Metallurgical use of glass fractions from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Within the European Union, it is estimated that between 8 and 9 million tons of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) arises annually, of which television sets and computers account for an important part. Traditionally, Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) have been used for TVs and computer monitors, but are rapidly being replaced by flat-screen technology. Only part of the discarded CRT glass is being recycled. Primary smelters use large amounts of silica flux to form iron-silicate slag, and can, in most cases, tolerate lead input. Use of discarded CRT glass in copper smelting is a potential alternative for utilization of the glass. The mineralogical composition of a slag sampled during ordinary slag praxis has been compared with that of a mixture of slag and CRT glass when re-melted and slowly cooled. Slag (iron-silicate slag) from Boliden Mineral AB, Sweden, was used for the experiments. Slag and glass have been mixed in various proportions: pure slag, pure glass, 90% slag-10% glass and 65% slag-35% glass, and heated in an inert atmosphere up to 1400 degrees C in a Netzsch Thermal Analysis (TA) instrument. The re-melted material has been analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine changes in mineralogical composition after mixing with glass. The results show that the main mineralogical component of the slag is fayalite; the CRT glass is amorphous. The main crystalline phases of the slag do not change with addition of glass. An amorphous phase appears when the addition of glass is increased, which gives the sample a different structure.
Division of Extractive Metallurgy, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. sina.mostaghel@ltu.se
Sina
S
Mostaghel
Caisa
C
Samuelsson
D055984:Cathode Ray Tube; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D004581:Electronics; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008669:Metallurgy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D013690:Television; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D007220:Industrial Waste; D010087:Oxides; D017640:Silicates; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D003300:Copper