Session 38 - Electric and electronic waste

[CEST2019_00681] Recovery of critical and precious metals from E-Waste
by Ippolito N.M., Birloaga I., Ferella F., Innocenzi V., De Michelis I., Veglió F.

Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing waste stream in Europe. This waste contains a high amount of critical and valuable metals as the rare earths defined critical materials from European Commission (2010) and the precious metals. Exhaust fluorescent lamps are examples of electronic wastes that have important percentages of rare earths elements (REEs). These types of WEEE represent an important secondary source of REEs. Moreover, they are classified as hazardous materials for the presence of mercury and need to be properly handled. Among the most valuable component of WEE there are printed circuit boards (PCBs) for their precious metals content. In the present paper a hydrometallurgical process for the recovery of REEs (yttrium, europium, terbium, gadolinium, lanthanum and cerium) from fluorescent powders and copper, tin, zinc, gold and silver from WPCBs. Hydrometallurgical process for rare earths recovery includes a preliminary roasting, acid dissolution and precipitation of a mixture of REEs oxalates. Alternately, a solvent extraction operation and stripping can be added after dissolution to selective recover rare earths. For the WPCBs treatment, a hydrometallurgical process consisting of two sequential leaching procedures (performed in counter and cross current ways) followed by selective precipitation/reduction of elements of interest from solution has been designed.

Session: 38, Room: B, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 09:30 to 09:45
Oral presentation in Electric and electronic waste
[CEST2019_00623] Bioleaching for metal recovery from telecoms switchboard
by Baniasadi M., Graves J.E., Renshaw D.,Morris S., Farnaud S.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are a necessity for electronic equipment to function especially in the telecommunication industries. From a PCB for broadcasting networks to PCBs for office communications they are what makes electronic communications equipment operate. The sophistication possible with modern electronic and microelectronic devices depends ultimately on the materials they are made from. Metals have assumed a vital role in electronics at every stage in their evolution. PCBs are rich in base and precious metals, and should be considered as secondary resources. Bioleaching is a proven green and sustainable method for metal recovery as demonstrated in the mining industry, but application to recover metals from electronic equipment is still limited. In this study, bioleaching is applied for the first time to the telecommunications products that have reached the end of their useful life. Because several biological and physicochemical parameters can influence bioleaching, the first step in this study was to analyse the metal content of PCBs. In the second part, the effect of different parameters on bioleaching is investigated, with the aim of improving metal recovery. Altogether, the study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of bioleaching for metal recovery from WEEE.

Session: 38, Room: B, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 10:15 to 10:30
Oral presentation in Electric and electronic waste
[CEST2019_00425] Plastics in WEEE screens: difficulties and opportunities to improve the recycling rate
by Horta Arduin R., Grimaud G., Charbuillet C., Laratte B., Perry N.

Nowadays the screens collected by the official e-waste schemes in France are mostly comprised of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). Nevertheless, Flat Panel Display (FPD) collection should increase in the following years. Among other differences in material compositions, FPD screens have higher plastic content. In order to keep complying with the recycling targets for screens, as well as to increase the recycling performance per material, it is necessary to improve plastics recycling. The goal of this study is to quantify the plastic flows in screens generated, collected and recycled in France and to identify the current scenario of plastic recycling. The presence of flame retardants and additives in the plastics, the variety of polymer types, as well as the high volumes of black plastics are among the main challenges in plastics sorting and recycling. From the economic outlook, it is necessary to develop the market that uses secondary raw materials to ensure the profitability of the WEEE chain.

Session: 38, Room: B, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 09:45 to 10:00
Oral presentation in Electric and electronic waste
[CEST2019_00185] Novel technologies & methods for Lithium batteries expansion of life cycle
by Vlachou A.K., Kondili M.E., Kaldellis J.K.

The technology of Lithium batteries is nowadays greatly developing, as they are an efficient mean of energy storage. Their main use is in electric and electronic devices. Moreover after 2010, these batteries are also used in the development of electric vehicles, an industrial sector which has a high growth rate. Since these technologies are advancing and the quantitative use of Lithium batteries in Europe is expected to increase, a flow of Lithium batteries waste will be generated that will need novel methods to be treated. Therefore, much research should be done focusing on the waste batteries, their collection and possibilities of reuse. Recent approaches in battery recycling are focusing on material separation and partially processed raw material re-use. But concerns about the great amounts of waste, the possible lack of the primary materials included in the batteries and also the possible soil and water contamination, is leading the scientists to find new methods of restoring, reusing and expanding the life cycle of Lithium batteries.
The objective of the present work is to review the current status and future prospects of lithium batteries use and treatment as waste. The increasing importance of Lithium as well as its present applications, the storage and reuse methods as well as its constraints as an energy storage material will be highlighted in the work.

Session: 38, Room: B, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 10:00 to 10:15
Oral presentation in Electric and electronic waste