Study on particle characteristics and metal distribution of waste printed circuit boards based on a shear crusher

Abstract

The crushing process plays an important role in the separation and purification process of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs). In this work, the fine crushing of waste PCBs was conducted to investigate particle characteristics and metal distribution using a shear crusher. The results demonstrated that a better crushing was obtained with the feed concentration of 183 g/L and crushing time of 60 s. Meanwhile, the coarse and fine particles presented the characteristics of higher circularity and smaller aspect ratio than medium-size particles for waste PCBs. Main metal elements such as Cu, Al, Zn and Fe were distributed in waste PCBs with various particle sizes, and these total metal content in the coarse crushed products was obviously higher than that in the fine crushed products. Overall, waste PCBs can be effectively crushed to a desirable product for subsequent separation and purification process using a shear crusher. • The fine crushing of waste PCBs was conducted using a shear crusher. • Particle shape characteristics and metal distribution were observed. • Coarse and fine PCB particles had the higher circularity and smaller aspect ratio. • Selective crushing of waste PCBs was confirmed under a higher shear crushing.