Using an integrated decontamination technique to remove VOCs and attenuate health risks from an e-waste dismantling workshop

Abstract

Recycling e-waste is increasingly recognized as an important resource management strategy; however, the process emits different pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sixteen dominant VOCs, with total concentrations ranging from 1.6×103 to 6.7×103μgm−3, were presented during the manual process of dismantling television printed circuit boards using electric heating furnaces. An integrated treatment technique, involving a spray tower (ST), electrostatic precipitation (EP), and photocatalysis (PC), was used to eliminate these VOCs. The highest VOC removal efficiency during the 60-day treatment period was 69.5%. The removal efficiency was mainly due to the combined effect of preferential elimination of hydrosoluble VOCs and efficient interception of large-sized particles by ST; the enhanced capture efficiency of micro-sized particles by EP; and the dominant degradation of particle-free VOCs by PC. The PC treatment was able to remove more hydrocarbons (an average 62.7%) than nitrogen- and oxygen-containing and aromatic compounds (36.4% and 27.3% in average), due to the hydrocarbons’ higher dielectric constants. Risk assessment revealed that the non-cancer and cancer risks associated with VOCs significantly decreased after the integrated technique was applied, indicating that the treatment is an efficient approach for purifying the atmosphere and protecting human health inside e-waste recycling workshops.