title: Waste printed circuit board recycling techniques and product utilization.
abstract: E-waste, in particular waste PCBs, represents a rapidly growing disposal problem worldwide. The vast diversity of highly toxic materials for landfill disposal and the potential of heavy metal vapors and brominated dioxin emissions in the case of incineration render these two waste management technologies inappropriate. Also, the shipment of these toxic wastes to certain areas of the world for eco-unfriendly "recycling" has recently generated a major public outcry. Consequently, waste PCB recycling should be adopted by the environmental communities as an ultimate goal. This article reviews the recent trends and developments in PCB waste recycling techniques, including both physical and chemical recycling. It is concluded that the physical recycling techniques, which efficiently separate the metallic and nonmetallic fractions of waste PCBs, offer the most promising gateways for the environmentally-benign recycling of this waste. Moreover, although the reclaimed metallic fraction has gained more attention due to its high value, the application of the nonmetallic fraction has been neglected in most cases. Hence, several proposed applications of this fraction have been comprehensively examined.
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Pejman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hadi
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Carol S K
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Chi-Wai
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar. Electronic address: kemckayg@ust.hk.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McKay
mesh_terms: D059029:Electronic Waste; D004777:Environment; D017745:Incineration; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Metal–nonmetal separation; Nonmetallic fraction; PCB waste; Recycling