Waste printed circuit board recycling techniques and product utilization

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 283; pp. 234 - 243
• Main Authors: Hadi, Pejman, Xu, Meng, Lin, Carol S.K., Hui, Chi-Wai, McKay, Gordon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Electronic Waste; Environment; Incineration; Metal–nonmetal separation; Nonmetallic fraction; PCB waste; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; Recycling; Recycling - methods; Waste Disposal Facilities; Waste Management - methods; Metal–nonmetal separation; Nonmetallic fraction; PCB waste; Recycling
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.09.032

•There is a major environmental issue about the printed circuit boards throughout the world.•Different physical and chemical recycling techniques have been reviewed.•Nonmetallic fraction of PCBs is the unwanted face of this waste stream.•Several applications of the nonmetallic fraction of waste PCBs have been introduced. E-waste, in particular waste PCBs, represents a rapidly growing disposal problem worldwide. The vast diversity of highly toxic materials for landfill disposal and the potential of heavy metal vapors and brominated dioxin emissions in the case of incineration render these two waste management technologies inappropriate. Also, the shipment of these toxic wastes to certain areas of the world for eco-unfriendly “recycling” has recently generated a major public outcry. Consequently, waste PCB recycling should be adopted by the environmental communities as an ultimate goal. This article reviews the recent trends and developments in PCB waste recycling techniques, including both physical and chemical recycling. It is concluded that the physical recycling techniques, which efficiently separate the metallic and nonmetallic fractions of waste PCBs, offer the most promising gateways for the environmentally-benign recycling of this waste. Moreover, although the reclaimed metallic fraction has gained more attention due to its high value, the application of the nonmetallic fraction has been neglected in most cases. Hence, several proposed applications of this fraction have been comprehensively examined.