Waste Electrical And Electronic Equipment Generation Research Articles

WEEE recycling in Zhejiang Province, China: generation, treatment, and public awareness

A recent challenge faced by China is to cope with the huge amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) being generated all over the country. With increased pressure of environmental protection and resource conservation, laws and regulations based on extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles have been enacted by the government to promote and support for developing formal WEEE recycling enterprises. While the WEEE management system is an extensive reverse logistics system involving consumers, collectors, dismantlers, recyclers, and even EEE producers and remanufacturers, any problem in every entity may hinder the effective operation of the whole system.This paper aims to demonstrate current status of WEEE treatment and to give suggestions for improving WEEE reutilization in China, as well as provide references for countries with similar experiences as China in WEEE recycling. The actual WEEE generation, collection and recycling situation along with public awareness on WEEE treatment are investigated in Zhejiang Province, China. The survey results show that although there is consensus in the hazards of WEEE among residents, a few of them can distinguish between formal (legal) channels and informal (illegal) ones to deal with WEEE and a considerable part of populations even choose informal collection channels. Furthermore, we present a model of WEEE reverse logistics system including private trader, second-hand store, retailer adopting “Old for New” activity, classified recovery station, informal recycling enterprise, formal recycling enterprise, etc., to observe practical operation of all the entities and their inter-relations in detail. We summarize some recommendations for the government, enterprises and consumers to promote WEEE treatment more efficiently in China.

Out with the old, out with the new – The effect of transitions in TVs and monitors technology on consumption and WEEE generation in Sweden 1996–2014

The recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is important due to its content of valuable and hazardous compounds. This study investigates the case of the recent technology change within television sets (TVs) and monitors, its impact on the generation of WEEE, and the implications for the recycling industry. In particular, material flow analysis for the time series of 1996–2014 for TVs and monitors by type of technology (CRT, Plasma and LCD) in physical units is combined with empirical data on product lifespans. The number of consumed TVs and monitors has grown exponentially. As a result, despite a 3-fold reduction in the weight of the products, the weight of the corresponding WEEE is also growing exponentially. Out with the old, out with the new – a peak in WEEE from both CRT and flat-screen displays is expected during 2014–2020, due to the simultaneous obsolesce of the last wave of CRT products and the short-lived flat-screen products that substituted the CRTs. The lifespans of LCD and LED TVs were found to be three times shorter than of the CRT TVs, with many TVs discarded while still functional. This is the consequence of two events – replacement of the CRT TVs in combination with lifestyle purchases of TVs, i.e. the premature replacement of flat-screen displays with new sets with extra-large screens and/or new features. The throughput of TVs and monitors consumed has been estimated annually from 2014 until 2040, by quantity and type of device, as well as by component and material type. The annual economic value of the corresponding secondary materials, by material type, has also been estimated. The point in time when the final disposal of CRT products is likely to take place has been identified and should be noted by the recycling industry. Among the important contributions of this study to the accounting and predicting of amounts and types of WEEE are the lifespan distributions, size and weight distributions, and material composition for TVs and monitors of different technology. Directions for method application in other countries are given.

Printed circuit board recycling: Physical processing and copper extraction by selective leaching

Global generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is about 40 million tons per year. Constant increase in WEEE generation added to international legislations has improved the development of processes for materials recovery and sustainability of electrical and electronic industry. This paper describes a new hydrometallurgical route (leaching process) to recycle printed circuit boards (PCBs) from printers to recover copper. Methodology included PCBs characterization and a combined route of physical and hydrometallurgical processing. Magnetic separation, acid digestion and chemical analysis by ICP-OES were performed. On leaching process were used two stages: the first one in a sulfuric media and the second in an oxidant media. The results showed that the PCBs composition was 74.6wt.% of non-magnetic material and 25.4wt.% of magnetic one. The metallic fraction corresponded to 44.0wt.%, the polymeric to 28.5wt.% and the ceramic to 27.5wt.%. The main metal was copper and its initial content was 32.5wt.%. On sulfuric leaching 90wt.% of Al, 40wt.% of Zn and 8.6wt.% of Sn were extracted, whereas on oxidant leaching tests the extraction percentage of Cu was 100wt.%, of Zn 60wt.% and of Al 10wt.%. At the end of the hydrometallurgical processing was obtained 100% of copper extraction and the recovery factor was 98.46%, which corresponds to a 32kg of Cu in 100kg of PCB.

An in-depth literature review of the waste electrical and electronic equipment context: trends and evolution.

The consumption of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is continuously increasing worldwide and, consequently, so is the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) it generates at its end-of-life. In parallel to this growth, legislation related to this issue has been passed in different countries with the aim of improving the management of WEEE. In order to raise awareness about the situation in which the generation, composition, management or final treatment of this kind of waste currently finds itself, an extensive number of articles have been published around the world. The aim of this paper is to define and analyse the main areas of research on WEEE by offering a broader analysis of the relevant literature in this field published between 1992 and August 2014. The literature researched comprises 307 articles, which are analysed according to the topic they focus on (WEEE management, WEEE generation, WEEE characterisation, social aspects of WEEE, re-use of EEE or economic aspects of WEEE). In addition, a deeper analysis is also presented, which takes into account the temporal evolution (globally and by topic), location of the study, categories and subcategories analysed, etc.

The environmental impact of technology innovation on WEEE management by Multi-Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) technology innovation is strongly related to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management strategies. It does not only effect the amount and speed of WEEE generation through products replacement, but it also exerts overall long-term impacts on the environmental performance of EEE system. Therefore, those impacts should be evaluated quantitatively. A concept framework is developed and applied in the case study of display product technology innovation, and a Multi-Life Cycle Assessment method is proposed to evaluate the environmental impacts of technology innovation on multi-generation systems. The study concludes that constant EEE technology innovation along with frequent product replacement may lead to acute fluctuations of WEEE generation and significant multi-generation products system environmental impacts. Hence, the product-oriented environmental policies, including waste management policies, should take technology innovation into consideration.

Perspectives of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in Tampico, Mexico

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has brought negative effects to the environment produced by the materials that compose them. The proper implementation of management plans of WEEE should integrate measures to prevent, mitigate and correct these affectations. As an initial step, it is necessary to make a diagnosis of the current situation of WEEE management which is the objective of this work. The studied zone was composed by the municipalities of Tampico, Ciudad Madero and Altamira located in southeast Tamaulipas, Mexico. The descriptive analysis of technical and regulatory aspects of the current management system in the study area was developed, including generation rates and analysis of waste streams. Among the main results, the generation of WEEE was estimated in 2040.38 tons/year for 2013, distributed in the municipalities of Tampico with 830.93 tons/year, Altamira with 650.18 tons/year, and Ciudad Madero with 559.27 tons/year. This calculation was estimated using Mexico’s WEEE generation indicators. The analysis of waste streams includes five categories of WEEE, Televisions with 61% of the total generation, followed by sound devices with 18%, personal computers with 17%; mobile phones with 2% as well as fixed phones with 1%. In the study area, reports of Tampico’s municipality indicated that 96 tons of WEEE was collected in the city of Tampico in 2013. In Mexico, the national legislation considers WEEE in the category of waste requiring special handling (WRSH), however, it exists an inadequacy in the environmental laws about the specific classification of this kind of debris that makes their effective management more difficult. No companies who provide a management or treatment operations for WEEE are reported in Tampico, or in the near region. In addition, despite an initial interest for the municipality to attend the WEEE problematic, it exists a lack of sensibility of the population in the absence of environmental education programs.

Estimating the amount of WEEE generated in South Korea by using the population balance model

We estimated the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated in South Korea by using the population balance model (PBM) based on a lifespan distribution analysis. This is the first study to apply PBM to estimate WEEE generation in South Korea. The lifespan distribution analysis of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) was based on the results of a questionnaire survey of 1000 households, which were analyzed with the Weibull distribution. As a result, we could estimate the domestic service lifespan and lifespan distribution shape parameter for eight selected products. Using the lifespan distribution analysis and other data, such as the shipment volume and the number of products owned by households, we estimated the amount of WEEE generated for the eight selected items from 2000 to 2020. We found that 1.2million air conditioners, 2.5million televisions, 1.3million microwave ovens, 1.2million kimchi refrigerators, 17.0million mobile phones, 1.7million refrigerators, 2.0million vacuum cleaners, and 1.4million washing machines were generated as WEEE in 2010. We also compared our WEEE estimates with the number of items collected through the official WEEE recycling program from 2003 to 2009 and found that in 2009 washing machines had the highest collection rate (28%) and air conditioners had the lowest rate (7%).

WEEE Management in Chongqing, China: Status and Strategies

This paper presents an examination of the current possession of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and predicted amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Chongqing. The results indicate that: the total EEE possession amount has reached a total of 287.73 million units in 2009; and the overall evaluated generation of WEEE from 2011 to 2015 would reach 13.53 million units, of which 19% are personal computers, 24% air conditioners, 7% refrigerators, 38% color TVs, and 12% washing machines, respectively. The recycling capacity is also investigated, evincing that about 952,000 waste units were recycled in 2009. There are three officially approved corporations for dismantling WEEE in 2010, with the dismantling capacity of 1,600,000 units per year. Moreover, several disposal facilities have been under construction and expect to be accomplished in 2015. This paper also proposes a number of recommendations aiming to improve the WEEE management system. For better management, it is necessary to arouse the public recognition of the need for formal processing of WEEE as well as to implement EPR approach, license system, and deposit-refund system.

A model for estimation of potential generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Brazil

Sales of electrical and electronic equipment are increasing dramatically in developing countries. Usually, there are no reliable data about quantities of the waste generated. A new law for solid waste management was enacted in Brazil in 2010, and the infrastructure to treat this waste must be planned, considering the volumes of the different types of electrical and electronic equipment generated. This paper reviews the literature regarding estimation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), focusing on developing countries, particularly in Latin America. It briefly describes the current WEEE system in Brazil and presents an updated estimate of generation of WEEE. Considering the limited available data in Brazil, a model for WEEE generation estimation is proposed in which different methods are used for mature and non-mature market products. The results showed that the most important variable is the equipment lifetime, which requires a thorough understanding of consumer behavior to estimate. Since Brazil is a rapidly expanding market, the “boom” in waste generation is still to come. In the near future, better data will provide more reliable estimation of waste generation and a clearer interpretation of the lifetime variable throughout the years.

WEEE flow and mitigating measures in China

The research presented in this paper shows that Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) issues associated with home appliances, such as TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and personal computers, are linked in the WEEE flow and recycling systems and are important to matters of public policy and regulation. In this paper, the sources and generation of WEEE in China are identified, and WEEE volumes are calculated. The results show that recycling capacity must increase if the rising quantity of domestic WEEE is to be handled properly. Simultaneously, suitable WEEE treatment will generate large volumes of secondary resources. Environmental problems caused by the existing recycling processes have been investigated in a case study. Problems mainly stem from open burning of plastic-metal parts and from precious metals leaching techniques that utilize acids. The existing WEEE flow at the national level was investigated and described. It became obvious that a considerable amount of obsolete items are stored in homes and offices and have not yet entered the recycling system. The reuse of used appliances has become a high priority for WEEE collectors and dealers because reuse generates higher economic profits than simple material recovery. The results of a cost analysis of WEEE flow shows that management and collection costs significantly influence current WEEE management. Heated discussions are ongoing in political and administrative bodies as to whether extended producer responsibilities policies are promoting WEEE recycling and management. This paper also discusses future challenges and strategies for WEEE management in China.