process, though the environmental burden decreases.     

Spatial distribution and vertical profile of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecanes in sediment core from Tokyo Bay, Japan

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and polybrominated diethyl ethers (PBDEs) were detected in three sediment cores and six surface sediments of Tokyo Bay, Japan. HBCDs were detected for the first time in this region with concentrations ranging from 0.056 to 2.3 ng/g dry wt, implying their widespread contamination, even though their concentrations were lower than summation operatorPBDEs (di- to nona-BDEs) and BDE-209. Levels of these compounds were higher near to the highly populated industrial area of the bay implicating industrial and human activities as sources of these compounds. Summation operatorPBDEs increased in the sediment layer up to the mid-1990s and decreased afterwards, whereas BDE-209 showed an increasing trend until now, following the usage of different commercial BDE mixtures. HBCDs first appeared in the mid-1970s and increased until today. The annual surficial flux of HBCDs (0.62-2.4 ng/cm2/yr) is equal to summation operatorPBDEs (0.95-2.6 ng/cm2/yr) but lower than that of BDE-209 (17-58 ng/cm2/yr).     

Remediation of cadmium-contaminated paddy soils by washing with chemicals: effect of soil washing on cadmium uptake by soybean

We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the effect of soil washing with CaCl(2) on Cd absorption by two soybean cultivars. The results were as follows: (1) Soybean growth was not significantly different in washed and unwashed soils, but the seed Cd concentration for both cultivars decreased significantly, up to 25%, in the washed soils compared with the unwashed soils. (2) In the washed soils, the Cd concentration in the soil solution indicated an obviously lower value from sowing to the flowering stage; however, the change in Cd speciation was not evident in the CaCl(2)-washed soil solution. Consequently, the effect of soil washing using CaCl(2) on Cd-contaminated paddy soils can be expected to continue after a CaCl(2)-washed paddy field is converted to an upland field.     

松嫩平原西部碱尘气溶胶的时段变化及其气候影响因素分析

利用耦合等离子体发射光谱测试技术(ICP-AES)对松嫩平原西部2003年7月到2004年5月间获得的大气总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)样品进行了元素分析,并结合气象资料和TSP质量浓度,初步确定了碱尘活动年际内的演变规律及其主要控制因素.结果表明,TSP质量浓度的高峰时段是早春,其元素总体浓度亦高于其它时段,其中Na元素浓度具有明显的高值,表明碱尘在该时段为TSP的主要成分;晚春时段区域沙尘影响加强,很难监测本地碱尘活动;夏季,碱尘的3种重要元素(Na、Ca、K)含量增加,表明夏季有碱尘活动,与TSP浓度偏高吻合;秋季,碱尘和区域沙尘的活动均减弱.影响碱尘活动的气候因子主要是风力、降水量、温度、日照和湿度,但不同时段其主导作用不同.     

Quantitative analysis of perfluorinated chemicals in media for in vitro fertilization and related samples

The actual standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocol recommends an overnight gamete co-incubation. All of the culture media used for human IVF are supplemented with serum or albumin. In the present study, we determined the concentrations of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in IVF media (IVFM) and related samples by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The results indicated that the concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in the protein source were higher than those in the IVFM samples. Compared with human plasma concentrations of PFCs, PFCs in all of the IVFM samples, such as PFBS, PFHxS and PFOA, were either not detected or present at only trace levels, even when protein source was added. LC/MS/MS could be used to determine PFCs in IVFM samples in future studies of the effects of PFC exposure on intrauterine insemination.     

Simplified Fabrication of Optically Transparent Composites Reinforced with Nanostructured Chitin

Optically transparent films reinforced with micro to nano scale chitin particles were successfully developed in this study. Chitin composites based on micro scale particles which are larger than the optical wavelength do not cause light scattering provided that chitin particles are composed of nano structure networks which allow monomer impregnation and polymerization. This could lead a simplified process for fabricating transparent composites. The composites reinforced by the chitin micro particles not only retained the transparency of the plastic but also helped the effectiveness of its co-efficient of thermal expansion as similar to chitin nanofibers. Furthermore, chitin nanofibers transparent films are thermally stable against temperature as high as 200 °C for a long period of time. This could lead to number of important commercial applications, and is a significant move towards the sustainable utilization of marine bio-resources.     

Setting the most robust effluent level under severe uncertainty: Application of information-gap decision theory to chemical management

Decisions in ecological risk management for chemical substances must be made based on incomplete information due to uncertainties. To protect the ecosystems from the adverse effect of chemicals, a precautionary approach is often taken. The precautionary approach, which is based on conservative assumptions about the risks of chemical substances, can be applied selecting management models and data. This approach can lead to an adequate margin of safety for ecosystems by reducing exposure to harmful substances, either by reducing the use of target chemicals or putting in place strict water quality criteria. However, the reduction of chemical use or effluent concentrations typically entails a financial burden. The cost effectiveness of the precautionary approach may be small. Hence, we need to develop a formulaic methodology in chemical risk management that can sufficiently protect ecosystems in a cost-effective way, even when we do not have sufficient information for chemical management. Information-gap decision theory can provide the formulaic methodology. Information-gap decision theory determines which action is the most robust to uncertainty by guaranteeing an acceptable outcome under the largest degree of uncertainty without requiring information about the extent of parameter uncertainty at the outset. In this paper, we illustrate the application of information-gap decision theory to derive a framework for setting effluent limits of pollutants for point sources under uncertainty. Our application incorporates a cost for reduction in pollutant emission and a cost to wildlife species affected by the pollutant. Our framework enables us to settle upon actions to deal with severe uncertainty in ecological risk management of chemicals.     

CIELAB color variables as indicators of compost stability

The composting process of different organic wastes both in laboratory and on a large-scale was characterized using CIELAB color variables to evaluate compost stability for the better application in agriculture. The time courses of the CIELAB variables of composting materials were determined directly from the bottom of a glass petri dish filled with dried and ground samples using a Minolta Color Reader (CR-13) calibrated with clean empty petri dishes placed on a white tile. To compare the proposed method with conventional methods, the same materials were also evaluated using commonly used compost stability evaluation indices. Most of the CIELAB variables of a compost made from a mixture of green tea waste and rice bran reached a plateau after 84 days of composting and showed strong relationships with the commonly used compost stability evaluation indices. The time needed for CIELAB variables, especially the L*and b* values, to stabilize at large-scale composting plants of cattle litter, farmyard manure, kitchen garbage and bark compost, were more or less similar to the times of maturation evaluated by the respective compost producers. The CIELAB color variable offers a new, simple, rapid and inexpensive means of evaluating compost stability and its quality prior to agricultural use.     

Catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbon into hydrogen and carbon in a spouted-bed reactor as the second-stage reactor of a plastic recycling process

A two-stage process for the chemical recycling of plastics is proposed. In this process, which consists of two reactors, plastics are converted into hydrogen and carbon. In the first reactor, plastic chips are thermally decomposed into hydrocarbons. In the second reactor, the hydrocarbons formed in the first reactor are catalytically decomposed into carbon and hydrogen. In this study, in order to obtain basic data for the second reactor, propene was catalytically decomposed in a laboratory-scale spouted-bed reactor (600mm high, 21.6mm internal diameter, made of SUS304). The effect of the type of spouting medium used on the decomposition behavior of propene was investigated using four types of spouting medium (nickel-plated -alumina, palladium-plated -alumina, nickel-impregnated -alumina, and -alumina). The nickel-impregnated -alumina gave the best propene conversion and hydrogen yield.