Recycling of waste printed circuit boards

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an update and the latest results from work on a project aimed at enabling waste printed circuit board (WPCB) recycling to become more environmentally friendly and efficient.

Design/methodology/approach

A new system was proposed and studied individually under laboratory and factory conditions, which consisted of lossless component removal, component classification, waste crushing/separating processes, and application of crushed non‐metallic particles to develop resin composites.

Findings

The use of these novel processes, including component lossless removal, component classification, waste crushing/separating processes, and application of crushed non‐metallic particles to develop resin composites can be combined to give a more sustainable treatment process for printed circuit boards recycling.

Research limitations/implications

Most parts of the WPCBs recycling system have been used. Further development work should be undertaken to establish the whole system in a factory‐scale environment in order to enhance the system efficiency.

Originality/value

The paper details how individual treatment technologies can be combined to enable a more environmentally friendly and efficient system for treatment of WPCBs which offers the benefits of reducing pollution and complete resource recovery for WPCBs.

Citation

Wu, G.Q. and Zhang, Z.K. (2010), "Recycling of waste printed circuit boards", Circuit World, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 35-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/03056121011087221