Recovery of non-metallic useable materials from e-waste

Tremendous amounts of electric and electronic wastes (e-waste) are generated daily, and their indiscriminate disposal may cause serious environmental pollution. The recovery of non-metallic materials from e-waste is a strategy to not only reduce the volume of e-waste but also avoid pollutant emissions produced by indiscriminate disposal of e-waste. Pyrolysis, sub/supercritical water treatment, chemical dissolution, and physical treatment (e.g., ball milling, flotation, and electrostatic separation) are available methods to recover useable non-metallic materials (e.g., resins, fibers, and various kinds of polymers) from e-waste. The e-waste-derived materials can be used to manufacture a large variety of industrial and consumer products. In this regard, this work attempts to compile relevant knowledge on the technologies that derive utilizable materials from different classes of e-waste. Moreover, this work highlights the potential of the e-waste-derived materials for various applications. Current challenges and perspectives on e-waste upcycling to useable materials are also discussed.