New legislation to encourage the recycling of end of life electronics and moves to implement sustainable development in electronics manufacturing have focussed attention on the large quantity of printed circuit boards (PCBs) being consigned to landfill. Also, in a recent investigation conducted on behalf of the UK's Department of Trade and Industry, the need for new methodologies for dealing with end of life circuit boards was identified as a priority issue. Within the UK it is estimated that ∼50,000 tonnes per annum of PCB scrap is currently generated and investigations indicate that only ∼15 per cent is subjected to any form of recycling, with the remainder consigned to landfill. This paper reports the results of a scoping study carried out to identify the technologies and processes that can be used to recycle materials from end of life PCBs.

PurposeThis paper aims to present a review carried out under DEFRA‐funded project WRT208, describing: the composition of WEEE, current treatment technologies, emerging technologies and research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper summarises the output from the first part of the project. It provides information on the composition of WEEE and an extensive survey of technologies relevant to materials recycling from WEEE. A series of further papers will be published from this research project.FindingsWEEE has been identified as one of the fastest growing sources of waste in the EU, and is estimated to be increasing by 16‐28 per cent every five years. Within each sector a complex set of heterogeneous secondary wastes is created. Although treatment requirements are complicated, the sources from any one sector possess many common characteristics. However, there exist huge variations in the nature of electronic wastes between sectors, and treatment regimes appropriate for one cannot be readily transferred to another.Research limitations/implicationsA very large number of treatment technologies are available, both established and emerging, that singly and in combination could address the specific needs of each sector. However, no single set of treatment methods can be applied universally.Originality/valueThis paper is the first part of work leading to the development of technical strategies and methodologies for reprocessing WEEE into primary and secondary products, and where possible the recovery of higher added‐value components and materials.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to detail progress on the European Commission supported FP7 ASPIS project that is undertaking a multi-faceted approach to develop novel and improved nickel-gold (ENIG) solderable finish chemistries and processes in order to overcome issues such as "black pad" that are known to cause reliability issues. Design/methodology/approach -The ASPIS project has four key and discrete approaches; research into "black pad" formation mechanisms, development of new aqueous chemical deposition methods, formulation of new processes based on ionic liquids and the development of prognostic screening tools to enable early prediction of reliability issues. Findings -Key factors influencing "black pad" formation include immersion gold bath pH value, concentration of citrate and thickness of the immersion gold layer. In addition, copper substrate preparation is also important. Work to develop new metal deposition processes using ionic liquids has also been demonstrated and may provide a viable alternative to more conventional aqueous based chemistries, thereby enabling some of the conditions that lead to "black pad" to be avoided. Research limitations/implications -This paper summarises the work carried out in the first year of a three-year project and so the outputs to date are relatively limited. The project is continuing for another two years, when further progress will be made. It is hoped to report this progress in a future update paper. Originality/value -The ASPIS project has undertaken multiple approaches to the development of new high reliability nickel gold finishes and this combination of approaches should offer synergies over more discrete traditional methodologies. As well as undertaking a detailed analysis of the mechanisms causing reliability problems, radical new formulation and prognostic approaches are also being developed.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.