Large-Scale WEEE Recycling Integrated in an Ore-Based Cu-Extraction System

Lennartsson, Andreas; Engström, Fredrik; Samuelsson, Caisa; Björkman, Bo; Pettersson, J.

doi:10.1007/s40831-018-0157-5

Cited by 29 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…By comparing the three diagrams, the changing scale of both axes has to be respected. Basically, the course of the curves resembles the results from our previous work where printed circuit boards were pyrolyzed (Diaz et al [2]). At 300 • C, little gas formation could be measured, at which no detection of HCl and HBr happened.…”

Section: Off-gas Analysissupporting

confidence: 67%

“…However, the chance of an easy recovery of precious metals is hindered by the high diversity of additional materials and elements, which leads to an increased input of impurities into the copper phase and requires an extensive slag design during the smelting process. Simultaneously, less noble trace metals, such as indium, tantalum and gallium, are lost in the slag and cannot be recovered [1,2]. From the environmental point of view, the processing of WEEE in copper smelters makes high demands of the off-gas treatment because the combustion of adhering plastics releases harmful substances such as dioxins and halides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermochemical Modelling and Experimental Validation of In Situ Indium Volatilization by Released Halides during Pyrolysis of Smartphone Displays

Flerus

Swiontek

Bokelmann

et al. 2018

Metals

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The present study focuses on the pyrolysis of discarded smartphone displays in order to investigate if a halogenation and volatilization of indium is possible without a supplementary halogenation agent. After the conduction of several pyrolysis experiments it was found that the indium evaporation is highly temperature-dependent. At temperatures of 750 • C or higher the indium concentration in the pyrolysis residue was pushed below the detection limit of 20 ppm, which proved that a complete indium volatilization by using only the halides originating from the plastic fraction of the displays is possible. A continuous analysis of the pyrolysis gas via FTIR showed that the amounts of HBr, HCl and CO increase strongly at elevated temperatures. The subsequent thermodynamic consideration by means of FactSage confirmed the synergetic effect of CO on the halogenation of indium oxide. Furthermore, HBr is predicted to be a stronger halogenation agent compared to HCl.

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Section: Off-gas Analysissupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermochemical Modelling and Experimental Validation of In Situ Indium Volatilization by Released Halides during Pyrolysis of Smartphone Displays

Flerus

Swiontek

Bokelmann

et al. 2018

Metals

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“…[1,2] The current higher demand for precious metals and the depletion of natural resources result in an urgent need to recover precious metals from more complicated secondary materials, especially from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), [3] in which concentrations of precious metals are significantly higher than those of natural ores. [4,5] The most typical industrial methods for WEEE reprocessing are primary and secondary copper smelting, [6][7][8][9] followed by hydrometallurgical and electrochemical techniques. During the pyrometallurgical copper smelting processes, precious metals distribute principally between metal/matte/slag/gas phases, [10,11] and thus achieving partial recovery and purity of precious metals in the main product streams of matte and metal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[4,5] The most typical industrial methods for WEEE reprocessing are primary and secondary copper smelting, [6][7][8][9] followed by hydrometallurgical and electrochemical techniques. During the pyrometallurgical copper smelting processes, precious metals distribute principally between metal/matte/slag/gas phases, [10,11] and thus achieving partial recovery and purity of precious metals in the main product streams of matte and metal. [12] In order to maximize the recoveries of precious metals to the metal/matte phase, it is essential to investigate the distribution mechanism of the precious metals in the metal/matte-slag system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precious Metal Distributions Between Copper Matte and Slag at High $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ in WEEE Reprocessing

Chen

Avarmaa

Klemettinen

et al. 2021

Metall Mater Trans B

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The distributions of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium) between copper matte and silica-saturated FeOx-SiO2/FeOx-SiO2-Al2O3/FeOx-SiO2-Al2O3-CaO slags were investigated at 1300 °C and $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ P SO 2 = 0.5 atm. The experiments were carried out in silica crucibles under flowing CO-CO2-SO2-Ar gas atmosphere. The concentrations of precious metals in matte and slag were analyzed by Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis and Laser Ablation-High-Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry, respectively. The precious metal concentrations in matte and slag, as well as the distribution coefficients of precious metals between matte and slag, were displayed as a function of matte grade. The present results obtained at $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ P SO 2 of 0.5 atm were compared with previous results at $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ P SO 2 of 0.1 atm for revealing the effects of $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ P SO 2 and selected slag modifiers (CaO and Al2O3) on precious metal distributions at copper matte smelting conditions. The present results also contribute experimental thermodynamic data of precious metal distributions in pyrometallurgical reprocessing of electronic waste via copper smelting processes.

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“…WPCBs' high PM content has incensed commercial smelter operators toward developing existing processes for accepting WEEE and WPCB. Their use has already been implemented in several integrated processes around the world, such as the Umicore Hoboken plant in Belgium [7] or the Boliden plant in Sweden [8]. In Japan and Korea, the Mitsubishi smelting process has been developed for adapting WEEE as a secondary material source [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior of Waste Printed Circuit Board (WPCB) Materials in the Copper Matte Smelting Process

Wan

Fellman

Jokilaakso

et al. 2018

Metals

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The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the world has grown rapidly during recent decades, and with the depletion of primary ores, there is urgent need for industries to study new sources for metals. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCB) are a part of WEEE, which have a higher concentration of copper and precious metals when compared to primary ore sources. PCB materials can be processed using pyrometallurgical routes, and some industrial processes, such as copper flash smelting, have utilized this type of waste in limited amounts for years. For the purpose of recycling these materials through smelting processes, this work studied the behavior of WPCB scrap when dropped on top of molten slag. A series of experiments was carried out during this research at a temperature of 1350 °C, in an inert atmosphere with different melting times. The time required for complete melting of the PCB pieces was 2–5 min, after which molten alloy droplets containing Cu, Pb, Sn, Ni, Au, and Ag formed and started descending toward the bottom of the crucible. The ceramic fraction of the PCB material mixed with slag and the polymer fraction was pyrolyzed during the high-temperature experiments. The results give an understanding of PCB melting behavior and their use as a part of the smelting furnace feed mixture. However, more research is needed to fully understand how the different elements affect the process as the amount of PCB in the feed increases. The physical behavior and distribution of PCB materials in fayalite slag during the smelting process are outlined, and the results of this work form a basis for future studies about the chemical reaction behavior and kinetics when PCB materials are introduced into the copper smelting process.

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Large-Scale WEEE Recycling Integrated in an Ore-Based Cu-Extraction System

Cited by 29 publications

References 8 publications

Thermochemical Modelling and Experimental Validation of In Situ Indium Volatilization by Released Halides during Pyrolysis of Smartphone Displays

Thermochemical Modelling and Experimental Validation of In Situ Indium Volatilization by Released Halides during Pyrolysis of Smartphone Displays

Precious Metal Distributions Between Copper Matte and Slag at High $$ P_{{{\text{SO}}_{ 2} }} $$ in WEEE Reprocessing

Behavior of Waste Printed Circuit Board (WPCB) Materials in the Copper Matte Smelting Process

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