Mobile Phone Printed Circuit Boards Research Articles

Design-of-experiment analysis of non-destructive detachment of electric parts from printed circuit boards of mobile phones using a cross-flow shredder

For minor metal recycling from electric parts, detachment without breakage (non-destructive detachment) of the electric parts from printed circuit boards (PCBs) is required. A cross-flow shredder (CFS), a drum-type chain mill, is often used in PCB recycling, but the effects of its individual features (e.g., chain thickness) on the non-destructive detachment of the PCB parts have yet to be understood. In this study, a CFS suited to the design-of-experiment (DoE) approach was developed; 27 different experimental conditions were evaluated, with three repetitions under each condition for a single PCB crushing, and the effect of nine CFS factors on the non-destructive detachment of parts from the PCBs of mobile phones was investigated. It was revealed that two factors (rotation rate and vent screen) have a statistically significant influence on such non-destructive detachment, and two other factors (chain-wall distance and crushing time) have a significant influence on related results such as the overcrushing of boards (PCBs after parts detachment) and powder generation. Based on these results, a future perspective on CFS improvement is presented.

Bioleaching of copper and nickel from mobile phone printed circuit board using Aspergillus fumigatus A2DS.

The recovery of metals from electronic waste was investigated by using fungal strain Aspergillus fumigatus A2DS, isolated from the mining industry wastewater. Fifty-seven percent of copper and 32% of nickel were leached (analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)) by the organism after one-step leaching at a temperature of 30°C (shaking condition for 7days). Maximum % of copper and nickel were obtained at a pH of 6 (58.7% Cu and 32% Ni), the temperature of 40°C (61.8% Cu and 27.07% Ni), a pulp density of 0.5% (62% Cu and 42.37% Ni), and inoculums of 1% (58% Cu and 32.29% Ni). The XRD pattern of PCB showed 77.6% of copper containing compounds. XRD analysis of the leachate residue showed only 23.2% Euchorite (ASCu2H7O8) and 9.4% other copper containing compounds, indicating the leaching property of the fungus. HPLC analysis of the spent medium showed the presence of different acids like citric, succinic, and fumaric acid. The FTIR spectrum showed a decrease in carboxylic stretching in the leachate produced after bioleaching using spent medium. ICPOES of the leachate obtained using spent medium showed that 61% of the copper and 35% of nickel were leached out after seven days of incubation at shaking condition and 57% of copper and 32.8% of nickel at static condition confirming acidolysis property of the strain. A. fumigatus A2DS metal absorption and adsorption ability were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) respectively. The results thus indicate that bioleaching of Cu and Ni is bioleached by A. fumigatus A2DS.

Hydrometallurgical Recycling Process for Mobile Phone Printed Circuit Boards Using Ozone

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be an important source of non-ferrous metals (Al, Sn, Zn, and Ni) and precious metals (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pd). With the continuous increase in demand for metals due to the depletion of ores, recycling of this waste is becoming an attractive alternative. The printed circuits also contain hazardous metals, such as Pb, Hg, As, and Cd. Due to the huge increase in the amount of e-waste, the processing of printed circuit boards for metal recovery and proper handling of hazardous substances has a positive effect on the environment. Pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods are used for the treatment of this waste. Various oxidizing agents are used in the hydrometallurgical processes, including ozone. PCBs from mobile phones were assessed for the recovery of Cu, Sn, and precious metals. The ground and sieved materials were leached in nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid at various process parameters, such as leaching time, leaching agent, and temperature. It was found that the best result was obtained using hydrochloric acid with the addition of ozone at 353 K for a period of 4 h to obtain 68.45 g/dm3 of copper. Preliminary results of electrolysis and cementation are also presented.

Characterization of end-of-life mobile phone printed circuit boards for its elemental composition and beneficiation analysis

ABSTRACT Globally, waste electrical and electronic equipment is one of the fastest-growing waste sectors. Mobile phones constitute the major portion of the telecommunication e-waste category. Over the years, waste mobile phones were considered as a potential source of secondary metals. This study aims to determine the physical and chemical composition of the discarded mobile phones and to evaluate its recovery potential. The printed circuit boards from the discarded (waste) mobile phones (MPCB) were collected and samples of different sizes 3 × 3 cm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 500 µm, and 150 µm were obtained after milling and sieving. Elemental composition revealed the presence of base metals, Cu, Zn, Fe, Ni, and Pb, in higher quantities with a significant amount of precious metals Au and Ag. Amount of base metals present in different MPCB size fractions was found in the order 3 × 3 cm > 2 mm > 1 mm > 500 µm >150 µm. The amount of precious metals like Ag and Au was found to be higher in large-sized MPCB fractions. FTIR studies declared the presence of polymers like ABS, PC, and HIPs in MPCB samples. TCLP tests for toxic metals revealed that MPCBs contained high concentrations of cadmium, lead, and mercury highlighting their hazardous potential. The ultimate analysis revealed that NMF has a GCV of 12.34 MJ/kg and a volatile content of 42.25%, which can be a potential source of energy that can be recovered through the gasification or pyrolysis process. Overall, the comprehensive characterization of waste MPCBs will systematically provide a better understanding of e-waste recycling processes for beneficiation purpose and sustainable resource utilization. Implications: A comprehensive characterization of waste mobile phone printed circuit boards for its elemental composition was performed. Mechanical treatment steps before MPCBs processing increased the exposure of metals resulting in a higher concentration of metals in acid-digested samples. The elemental analysis of MPCBs revealed that MPCBs possessed significant quantities of base and precious metals. The amount of precious metals like Ag and Au was also found in higher ranges in large-sized MPCB fractions, which elucidated fact to be considered in the pre-treatment process for metal recoveries. The high content of base and precious metals in waste mobile phones displayed their economic potential in the market. This new source may compensate for the escalating global demand for gold and silver. Results from the study indicated that MPCBs can serve as an excellent secondary source for various metals and as an efficient alternative fuel.

Recovery of gold from waste mobile phone circuit boards and synthesis of nanomaterials using emulsion liquid membrane

In recent years, waste mobile phones have become popular as electronic waste due to the huge amount, serious pollution with improper disposal and high resource value. It is imperative to realize the recycling of resources in waste mobile phones. The application of emulsion liquid membrane in the recovery of gold and synthesis of nanomaterials from waste mobile phone printed circuit boards (WMPCBs) was studied. The components of the emulsion liquid membrane, effects of 7 factors on the extraction rate and the morphology of the synthesized nanomaterials were explored. The results show that it is possible to extract 99.79% of Au(III) from WMPCBs leachate with kerosene as diluent, Span80 as surfactant, methyl isobutyl ketone(MIBK) as carrier, ascorbic acid solution as stripping agent and liquid paraffin as membrane stabilizer. The external phase pH and the internal phase concentration had a greater influence on the extraction efficiency of Au(III) among 7 factors. The morphology of the synthesized product was affected by the concentration and type of the surfactant. It provides a new idea to connect recovery from waste with deep processing, extending the waste mobile phone recycling process chain and achieving high-value utilization of waste mobile phone secondary metal resource products.

Recovery of valuable metals from spent mobile phone printed circuit boards using biochar in indirect bioleaching

Improving the bioleaching efficiency of metals from spent mobile phone printed circuit boards (PCBs) in a short time has been of major interest in recent years. In this paper, a novel cheap catalyst (oak wood biochar) was used to improve the copper and nickel bioleaching efficiency from spent mobile phone PCBs. The biochar was derived from oak wood through slow pyrolysis at a low temperature of 500 °C for 1h. The results of RSM optimization indicated that the optimum conditions to maximize copper and nickel recovery were 1.6 g/L biochar and 16 g/L pulp density. The findings indicated that compared to without the presence of biochar, the leach yields of copper and nickel were high. As much as 98% of copper and 82% of nickel were leached by indirect bioleaching under optimum conditions. The better performance in the presence of biochar is due to both galvanic interactions between biochar and solid waste. The biochemical characterization of bioleaching solution suggested that the high concentration of biochar (> 1.6 g/L) led to copper absorption by functional groups on the surface of biochar. Compared to chemical leaching, the bioleaching has better performance. Under optimum conditions, the copper and nickel recovery by indirect bioleaching was 36% and 64% more than that by chemical leaching. Also, it is found that biochar has a positive effect on the chemical leaching process. Therefore, in this paper, the function of biochar was elaborated not only in bio-hydrometallurgy but also in the hydrometallurgy process.

Adsorption of gold from waste mobile phones by biochar and activated carbon in gold iodized solution

The application of laboratory-generated biochar and activated carbon adsorbents in gold iodized solution for the recycling of waste mobile phone printed circuit boards (WMPCBs) is investigated. This research aims to solve problems associated with the existing gold recovery technologies of WMPCBs. Currently, the disposal of WMPCBs is expensive, involves complex processes, and contributes to secondary pollution. In this study, laboratory-generated biochar is produced from corn straw, wheat straw, and wood chips by pyrolysis. The effects of factors on the adsorption efficiency are investigated, and the optimal operating conditions for biochar and activated carbon adsorption are determined. The following optimal parameters were found for activated carbon: temperature = 25 °C, particle size = 40–60 mesh, dosage = 0.05 g/10 mL, pH = 7, reaction time = 2 h, and oscillation frequency = 200 r/min. The adsorption efficiency reached 98.6%. For biochar, optimization involved: raw material from corn straw at a pyrolysis temperature = 700 °C, reaction time = 5 h, oscillation frequency = 200 r/min, pH = 3, dosage = 0.15 g/10 mL, and temperature = 50 °C. An adsorption efficiency of 98% was achieved. The two adsorbents were compared, and results demonstrated that the adsorption properties of the laboratory-generated biochar were slightly inferior to those of the activated carbon; however, they were similar. Biochar adsorption can reuse waste, which may not only solve the current problems related to WMPCB recycling, but can help to achieve a “win-win” situation of increased environmental protection and sustainable utilization of resources.

Evaluating the optimal digestion method and value distribution of precious metals from different waste printed circuit boards

Knowing the metal content of electronic waste is essential to evaluate metal recovery. Lack of a standard method for digestion of precious metals from electronic waste has resulted in difficulty in comparison to the efficiency of recovery. In this study, different precious metal digestion methods and economic value of precious metals from different types of waste printed circuit boards in different fraction sizes, including computer printed circuit boards, mobile phone printed circuit boards, television printed circuit boards, fax machine printed circuit boards, copy machine printed circuit boards, and central processing unit were examined. The optimal digestion method using aqua regia, hydrogen peroxide, hydrofluoric acid, and boric acid was adopted. The precious metal content was analyzed to answer what precious metals and types of printed circuit boards is preference. The results presented the following order of total value of precious metals ( $$\sum {W_{ti} \Pr_{ti} }$$ ): central processing unit > Mobile phone > Copy > Fax > Computer > Television. Among the precious metals, gold and palladium were, respectively, attributed to the highest value distribution. The average values of the precious (gold and palladium) and all of the metals of electronic waste are about 19 and 21 times higher than the average cost of the world’s top ten mines.

Bench scale microbial catalysed leaching of mobile phone PCBs with an increasing pulp density

The study reports the effect of increasing pulp density on the bio-catalyzed leaching of metals from waste mobile phone printed circuit boards. Mixed microbial consortia of iron and sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms were used for batch bioleaching at varying pulp density of 7%, 10% and 15% (w/v). The copper content in the feed material was 26.3% (w/w) and the prime focus was to recover maximum copper along with other minor metals, such as zinc, aluminum, and nickel. All the bioleaching experiments resulted with 98–99% of copper recovery together with reasonable extraction Zn, Al, and Ni. The optimum copper recovery from bioleaching experiments demonstrates the possibility of scaling up with high pulp density, which could be economical as well as eco-friendly.

Bioleaching of waste mobile phone printed circuit board in controlled redox potential compared to non-controlled redox potential

The present study was conducted to carry out bioleaching of waste mobile phone printed circuit board (WMPPCB) in a high redox potential-controlled fed-batch process compared to the low redox potential batch process. Concomitant additions of WMPPCB achieved high redox potential bioleaching of WMPPCB. The pH of the bioleaching slurry was maintained at 1.50 for both high and low redox potential experiment. High redox potential was controlled to allow more Fe-oxidizing activity compared to sulfur oxidation process. The primary element in the WMPPCB was Cu (26.3%) along with Ni, Zn, Al, etc., analyzed by XRF, while XRD revealed the presence of metal sulfide/oxides. Both experiments were carried out in a 2-L stirred tank reactor and regular measurement of pH, redox potential, planktonic viable cell count, Fe2+, Fe3+, Fe (total), SO42−, Cu2+ concentration. The change in pH and controlling with acid addition showed that fed-batch bioleaching consumes 1.35 times lower sulfuric acid per ton WMPPCB than the batch process. Both the batch and fed-batch bioleaching supported first-order reaction and also followed as similar type of intermediate leaching kinetics, which is neither chemically controlled nor diffusion-controlled type. The leaching yield of copper was found to be best (98–97%) in both leach residue and leach liquor analysis. The acid requirement/ton WMPPCB and the bio-residue weight loss state a better fed-batch process. The fed-batch bioleaching was comparatively better than batch process, when compared all bioprocess dynamics parameters and leaching yield of various metals.

Optimal electronic waste combination for maximal recovery of Cu-Ni-Fe by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Abstract E-waste has become one of the greatest sources of environmental pollution. Bioleaching is known as a new, simple, and environmentally friendly technology for metal recovery requiring low energy input, unskilled labor operations, moderate conditions, and low costs. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a famous and puissant mesophilic bacterium applied extensively to recover metals from ores and different industrial and municipal wastes. It is necessary to identify the parameters affecting consumers E-waste recycling. Separating and recovering different types of E-waste is impossible for small recycling units. There should be a specific combination of E-waste, enabling the extraction of the maximum amount of precious metals. The main objective of the present study is finding the optimal combination of the most important printed circuit boards (PCBs) to maximize recovery of Cu, Ni, and Fe (as the most gold inhibitor metals) using adapted A. ferooxidans. The polymers and low-density materials were separated using the shaking table method to reach a concentrated sample. A. ferooxidans was adapted to the 15 g/l of the defined samples within 177 d. The D-optimal method was adopted to find the optimum E-waste combination. Pulp density, inoculum size, temperature, and stirring rate were fixed at 15 g/l, 10% (w/w), 30 °C , and 130 rpm in all experiments. The optimal percentages of computer PCBs plus CPUs, mobile phone PCBs, TV PCBs, copy machine PCBs, and fax PCBs were determined as 21.5%, 43.5%, 3%, 13.5%, and 18.5%. The application of this optimal E-waste composition resulted in 100% Cu and Fe extraction and 54% Ni recovery. It was concluded that increasing the concentration of a definite metal in PCB mixtures improves the recovery efficiency of that metal. Increasing Cu concentration in the bioleaching solution decreases Fe recovery. Significant amount of Cu and Fe in all samples reduces Ni recovery.

Recovering materials from waste mobile phones: Recent technological developments

Due to the vast consumption and shortened lifespan of mobile phones, waste mobile phones (WMPs) have become one of the fastest-growing global waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) streams. Although the recycling potential of WMPs is well-recognized, the current recycling rate remains low, jeopardizing the sustainability of both the environment and mobile phone industries. With the objective of identifying limitations in the current method developments that hinder WMP recycling, we review the material recovering technologies for WMP recycling, published in academic journals and/or conferences between Jan 2005 and Apirl 2019. Most WMP recycling processes have been developed to recover precious metals (such as gold and silver) from mobile phone printed circuit boards (PCBs), via acid leaching processes. However, pre-treatment and separation steps required to concentrate the waste stream for efficient extraction are often overlooked. In addition, to separate the individual components of the WMP, most recycling methods use manual disassembly as their first step, a practice which is not suitable for scale-up. Generally, particle size ranges used in laboratory trials are smaller than those used in current industrial practice, as it is not economically feasible to acquire such small particle sizes industrially. There is a current trend to replace the inorganic acids used for metal leaching with more environmentally-friendlier lixiviants, however, industrialization of these approaches is not economically viable. This review serves as a guidance for future research and development in this area, providing information to facilitate WMP management.

Improved Normalized Cross-Correlation for Defect Detection in Printed-Circuit Boards

Normalized cross-correlation (NCC) is used in many machine vision applications for industrial inspection. However, the high computational cost of NCC impedes real-time inspection. In this paper, we propose a modified low-complexity NCC scheme to discover the location of missing integrated circuits (ICs) in automatic printed-circuit board (PCB) inspection. In the proposed scheme, 2-D sub-images in the matching process are converted into 1-D feature descriptors. The running sub-images are scanned vertically and horizontally, augmented with spatial statistical measures, and then transformed by the discrete cosine transform (DCT) to create the feature descriptors. Experimental results of template matching on a 32-image dataset of PC and mobile phone PCBs show that the proposed scheme is more efficient and outperforms the traditional NCC and other schemes based on 1-D representations. Also, signal-to-noise measures show the robustness of the proposed technique against noise.

Performances study of compact printed diversity antenna in the presence of user's body for LTE mobile phone applications

In this article, three kinds of user effect are considered, namely, “specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) head and personal digital assistants (PDA) hand (talk mode),” “PDA hand (data mode),” and “Dual hands (read mode)” for the performance study of the compact LTE MIMO antenna. This is in continuation of the previously published work which has been investigated in the free space. However, the designed antenna covers LTE700 (0.747-0.787 GHz) and WWAN (1.7-3.04 GHz) based on −6 dB reflection coefficient. Further, the effect of users' body is investigated by placing the planar monopole antenna (PMA) on the top and the bottom portion of the mobile printed circuit board (PCB). The performances like S-parameters, radiation performances, diversity performances, and channel capacity loss are studied and optimal location of PMA is assigned either top or bottom portion of mobile phone PCB based on the results obtained from the respective positions. Finally, the specific absorption rate is estimated and found well below the standard limit of FCC that is, less than 1.6 W/kg over 1 g tissue and European that is, 2 W/kg over 10 g tissue. In present work, it is observed that top positioned PMA provides optimal performances in the user proximity over PCB.

Microbial Bioleaching of Ag, Au and Cu from Printed Circuit Boards of Mobile Phones.

Electronic waste (E-Waste) is consumed at high speed in the world. These residues contain metals that increase their price each year, generating new research on the ability of microorganisms to recover the metals from these wastes. Therefore, this work evaluated the biologic lixiviation of Cu, Ag and Au from printed circuit boards (PCB) of mobile phones by three strains of Aspergillus niger, Candida orthopsilosis, Sphingomonas sp. and their respective consortia, in addition to leaching with citric acid. The microorganisms were cultured in mineral media with 0.5g of PCB, and the treatments with 1M citric acid were added the same amount of PCB. All treatments were incubated for 35days at room temperature. The results showed that Sphingomonas sp. MXB8 and the consortium of C. orthopsilosis MXL20 and A. niger MXPE6 can increase their dry biomass by 147% and 126%, respectively, in the presence of PCB. In the bioleaching of metals, the inoculation of A. niger MXPE6, the consortium of Sphingomonas sp. MXB8/C. orthopsilosis MXL20 and Sphingomonas sp. MXB8 leached 54%, 44.2% and 35.8% of Ag. The consortium of A. niger MX5 and A. niger MXPE6 showed a leaching of 0.53% of Au. A. niger MX5 leaching 2.8% Cu. Citric acid increased Cu leaching by 280% compared to treatments inoculated with microorganisms. Although further research is required, A. niger MXPE6 and the consortium of Sphingomonas sp. MXB8/C. orthopsilosis MXL20 could be an alternative to recover Ag from PCB of mobile phones.

Content evaluation of different waste PCBs to enhance basic metals recycling

This research aims to expand the body of information that researchers require before starting electronic waste (E-waste) recovery experiments. With this purpose, the basic metal contents, alkalinity, polymer components, iron magnetic separation, metal recovery priority and economic values of different types of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) were investigated. The selected wastes were computer PCBs (CPCBs), CPCBs with wires, mobile phone PCBs (MPPCBs), television PCBs (TVPCBs), fax machine PCBs (FPCBs), copy machine PCBs (COPCBs) and central processing units (CPUs). These E-wastes were prepared in the three fraction sizes of F1<1 mm, 1 < F2<3 mm, and 3 < F3<8 mm to evaluate the metal contents of different PCB fractions. The plastics of some samples were separated through the shaking table method. Magnetic separation of the iron particles attributed the highest amounts of separated iron to the CPCBs (84%) and MPPCBs (76%). Among the investigated E-wastes, the TVPCBs and CPCBs had the highest percentages of plastic (68 and 57%, respectively). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy declared the presence of polyphenylene oxide (PPO) and polycarbonate (PC) in all evaluated PCBs. The highest quantities of Cu, Ag, Ni and Ti corresponded to the F1 fraction for all E-waste samples while the economic values of the E-wastes were as follows: CPU > FPCBs > MPPCBs > COPCBs > TVPCBs > CPCBs. Accordingly, FPCBs and COPCBs were determined as the high value E-wastes for metal recovery. In addition, Cu, Ag and Sn respectively were found to be the most economic basic metals that should be recovered from most PCBs. Finally, pH analysis of the samples demonstrated that E-waste alkalinity is due to the presence of alkaline metals not plastics.

Recovery of base metals, silicon and fluoride ions from mobile phone printed circuit boards after leaching with hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen peroxide mixtures

The recovery of copper, nickel, zinc, silicon, iron, aluminum, tin and fluoride ions from fluoride leach liquors of non-ground printed circuit boards (PCBs) from mobile phones is described in detail. These PCBs were leached with HF + H2O2 mixtures after previous treatment with 6 mol L−1 NaOH (removal of the solder mask). A combination of solvent extraction (SX) and precipitation techniques was used. 99.5 wt% zinc, copper and nickel, in this order, were extracted in one stage (Zn, Ni) or two stages (Cu) with di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) diluted in kerosene (25 °C, A/O = 1 v/v) after adjusting the pH of the leachate. They were easily stripped by aqueous H2SO4. Iron, aluminum and tin did not interfere because they were masked by fluoride ions. Iron and aluminum were precipitated together as Na3FeF6 + Na3AlF6 by careful addition of aqueous NaOH. Silicon, tin and fluoride ions were recovered together (Na2SiF6 + Na2SnF6 + NaF) by careful evaporation of the aqueous solution after SX of nickel. The tin salt was leached from this solid by absolute ethanol. High HF concentration (10 mol L−1) in the leachant affected SX of Cu(II) and precipitation of iron/aluminum flurocomplexes since some NaF partially precipitated at acidic pH.

Gold Leaching from Printed circuit Board Scrap with Thiosulfate

Metals, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Sn and Ni can be found in the printed circuit boards (PCB). According to this, the aims of this work investigates gold leaching from the PCBs of mobile phones using thiosulphate gold leaching. The effects of various factors on the leaching such as leaching time, and so on in thiosulfate leaching system were discussed. The optimum leaching conditions were as follows; leaching time was 4h, leaching temperature was 25 °C, thiosulfate concentration was 0.5moll−1, ammonia concentration was 1.2moll−1, copper ion concentration was 0.04moll−1, slurry pH was 10, stirring speed was 300rpm, Na2SO3 concentration was 0.1moll−1 respectively. The gold leaching ratio of 95.3% was achieved.

Selective recovery of Copper from waste mobile phone printed circuit boards using Sulphuric acid leaching

In the present study, the leaching of Cu(II) from the waste mobile phone printed circuit board (WM-PCB) was investigated using concentrated sulphuric acid solution. Cu(II)) uptake efficiency was determined at varying pH (pH 2.0 – pH 8.0), temperatures (40 oC-80 oC) and treatment time (15 - 90 min). It was observed that the copper uptake increased with increasing temperature and acid concentration. The highest Cu(II) uptake was found to be 190 mg/g at pH 6.0 and 80°C within 60 min. Results indicate that sulphuric acid has the potential to recover the heavy metals from WM-PCB.

Investigation into the Recovery of Valuable Metals from Waste Mobile Phone Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs): An Australian Case Study

Electrical and electronic equipment including mobile phone devices have developed rapidly and their useful lifespans reduced as a result of the changes in equipment features and designs. This creates a large waste stream and lately became a critical environmental issue. Printed circuit board (PCB) is one of the main components of the waste electrical and electronic equipment. PCB typically contains various metals including valuable (copper, gold, silver, platinum) and toxic heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic). Recycling of end of life mobile devices has the potential to solve many problems including resource depletion, environmental pollution, and landfill disposal. This article investigates the feasibility of the recovery of valuable metals from waste mobile phone PCBs through a city based induction smelting plant in the city of Sydney, Australia. Mobile phones from different companies, models, and year of manufacture collected and average weight percentages of materials content for each type of phone have been reported. A laboratory size smelter then utilized to recover precious metals out of waste mobile PCBs. It concluded that local electronic waste recycling in Australia is theoretically viable and prevent the ethical and legal issues raised from exporting these wastes.