Innovative process for material separation of printed circuit boards (PCB) with laser technology

Abstract

In the last years, the worldwide amount of electronic waste has increased, according to a report of the United Nations University. Our society urgently needs new solutions for the recycling of electronic waste, which is often not recycled in an environmentally friendly way. However, the electronic waste contains a large quantity of noble metals. They are excellent for reuse and can be melted and reshaped several times. For this purpose, they must be separated into their components before recycling. The laser technology has a great potential for an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and at the same time material-appropriate separation of the individual materials from different hybrid components. The possibility of using a laser to mechanically and physically separate the individual layers of a printed circuit board was studied for this paper. The first tests have shown that it is possible to separate the individual PCB materials to facilitate optimal reuse of them.