Electronic Waste: Characterization of the Glass of Cathode Ray Tube Computer for Making Decorative Pieces by Recycling

Abstract

The vigorous industrialization of the modern world and the incorporation of new consumption habits of society made appears electronic waste. This work had as objective to collect and characterize vitreous residues originating from Cathode Ray Tubes or, popularly, "image tubes", identified for the acronym CRT, which integrate computers monitors that will be recycled in the production of handicrafts. For its characterization were used techniques: X-Ray Fluorescence, Granulometric Analysis, X-Ray Diffraction. After analyses it was observed that glasses of the screen and of the funnel presented different chemical compositions, being silicium oxide (SiO2) the component of larger percentage in these glasses, 59.89% and 48.63%, for screen and funnel, respectively. Funnel presented 29.47% of lead oxide (PbO) while this oxide is absent in the screen. Screen presents significant amounts of barium oxide (10.75%) and strontium oxide (7.71%). Vitreous samples X-ray diffractions of residues of the funnel and the screen are to each other similar, presenting an amorphous band that indicates silica presence, with absence of crystalline phases. Through the presented results can be concluded that computer monitors CRTs has potential for be recycled, because present great amounts of SiO2, oxide that forms the vitreous net.