Abstract
Unprecedented advances and innovation in technology and short lifespans of electronic devices have resulted in the generation of a considerable amount of electronic waste (e-waste). Polymeric components present in electronic waste contain a wide range of organic materials encompassing a significant portion of carbon (C). This source of carbon can be employed as a reducing agent in the reduction of oxides from another waste stream, i.e., steelmaking slag, which contains ≈20 wt%–40 wt% iron oxide. This waste slag is produced on a very large scale by the steel industry due to the nature of the process. In this research, the polymeric residue leftover from waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) after a physical-chemical recycling process was used as the source of carbon in the reduction of iron oxide from electric arc furnace (EAF) slag. Prior to the recycling tests, the polymer content of e-waste was characterized in terms of composition, morphology, thermal behavior, molecular structure, hazardous elements such as Br, the volatile portion, and the fixed carbon content. After the optimization of the ratio between the waste slag (Fe source) and the waste polymer (the carbon source), the microstructure of the recycled alloy showed no Br, Cl, S, or other contamination. Hence, two problematic and complex waste streams were successfully converted to a clean alloy with 4 wt% C, 4% Cr, 2% Si, 1% Mn, and 89% Fe.
Highlights
In the early 21st century, rapid advances in technology and short lifespans of devices, machines, and equipment caused the generation of a large volume of waste in different industries, whether in the well-established steelmaking [1] or in the modern electronics sectors [2]
Since the usual coals are not very promising when it comes to providing a high activity for the reduction of electric arc furnace (EAF) waste slag, the carbon sourced from the polymer content of e-waste may be an alternative reducing agent
The exhaust of the TGA was connected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, PerkinElmer, Frontier, Massachusetts, USA) with continuous wavelength analysis between 4000 and 500 cm−1 to identify the functional groups of any evaporated organic species and to measure the volume of the evolved gas
Summary
In the early 21st century, rapid advances in technology and short lifespans of devices, machines, and equipment caused the generation of a large volume of waste in different industries, whether in the well-established steelmaking [1] or in the modern electronics sectors [2]. Polymeric components from e-waste contain many different organic materials, including phenoxy resins, polyvinyl acetate, and vinyl chloride [5] These are thermoset types of polymers, which have limitations in terms of their applications that are hard to degrade compared to thermoplastics [10]. Since the usual coals are not very promising when it comes to providing a high activity for the reduction of EAF waste slag, the carbon sourced from the polymer content of e-waste may be an alternative reducing agent. This carbon is much more reactive than coal carbon and the final surface area of the carbon is much higher, which enhances the rate of the reaction [17]. The major environmental hazards of the e-waste material were investigated
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