WEEE Recycling. Research, Development, and Policies

226 Pages·2016·17.902 MB·English

by  Alexandre Chagnes, Gérard Cote, Christian Ekberg, Mikael Nilsson, Teodora Retegan

WEEE RECYCLING
Research, Development,
and Policies
Edited by
A. CHAGNES
Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, CNRS, Institut de
Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP); Groupement de Recherche
(GDR CNRS n° 3749), Paris, France
G. COTE
Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, CNRS, Institut de
Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP); ParisTech Chair Urban Mining,
Fondation Paristech, Paris, France
C. EKBERG
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling,
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
M. NILSSON
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science,
University of California Irvine, Irvine CA, United States
T. RETEGAN
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling,
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Amsterdam • Boston • Heidelberg • London • New York • Oxford
Paris • San Diego • San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo
Elsevier
Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the
Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance
Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher
(other than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden
our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become
necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and
using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information
or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom
they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any
liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or
otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the
material herein.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN: 978-0-12-803363-0
For information on all Elsevier publications
visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/
Publisher: John Fedor
Acquisition Editor: Kostas Marinakis
Editorial Project Manager: Christine McElvenny
Production Project Manager: Anitha Sivaraj
Designer: Mark Rogers
Typeset by Thomson Digital
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
A. Chagnes
Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris
(IRCP); Groupement de Recherche (GDR CNRS n° 3749), Paris, France
G. Cote
Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris
(IRCP); ParisTech Chair Urban Mining, Fondation Paristech, Paris, France
L. Dascalescu
PPRIME Institute, University of Poitiers—ENSMA, Angoulême, France
B. Ebin
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Material Recycling, Department of Chemistry and Chemical
Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
D. Guyonnet
BRGM, ENAG, Guillemin, Orléans, France
C. Ekberg
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling, Department of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of T echnology, Gothenburg, Sweden
M.I. Isik
High Temperature Materials Group, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH,
Düsseldorf, Germany
A. Iuga
High-Intensity Electric Fields Laboratory, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca,
Romania
N.-E. Menad
BRGM, Orléans Cedex 2, France
M. Nilsson
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California Irvine,
Irvine CA, United States
M. Planchon
BIO by Deloitte, Neuilly sur Seine, France
T. Retegan
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling, Department of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
G. Rodriguez-Garcia
Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Electrochemical Energy Storage, Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT), Ulm, Karlsruhe, Germany
vii
viii List of Contributors
A. Rollat
Solvay Group, La Rochelle Cedex, France
R. Toffolet
Eco-systèmes, Courbevoie, France
J. Tuduri
BRGM, ENAG, Guillemin, Orléans, France
C. Tunsu
Nuclear Chemistry and Industrial Materials Recycling, Department of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
M. Weil
Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Electrochemical Energy Storage, Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT), Ulm, Karlsruhe; Institute for Technology Assessment and System Analysis
(ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
T. Zeghloul
PPRIME Institute, University of Poitiers—ENSMA, Angoulême, France
Introduction
A. Chagnes*,**, G. Cote*,†
*Chimie ParisTech, PSL Research University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Paris, France
**Groupement de Recherche (GDR CNRS n° 3749), Paris, France
†ParisTech Chair Urban Mining, Fondation Paristech, Paris, France
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) also referred to as UEEE (Used
Electrical and Electronic Equipment), e-waste, or e-scrap is a generic term used to
cover all items of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been
discarded by its owner as waste without the intend of reuse [1,2]. More or less precise
definitions can be found throughout the world. For instance, according to the WEEE
Directive 2012/19/EC (European Union) WEEE are defined as a category of waste,
consisting of equipment at the end-of-life, powered by electricity or through electro-
magnetic fields and designed for use in a voltage typically not exceeding 1000 V AC and
1500 V DC [3]. They are presently divided into the ten following categories:
1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. Information technology and telecommunications equipment
4. Consumer equipment
5. Lighting equipment
6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary indus-
trial tools)
7. Toys, leisure, and sports equipment
8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
9. Monitoring and control instruments
10. Automatic dispensers
However, these ten categories will be regrouped into the six following categories by
2018 [3]:
1. Temperature exchange equipment (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning equip-
ment, etc.)
2. Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screen having a surface greater than
100 cm2 (screens, televisions, LCD photo frames, monitors, laptops, notebooks)
3. Lamps (fluorescent lamps, sodium lamps, LED, etc.)
4. Large equipment, that is, any external dimension more than 50 cm (washing machines,
dish washing, cookers, copying equipment, photovoltaic panels, etc.)
5. Small equipment, that is, no external dimension more than 50 cm (vacuum cleaners,
caper sweepers, Hi-fi equipment, musical equipment, etc.)
6. Small information technology and telecommunication equipment (mobile phones,
GPS, project calculators, routers, personal computers, printers, telephones).
ix
x Introduction
WEEE belongs to the fastest growing waste stream in the world, with an increase
from 33.8 million metric tonnes (Mt) in 2010 to 41.8 Mt in 2014 and an expected
amount of about 50 Mt by 2018 [1]. The main driving forces of such a trend are ex-
plained by
• the increase of the world population (from July 2010 to July 2015, the world pop-
ulation has increased from 6.92 to 7.32 billion, with a possible extrapolation at
10.8 billion by 2100) [4–6],
• the rapid socio-economic development including reinforced urbanization with
facilitated access to modern technologies (in 2014 the WEEE generated per capi-
ta ranged from 0.2 kg/inh. in low-income countries such as Burundi, Democratic
Republic of Congo, etc., up to 28.3 kg/inh. in Norway [1]),
• the change in consumer patterns (eg, in March 2014 there was still nearly twice the
percentage of desktop-only internet users as mobile-only users in USA, while the
number of mobile-only internet users in March 2015 exceeded that of desktop-only
users [7]),
• the rapid technological advancement (most US consumers used to upgrade their
mobile phones after about 2 years [8]).
Various correlations can be plotted between the total amount of WEEE generated
worldwide and parameters representative of the society evolution. As an example, Fig. 1
shows a linear relationship between the WEEE generated in the world per year (in Mt)
Figure 1 WEEE generated annually in the world (Mt) versus total electricity domestic consumption/
year over the period 2010–15 (TWh = Terawatt hour) (Data from [1] and [9]).
Introduction xi
and the world electric energy consumption/year over the period 2010–15, the latter
being in constant increase [9].
From all the aforementioned considerations, it is clear that the world WEEE stream is
expected to significantly increase in the next decades. Considering that the WEEE con-
tains in average about 2.2% (by weight) of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), 4.6% of miner-
al fraction, 9.2% of residues from grinding, 44.7% of ferrous metals, 7.5% of nonferrous
metals, 18.3% of plastics, 12.2% of glass, and 1.3% of other type of materials [10], there
are three main reasons for their processing: environmental concerns (the total WEEE
generated in 2014 is the equivalent of about 5700 Eiffel towers [in weight] and contains
hazardous chemicals), energy savings, and resource efficiency via recycling of valuable
materials (the intrinsic material value of global e-waste was estimated to be 48 billion
euro in 2014) [1,11]. Thus, it is of particular importance to organize/optimize the man-
agement of the end-of-life of EEE. For this goal, a circular economy is being progres-
sively developed worldwide to reduce as much as possible the volume of ultimate waste,
to prevent any environmental concern (landfilling is still a common practice in some
countries) and to contribute to material resources recycling (Fig. 2). Basically, a typical
circular economy scheme should include end-of-life EEE/collection (Step 1—Fig. 2),
WEEE treatment and material recycling (Step 2—Fig. 2), resale of recycled materials on
Figure 2 Circular economy scheme. Step 1: WEEE collection; Step 2: WEEE treatment and material
recycling; Step 3: resale of recycled materials on the market; Step 4: manufacturing; Step 5: commer-
cialization of new EEE or other devices.
xii Introduction
the market (Step 3—Fig. 2), manufacturing/eco-conception (Step 4—Fig. 2), and com-
mercialization (Step 5—Fig. 2) of new EEE or other devices.
In reality the circular economy scheme represented in Fig. 2 is theoretical in nature
as the situations are so much contrasted throughout the world. Indeed, official take-back
legislation is organized in a limited number of countries (mostly European countries)
and covers only around 4 billion people (ie, about 57% of the world population) so that
only 6.5 Mt of the 41.8 Mt of WEEE generated in 2014 (ie, 15% in weight) were docu-
mented and recycled with the highest standards [1].
The circular economy scheme represented in Fig. 2 is a worthwhile goal, but even in
the frame of official take-back legislations, its deployment may encounter some difficul-
ties as its various steps (1–5) constitute a value chain whose efficiency should be consid-
ered according to various criteria including societal acceptability, life cycle analysis and
environmental impacts, economic considerations, raw material dependency, etc. These
criteria are sometimes antagonistic. For instance, the recycling of critical raw materials
[12] is obviously preferable, but their resale on the market can be difficult for various
reasons including the price of recycled material compared to market price or the distance
between the location of the recycling plants (eg, Europe) and the place of consumption
(eg, Asia). In terms of materials dependency, Europe has logical interest to recycle critical
materials such as rare elements (RE, Ta, Ga, …), but this is not necessarily the case from
an economic point of view, especially as the market prices are highly fluctuant in time.
This means that the recycling of given materials may be profitable at a certain period
and not at another one, with the same recycling plant and technology. This is illustrated
by the case of rare earths recycling from phosphors which was launched by Solvay in
2011 when the prices of RE were particularly high (136–141 US $/kg of yttrium oxide,
minimum 99.999 purity) and was given up in 2016 after drop in prices (8–9 US $/kg
of yttrium oxide, minimum 99.999 purity) [13]. Several studies focused on the recycling
of photovoltaic panels show that the economic balance is fragile and that economic
incentive may be necessary to reach the objectives targeted by the regulations [14,15].
It should be noticed that the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EC which became effective on
Feb 14, 2014 requests, among others, that the minimum collection rate reaches 45% of the
average weight of EEE placed on the market over the previous 3 years, as soon as 2016,
with the objective of 65% in 2019 (or 85% of the amount of WEEE generated). This
favors the valorization of materials present in large quantities (glass, plastics, main ferrous,
and nonferrous metals (Cu, Al) to the detriment of materials present in small quantities
or even at trace level (eg, LED typically contains 30 µg of indium, gallium, yttrium/unit).
The global efficiency of the chain value is not purely technical in nature. Thus, the
societal aspects are also important. In particular, it is necessary that the consumers con-
tribute voluntarily to the collection of end-of-life EEE (Step 1—Fig. 2) which is not
obvious at all. The case of used cell phones for which return did not exceed 15% in 2015
is emblematic [16]. It is also necessary that the consumers accept recycled materials in
Introduction xiii
new appliances. Today, recycled plastics are easily accepted in car industry, but they are
not yet significantly present in other sectors such as household appliances.
Presently the chain value is not optimal, even if techniques for separation of glass,
main ferrous and nonferrous metals, and plastics are reasonably operational. A pos-
sible driving force for improvement lies in technical advances. A typical example is
the development of sorting techniques for black plastics and/or brominated plastics.
However, in spite of this type of advances, the necessity to dismantle and/or to shred
the WEEE to recover the minor elements by hydrometallurgy or bio-hydrometallurgy
is a serious obstacle. For instance, today the smartphones are treated by pyrometal-
lurgy which leads to the recovery of copper, gold, PGMs, but to the loss of gallium,
indium, tantalum, etc., which concentrate in the slag [17]. Recently, Apple devel-
oped a robot for dismantling iPhone which opens the door to methods of treatment
other than pyrometallurgy, typically hydrometallurgy, to recover minor elements [18].
Hydrogenation of magnets is another example of innovative techniques which may
allow the recovery of rare earths from hard discs without dismantling [19]. Thus, it
can be considered that the recycling of EEE is still in infancy and that the search of
sustainability should integrate societal, cultural, economic, life cycle analysis, environ-
mental, and technical perspectives.
The objective of the present book is to give an overview on these various subjects. In
Chapter 1, different strategies implemented in Europe to manage spent materials from
WEEE are introduced. In particular, the organization and the role of take-back systems
in Europe are presented. The management of WEEE (and more generally of spent ma-
terials) must rely on a fine knowledge of flows and stocks of metals in the economy.
Chapter 2 explains how a dynamic representation of flows and stocks of metals in the
economy can contribute significantly to perform a rigorous and outstanding WEEE
management. It is obvious that performant recycling cannot be implemented without
developing innovative, efficient, and cheap processes. These processes rely on the physical
separation technologies presented in Chapters 3 and 4 for metal and plastic separations
as well as pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes introduced in Chapters 5
and 6, respectively. This book gives a thorough and critical review of these processes as
well as the different technologies implemented or that could be implemented at the in-
dustrial scale. Last but not least, the last chapter introduces the concept of Life Cycle As-
sessment and gives a review about the different environmental analyses published in the
literature in order to highlight the need to take into account the environmental impact
besides the technological and economical approaches in the value chain.
REFERENCES
[1] Baldé CP, Wang F, Kuehr R, Huisman J. The Global E-waste Monitor 2014 Quantities, flows and re-
sources. United Nations University, IAS–SCYCLE, Bonn, Germany; 2015. Available from: https://i.
unu.edu/media/unu.edu/news/52624/UNU-1stGlobal-E-Waste-Monitor-2014-small.pdf
xiv Introduction
[2] Sahadat Hossain Md, Sulala MZF, Al-Hamadani, Toufiqur Rahman Md E-waste. A challenge for sus-
tainable development. J Health Pollut 2015;5(9):3–11.
[3] Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste elec-
trical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Official Journal of the European Union, July 24, 2012.
[4] Worldmeters population. Available from: http://www.worldometers.info/fr/population-mondiale/
[5] The world at six billion. United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Di-
vision. Washington, D.C., United Nations Secretariat; 1999. Available from: http://www.un.org/esa/
population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm
[6] Croissance de la population mondiale. Available from: http://www.statistiques-mondiales.com/crois-
sance_population.htm
[7] Lella A. Number of mobile-only Internet users now exceeds desktop-only in the U.S. Available
from: http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/Number-of-Mobile-Only-Internet-Users-Now-
Exceeds-Desktop-Only-in-the-U.S
[8] Entner R. 2014 US Mobile Phone sales fall by 15% and handset replacement cycle lengthens to his-
toric high. Available from: http://reconanalytics.com/2015/02/2014-us-mobile-phone-sales-fall-by-
15-and-handset-replacement-cycle-lengthens-to-historic-high/
[9] Enerdata. Global Energy Statistical Yearbook 2015. Available from: https://yearbook.enerdata.net/
electricity-domestic-consumption-data-by-region.html
[10] ADEME. Electric and Electronic Equipment—Annual Report. Available from: http://www.ademe.fr/
sites/default/files/assets/documents/equipements-electriques-electroniques-2013-rapport-annuel.pdf
[11] Khaliq A, Akbar Rhamdhani M, Brooks G, Masood S. Metal extraction processes for electronic waste
and existing industrial routes: a review and Australian perspective. Resources 2014;3:152–79.
[12] European Commission. Critical Raw Materials. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/
raw-materials/specific-interest/critical/index_en.htm
[13] Yttrium, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2016.
[14] McDonald NC, Pearce JM. Producer responsibility and recycling solar photovoltaic modules. Energ
Policy 2010;38:7041–7.
[15] Redlinger M, Eggert R, Woodhouse M. Evaluating the availability of gallium, indium, and tellurium
from recycled photovoltaic modules. Sol. Energ Mat Sol C 2015;138:58–71.
[16] Tanskanen P. Electronics waste: recycling of mobile phones, 2016. Available from: http://cdn.intecho-
pen.com/pdfs/37110.pdf
[17] Buchert M, Manhart A, Bleher D, Pingel D. Recycling critical raw materials from waste electronic equip-
ment. Oeko-Institut e.V. Darmstadt; 2012. Available from: http://www.oeko.de/oekodoc/1375/2012-
010-en.pdf.
[18] Cooke L. Apple just unveiled a blazing fast iPhone recycling robot. Available from: http://inhabitat.
com/apple-unveils-iphone-recycling-robot-and-launches-major-apple-renew-initiative/
[19] Walton A, Yi H, Rowson NA, Speight JD, Mann VSJ, Sheridan RS, Bradshaw A, Harris IR, Williams AJ.
The use of hydrogen to separate and recycle neodymium–iron–boron-type magnets from electronic
waste. J Clean Prod 2015;104:236–41.