title: Characterisation of polymer fractions from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and implications for waste management.
abstract: There is an increasing interest in the end-of-life management of polymers present in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This is mainly due to high recycling and recovery quotas set by the European WEEE directive, which can only be fulfilled by including the plastic fraction in recycling and recovery approaches. Previous studies identified a high material diversity and various contaminants in WEEE plastics, including heavy metals, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), diphenyl ethers (PBDE), as well as polybrominated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/F). These substances are regulated by European directives that limit their levels in marketable products. Consequently, both material diversity and contaminants are strong arguments against material recycling and point to hazardous waste treatment. However, recent developments in the production of flame retardants and electrical and electronic goods aimed to reduce contaminants and material diversity. Thus, the present study summarises updated contaminant levels of plastic fractions of European WEEE, as well as data on materials in waste housing polymers. Material characterisation revealed housing fractions to be interesting sources for polymer recycling, which however has to implement potent material separation and/or bromine elimination techniques. With respect to contaminants, our data indicate an effective phase-out of PBB, but still high levels of PBDE and PBDD/F are found. Sources and implications for the material recycling and thermal recovery approaches are discussed in detail.
authors.affiliation: Department Product Safety and Analysis, Fraunhofer-Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging, Giggenhauser Str. 35, 85354 Freising, Germany. martin.schlummer@ivv.fraunhofer.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlummer
authors.forename: Ludwig
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mäurer
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolz
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Eldik
mesh_terms: D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004581:Electronics; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D010647:Phenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D018505:Waste Management / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010647:Phenyl Ethers; D010969:Plastics; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D011108:Polymers; C031538:phenyl ether; C086401:pentabromodiphenyl ether