these two phenomena and it is now understood that EEE are both part of the environmental cure and the environmental disease: while the increasing production and disposal of EEE have harmful consequences to the planet, [1] the use of EEE can assist in saving energy and natural resources. The research concerning ecofriendly electronics increased greatly in recent decades due to environmental legislations becoming increasingly rigorous and because of the increase in eco-friendly sought devices, which required business models to adapt in order to participate in this new market share. The concepts of eco-friendly electronics or green electronics comprehends several dimensions of this electronic-environment relationship and has been used loosely for a myriad of initiatives. Hu and Ismail [2] explain that the concept may be used to refer to the i) manufacturing process, through the employment of environmentally friendly processes and the avoidance of hazardous components or chemicals; ii) waste generation (avoidance), via reducing the e-waste impacts through the use of cleaner materials, longer product life, introducing programs to raise awareness and promote reuse/recycling; iii) use of sustainable practice (green computing), through the responsible use of computer resources, for example, by powering down and up devices according to need, reducing energy consumption during inactivity; iv) design, through the development of more efficient components that required less energy to perform, reduce carbon emissions, produce less heat, etc. Yet eco-friendly electronics can also refer to electronics whose purpose is to assist the environment or that do so as a consequence of its main function. Both these groups may be understood as an overlap between the aforementioned categories, and are equipment that optimize energy usage, minimize carbon footprint, detect pollutant concentration, monitor oil spillage, generate renewable energy, etc. There are many and diverse examples of these, such as power electronics, smart grids, and photovoltaic systems. [3] This review is intended to discuss these interactions, define important concepts, and provide an extensive list of ways in which EEE can be eco-friendly, primarily focusing on information and communication technology (ICT) devices, but also addressing items that fall outside of this category such as washing machines and lighting equipment. Initially, the use of electronics in aiding with energy and pollution related Eco-friendliness is becoming an indispensable feature for electrical and electronic equipment to thrive in the competitive market. This comprehensive review is the first to define eco-friendly electronics in its multiple meanings: power saving devices, end-of-life impact attenuators, equipment whose manufacturing uses green processing, electronics that use materials that minimize environmental and health risks, designs that improve lifespan, reparability, etc. More specifically, this review discusses eco-friendly technologies and materials that are being introduced to ...

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Besides neodymium, the chemical composition of Neodymium–Iron–Boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets possibly contains other rare earth elements (REEs) such as praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Among its applications, NdFeB magnets are essential for Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) in computers for data storage, in Mobile Phones (MPs), and in acoustic transducers. Because REEs were classified as critical raw materials by the European Union and the USA, the recycling of them has become an important strategy to diminish supply risk. Therefore, in this publication, the authors have uncovered the recycling potential estimate (RPE) of these four REEs from both end-of-life (EoL) secondary sources. The results were based on the time-step method, using in-use stock and sales data from Brazil over the last decade (2010–2019). Moreover, the NdFeB magnets were characterized by content and weight to a more accurate RPE. The EoL generation over the decade studied showed different scenarios for MPs and HDDs, mainly due to lifespan, social behavior regarding storage and usage, and resources. Under those circumstances, the RPE revealed 211.30 t of REEs that could return as raw materials in the last decade, of which approximately 80% is neodymium. Unfortunately, recycling rates are still too low, even more so in Brazil, which is problematic for the future REE supply chain and electronic waste figures.

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