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Minerals
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Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a...
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Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 14689

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Saman Ilankoon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia
Interests: heap leaching; heap hydrodynamics; percolation leaching; low grade ore processing; mine waste management; e-waste management; e-waste value recovery; sustainability; sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Dr. Hugo Marcelo Veit

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LACOR–PPGE3M, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre-RS 90040-060, Brazil
Interests: materials recycling; waste electrical and electronic waste; metals recycling; hydrometallurgy; pyrometallurgy; waste management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electrical and electronic devices at the end of their intended operations are known as electronic waste or e-waste. The major components present in e-waste, especially printed circuit boards (PCBs), contain about 30% of metals, while the remaining fractions are plastics, glass fibre and ceramics. Even though 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were generated in the world in 2019, only 17.4% of the global e-waste in 2019 was properly recycled or disposed of, with the fate of the remaining amount undocumented. The recycling percentage in Asia and Africa in 2019 were 11.7% and 0.9%, respectively. The generated e-waste volume in 2030 is envisaged as 74.7 million tonnes with 9 kg per capita (Ilankoon et al. 2018; Forti et al. 2020). This implies the requirement of efficient e-waste management methodologies incorporated within local legislative frameworks, Internet of Things (e.g., Kang et al. 2020) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, especially in developing countries.

E-waste value recovery operations are also crucial. State-of-the-art integrated pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical are carried out on a large scale in developed countries to recover many metals, though semi-formal hydrometallurgical methods and artisanal methods have been the norm in developing countries to separate copper and gold, which are the most concentrated and highly valuable elements in e-waste, respectively. However, the sustainability of these conventional methods remained questionable as they involve the vast disposal of solid waste and used acidic solutions that have adverse impacts on the environment. Both sustainable e-waste management methodologies and value recovery operations are thus required to improve the current low recycling levels throughout the world and foster the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This Special Issue invites papers that: 1) present effective e-waste management techniques, including case studies, 2) discuss e-waste value recovery methods, flowsheets and waste management aspects, and 3) present e-waste reuse as a methodology to alleviate generation.

Dr. Saman Ilankoon
Dr. Hugo Marcelo Veit
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • E-waste management
  • E-waste value recovery
  • Reuse and recycling
  • Base and precious metals
  • Sustainable development goals (SDGs)

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 4302 KiB  
Communication
Nickel Silicide Catalyst from Photovoltaic Waste for the Methanation Reaction
by Jakub Bumba, Vladislav Drinek, Pavel Krystynik, Pavel Dytrych and Olga Solcova
Minerals 2021, 11(12), 1412; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11121412 - 14 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2367
Abstract
A technology designed for recycling photovoltaic (PV) cells at the end of their life was successfully used for the preparation of a nickel silicide catalyst. PV cells were mixed with magnesium scrap to produce magnesium silicide (Mg2Si), with almost total conversion [...] Read more.
A technology designed for recycling photovoltaic (PV) cells at the end of their life was successfully used for the preparation of a nickel silicide catalyst. PV cells were mixed with magnesium scrap to produce magnesium silicide (Mg2Si), with almost total conversion under optimized conditions (400 °C, 5 Pa, 25 min), in a constructed semi-open tubular reactor. Subsequently, magnesium silicide was hydrolyzed by 25% phosphoric acid to produce a mixture of silicon hydrides, which were utilized as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursors for the preparation of a nickel silicide catalyst. The activity and stability of the prepared catalyst was repeatedly tested for methanation reactions. It was verified that the nickel silicide catalyst showed an approximately 20% higher activity for the methanation reactions compared to the commonly used nickel catalyst. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs))
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15 pages, 11853 KiB  
Article
Experimental Stand for Sorting Components Dismantled from Printed Circuit Boards
by Laszlo Rapolti, Holonec Rodica, Laura Grindei, Marius Purcar, Florin Dragan, Romul Copîndean and Robert Reman
Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1292; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11111292 - 20 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2185
Abstract
There is nothing new about the fact that higher concentrations (up to 50 times) of valuable materials can be found in e-waste, compared to mined ores. Moreover, the constant accumulation of excessive amounts of waste equipment has a negative impact on the environment. [...] Read more.
There is nothing new about the fact that higher concentrations (up to 50 times) of valuable materials can be found in e-waste, compared to mined ores. Moreover, the constant accumulation of excessive amounts of waste equipment has a negative impact on the environment. The components found in electronic equipment may contain hazardous materials or materials that could be recycled and reintroduced into production processes, thus reducing the carbon footprint created by waste electrical and electronics equipment (WEEE). Sustainable e-waste recycling requires high-value, integrated recovery systems. By implementing a two-stage experimental sorting stand, this paper proposes an efficient and fast sorting method that can be industrially scaled up to reduce the time, energy and costs needed to sort electronic waste (e-waste). The sorting equipment is in fact an ensemble of sensors consisting of cameras, color sensors, proximity sensors, metal detectors and a hyperspectral camera. The first stage of the system sorts the components based on the materials’ spectral signature by using hyperspectral image (HSI) processing and, with the help of a robotic arm, removes the marked components from the conveyor belt. The second stage of the sorting stand uses a contour vision camera to detect specific shapes of the components to be sorted with the help of pneumatic actuators. The experimental sorting stand is able to distinguish up to five types of components with an efficiency of 89%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs))
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13 pages, 1202 KiB  
Article
Rare Earth Elements Recycling Potential Estimate Based on End-of-Life NdFeB Permanent Magnets from Mobile Phones and Hard Disk Drives in Brazil
by Daniel Dotto München, Ronei Tiago Stein and Hugo Marcelo Veit
Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1190; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11111190 - 27 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2826
Abstract
Besides neodymium, the chemical composition of Neodymium–Iron–Boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets possibly contains other rare earth elements (REEs) such as praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Among its applications, NdFeB magnets are essential for Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) in computers for data storage, in Mobile Phones [...] Read more.
Besides neodymium, the chemical composition of Neodymium–Iron–Boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets possibly contains other rare earth elements (REEs) such as praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Among its applications, NdFeB magnets are essential for Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) in computers for data storage, in Mobile Phones (MPs), and in acoustic transducers. Because REEs were classified as critical raw materials by the European Union and the USA, the recycling of them has become an important strategy to diminish supply risk. Therefore, in this publication, the authors have uncovered the recycling potential estimate (RPE) of these four REEs from both end-of-life (EoL) secondary sources. The results were based on the time-step method, using in-use stock and sales data from Brazil over the last decade (2010–2019). Moreover, the NdFeB magnets were characterized by content and weight to a more accurate RPE. The EoL generation over the decade studied showed different scenarios for MPs and HDDs, mainly due to lifespan, social behavior regarding storage and usage, and resources. Under those circumstances, the RPE revealed 211.30 t of REEs that could return as raw materials in the last decade, of which approximately 80% is neodymium. Unfortunately, recycling rates are still too low, even more so in Brazil, which is problematic for the future REE supply chain and electronic waste figures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs))
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Review

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26 pages, 14646 KiB  
Review
A Review on Chemical versus Microbial Leaching of Electronic Wastes with Emphasis on Base Metals Dissolution
by Srabani Mishra, Sandeep Panda, Ata Akcil, Seydou Dembele and Ismail Agcasulu
Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1255; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11111255 - 11 Nov 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2899
Abstract
There is a growing interest in electronic wastes (e-wastes) recycling for metal recovery because the fast depletion of worldwide reserves for primary resources is gradually becoming a matter of concern. E-wastes contain metals with a concentration higher than that present in the primary [...] Read more.
There is a growing interest in electronic wastes (e-wastes) recycling for metal recovery because the fast depletion of worldwide reserves for primary resources is gradually becoming a matter of concern. E-wastes contain metals with a concentration higher than that present in the primary ores, which renders them as an apt resource for metal recovery. Owing to such aspects, research is progressing well to address several issues related to e-waste recycling for metal recovery through both chemical and biological routes. Base metals, for example, Cu, Ni, Zn, Al, etc., can be easily leached out through the typical chemical (with higher kinetics) and microbial (with eco-friendly benefits) routes under ambient temperature conditions in contrast to other metals. This feature makes them the most suitable candidates to be targeted primarily for metal leaching from these waste streams. Hence, the current piece of review aims at providing updated information pertinent to e-waste recycling through chemical and microbial treatment methods. Individual process routes are compared and reviewed with focus on non-ferrous metal leaching (with particular emphasis on base metals dissolution) from some selected e-waste streams. Future outlooks are discussed on the suitability of these two important extractive metallurgical routes for e-waste recycling at a scale-up level along with concluding remarks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs))
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Other

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18 pages, 5445 KiB  
Concept Paper
Assessment of Pre-Treatment Techniques for Coarse Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) Recycling
by Kai Dean Kang, I. M. Saman K. Ilankoon, Nimila Dushyantha and Meng Nan Chong
Minerals 2021, 11(10), 1134; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/min11101134 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2841
Abstract
Waste electrical and electronic equipment or e-waste generation has been skyrocketing over the last decades. This poses waste management and value recovery challenges, especially in developing countries. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are mainly employed in value recovery operations. Despite the high energy costs [...] Read more.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment or e-waste generation has been skyrocketing over the last decades. This poses waste management and value recovery challenges, especially in developing countries. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are mainly employed in value recovery operations. Despite the high energy costs of generating crushed and milled particles of the order of several microns, those are employed in conventional hydrometallurgical techniques. Coarse PCB pieces (of order a few centimetres) based value recovery operations are not reported at the industrial scale as the complexities of the internal structure of PCBs limit efficient metal and non-metal separation. Since coarse PCB particles’ pre-treatment is of paramount importance to enhance metal and non-metal separations, thermal, mechanical, chemical and electrical pre-treatment techniques were extensively studied. It is quite evident that a single pre-treatment technique does not result in complete metal liberation and therefore several pre-treatment flowsheets were formulated for coarse PCB particles. Thermal, mechanical and chemical pre-treatments integrated flowsheets were derived and such flowsheets are seldom reported in the e-waste literature. The potential flowsheets need to be assessed considering socio-techno-economic considerations to yield the best available technologies (BAT). In the wider context, the results of this work could be useful for achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status of Electronic Waste Management and Value Recovery Operations—a Step towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs))
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