Separation and Recovery of Copper Foil and Fabric from Waste Printed Circuit Boards by Decomposing Brominated Epoxy Resin Using Near Critical Water

Abstract

Waste printed circuit board (WPCB), a heterogeneous mixture of brominated epoxy resins (BERs), glass fibers and metals, has the challenge to separate and recover valuable materials. In this paper, an effective and benign near critical water (NCW) method was applied to decompose BERs to recover the glass fabric and metals. The effects of parameters including temperature, reaction time, feed ratio, acid-base catalyst, and size of WPCBs on the decomposition ratio of BERs were investigated. The results showed that the decomposition ratio of BERs reached a maximum value of 98.7% under the optimum conditions at 320°C, reaction time of 150 min, feed ratio of 5 mL/g, HCl catalyst, and the size of 5×5 mm 2. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) result showed that the main components of liquid decomposition product were phenol (69.8%) and its derivatives (17.8%). A probable mechanism of the decomposition reaction of BERs was proposed. After NCW treatment, the glass fabric and copper foils in the residue were easily recovered by a simple artificial screening separation. The surface of recovered fabric was very clean and no damages were observed. Meanwhile, the purity of copper foil reached 97.86%. This study provides a green technology to recover valuable materials from WPCBs.

Preparation and application synthesis of magnetic nanocomposite using waste toner for the removal of Cr(vi)

“…14 Also, it has been reported that near-critical water can be used to recycle printed circuit boards for the collection of copper foils and fabrics. 15 The overuse of printing equipment has led to a signicant increase in the number of waste toner cartridges. 16 Powdery waste toner (WT) accounts for 8.0 wt% of a toner cartridge.…”

Effects of polystyrene‐b‐poly(ethylene/propylene)‐b‐polystyrene compatibilizer on the recycled polypropylene and recycled high‐impact polystyrene blends

“…The rapid development of electronic and electrical equipment industry witnessed the increase of wasted electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) plastics, whose annual output around the world reached 40 million tons according to the latest estimates . To some extent, traditional treatment of waste plastics will not only result in the waste of resources but also lead to environmental pollution . Fortunately, majority of WEEE plastics are still functional or slightly defective and thus can be reused for future life cycles .…”

Overview of the Experimental Trends in Water‐Assisted Injection Molding

“…Additionally, the morphological and structural evolutions of WAIM–molded polyolefin parts in the presence of NAs as well as fillers are still unclear. Especially, the mutifunctions are desired to satisfy various applications including sensing, structural materials, energy, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, environmental remediation, etc . Therefore, additional efforts have to be made to further investigate and improve the WAIM technology for producing various nanocomposite parts.…”