Electronic scraps--recovering of valuable materials from parallel wire cables.
Every year, the number of discarded electro-electronic products is increasing. For this reason recycling is needed, to avoid wasting non-renewable natural resources. The objective of this work is to study the recycling of materials from parallel wire cable through unit operations of mineral processing. Parallel wire cables are basically composed of polymer and copper. The following unit operations were tested: grinding, size classification, dense medium separation, electrostatic separation, scrubbing, panning, and elutriation. It was observed that the operations used obtained copper and PVC concentrates with a low degree of cross contamination. It was concluded that total liberation of the materials was accomplished after grinding to less than 3 mm, using a cage mill. Separation using panning and elutriation presented the best results in terms of recovery and cross contamination.
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Escola Politécnica, University of São Paulo, Av Prof. Mello Moraes 2464, São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil.
Mishene Christie Pinheiro Bezerra
MC
de Araújo
Arthur Pinto
AP
Chaves
Denise Crocce Romano
DC
Espinosa
Jorge Alberto Soares
JA
Tenório
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D003300:Copper / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods; D004581:Electronics; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055672:Static Electricity
D003300:Copper; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride