An environmentally friendly technology of disassembling electronic components from waste printed circuit boards

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Traditional methods for disassembling electronic components (ECs) from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) often involve primitive heating techniques that cause significant environmental pollution and health risks.
• The need for sustainable and efficient WPCB recycling processes is critical due to the growing volume of electronic waste.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, manufacture, and investigate a pilot-scale automatic system for the environmentally friendly disassembly of ECs from WPCBs.
• To develop and propose optimized disassembly procedures for different types of WPCBs (TV-WPCBs and PC-WPCBs).

Main Methods:

• Development of a two-part automatic system comprising ECs disassembly and off-gas purification.
• Conducting disassembly tests on television (TV-WPCBs) and personal computer (PC-WPCBs) using the automated system.
• Optimizing key parameters including disassembling temperature, rotating speed, and incubation time.

Main Results:

• Complete solder removal from both TV-WPCBs and PC-WPCBs was achieved at a disassembling temperature of 265±5°C, rotating speed of 10rpm, and incubation time of 8min.
• The developed system demonstrated zero pollutant discharge during the ECs disassembly process.
• Optimized disassembly procedures were established for TV-WPCBs and PC-WPCBs.

Conclusions:

• The pilot-scale automatic system offers an effective and environmentally sound solution for disassembling ECs from WPCBs.
• The proposed procedures contribute to a sustainable WPCB recycling chain, mitigating environmental pollution and health hazards.
• This technology promotes greener practices in the electronic waste management sector.