Urban mining: A brief review on prospecting technologies

Abstract

Maintaining the human lifestyle has proved unsustainable The production of consumer goods to meet the demands of contemporary society requires exploitation of natural resources, often nonrenewable (gas, oil, for example). Electronic devices, which normally present short lifespans and whose demand only tends to grow, are the main reason why those raw materials are exploited, by means of different technologies and used for different purposes: production of wires, cables, micro-integrated circuits, smartphone casings, laptops etc. The speed at which products become obsolete further aggravates problems regarding the environment, which becomes the destination of wastes that are generated and inadequately disposed in most cases. In this sense, urban prospecting techniques can serve as a means of attenuating the negative impact that anthropic products cause to the environment. The present research aims to address some activities that are already used and based on the concept of urban mining, where the waste generated by the cities becomes an important sources for recovery of components and / or elements of high economic value added (EVA), to be reintroduced in the productive chain.

Mechanical Property Assessment of Interlocking Plastic Pavers Manufactured from Electronic Industry Waste in Brazil

“…The speed with which products become obsolete further aggravates problems with the environment, which becomes the destination of waste generated and disposed of improperly in most cases. In this sense, urban prospecting techniques can serve to mitigate the negative impact that anthropic products cause on the environment [4].…”

Urban Mining in Developing Countries: An Ally to Circular Economy

“…Like the original idea of mining, which involves extracting ores for refining and obtaining high value elements, urban mining requires prospecting and concentration in stages. In this sense, not just any man-made materials can be prospected, but only those in which there is technical and environmental feasibility to do so with a financial return [22,23] and with lower waste generation than that of previously used processes. Plastics recovery, through chemical recycling (where monomers are obtained from polymeric artifacts), requires both proper logistics and knowledge about the inventory of available landfills.…”