Amount Of Electronic Waste Research Articles

A Conceptual Reactor Design Based on Combination of Pressure Leaching - Electrochemical Deposition Techniques for Study of Gold Recovery from e-Waste

In Malaysia, the amount of electronic waste (e-waste) generated in 2008 was stated to be around 688,000 metric tonnes and was forecasted to increase to 1.11 million metric tonnes in the year 2020 [1]. Typical e-waste contains some elements of precious metal, which is mainly generated from the result of the revolution of computer technology. Currently, the most common technique being practiced to recover gold from e-waste is through cyanide leaching system and subsequent gold recovery techniques which may include electrodeposition. However, due to toxicity of the harmful cyanide, a non-cyanide extraction route is now becoming a necessity to minimize safety and environmental issues. In order to maximize the efficiency and safety of gold recovery from e-waste, a non-cyanide route using a reactor based on electrodeposition technique has been proposed. This paper explains the conceptual reactor design which combines the pressure leaching process of gold from e-waste and the gold recovery using electrodeposition via a non-cyanide route as a safer and environmental friendly process in recovering gold from e-waste.

The Design of Smart Home Monitoring System Based on WiFi Electronic Trash

Along with the rapid development of electronic products, there is amount of electronic waste, such as hundreds of millions of mobile phones and junk personal computers, which is not only a waste, but also a tremendous damage to the environment. The article presents a technique of reusing the electronic waste for the smart home monitoring system. It also describes how to set up the prototype of the system. Compared with the present normal household monitoring system, the technique will save lots of expenditure. And it can effectively reduce the cost in protecting the environment. Especially it can promote the smart home into ordinary homes better as well as faster.

Sustainable transition of electronic products through waste policy

The European Union's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive makes a challenging case for transition theory and its different aspects, as it represents an ongoing and still open-ended case. At present the objectives of the directive are not met: the amount of electronic waste is increasing, and the resulting waste is poorly managed. With its starting point in the multi-level perspective of transition theory, this case study analyzes how the outcome of the WEEE directive is constituted in the interplay between the somewhat detached regimes of electronics and waste management. The two regimes are described and analyzed together with the underlying regulatory principle of extended producer responsibility, which has guided the design of the directive. Conflicting interpretations of sustainability, in combination with a simplistic understanding and agency introduced from the top-down, has eliminated waste minimization as the main outcome of the directive. The concluding discussions raise the issues of the role of sustainable niche initiatives in electronics compared to multi-regime interaction. Guiding visions may need to be supplemented with other alignment devices in order to support co-evolution of regimes and coherent actions within transition processes.

Fracture properties of concrete with waste compact disc shred

A large amount of electronic waste like computer compact discs (CDs) is being generated every year and their disposal has become a major environmental concern that needs to be addressed wisely. Therefore now, the addition of recycled materials into concrete is increasingly attracting the attention of civil engineers worldwide. However, adding computer compact disc (CD) shreds into concrete has not been examined. In this research, the fracture behaviour of concrete containing waste CD shreds was investigated using the three point bending notched beam test, according to RILEM recommendations. The main parameters studied include CD the content and size of shreds. The study indicates that the fracture energy and modified characteristic length were found to increase significantly with the increasing proportion and size of CD shreds due to anchoring and bridging effects. In other words, concrete with higher amounts and larger sizes of CD shreds exhibit higher cracking resistance and the brittleness decreases accordingly.

Comparison of Dimmable Electromagnetic and Electronic Ballast Systems—An Assessment on Energy Efficiency and Lifetime

There is a common misconception that energy saving is always equivalent to environmental protection. Compared with electromagnetic ballasts, electronic ballasts have a much shorter lifetime and are not recyclable. This prompts new concerns about their environmental impacts due to the accumulation of a huge amount of toxic and/or nonbiodegradable electronic waste components and materials. In this paper, the combined use of a central dimming system with low-loss electromagnetic ballasts is compared with electronic ballasts. Experimental results have confirmed that the use of a central dimming system for large electromagnetic-ballast-driven lighting systems can be as energy efficient as electronic ballasts. Considering the long lifetime ( 30 years) of electromagnetic ballasts and the recyclability of their magnetic chokes, this paper shows that such combined technology can provide an improved environmentally friendly and energy-saving solution for large-scale electric-lighting systems, particularly for lighting systems in large public areas. Due to the elimination of many electronic ballasts, this proposed technology has the potential of drastically reducing a huge amount of electronic waste. With the positive results obtained in this paper, it is hoped that international regulatory organizations would reconsider their current policies and promote lighting technology that is both environmentally friendly and energy saving.