Waste Electrical And Electronic Equipment Research Articles

Utilization of Silica Filler as Reinforcement Material of Polylactic Acid (PLA) in 3D Printing Applications: Thermal, Rheological, and Mechanical Performance

Glass was introduced as an additive to filaments used for the manufacturing of composite materials, employed by Additive Manufacturing applications. Glass accounts for a large waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) percentage, and its recovery and recycling can lead to the production of sustainable composite materials. In this work, poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/commercially available silicon oxide composite filaments were manufactured and their structural, thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties were assessed. Scanning Electron Microscopy confirmed the 1:2 ratio of silicon: oxygen, along with the relatively low adhesion between the filler and the matrix. Differential Scanning Calorimetry presented steady glass transition and melting temperatures of composites, whereas a crystallization temperature of 10% wt. and a crystallinity of 15% wt. composite slightly increased. Rheological analysis showcased that the viscosity of the composite filaments decreased compared to PLA (10–100 compared to 300–400 Pa·s), with a more shear-thinning behavior. Dynamic mechanical analysis exhibited increased elastic, flexural moduli, and flexural strength of composites (up to 16, 23, and 11%, respectively), whereas tensile strength and elongation decreased. The affordability of raw materials (with the future introduction of recycled ones) and the minimal processing steps can lead to the potential scaling up of the study.

Impacts of capacity redundancy and process flexibility on risk mitigation in e-waste recycling supply chain management

Recently Waste Electrical and Electronic equipment (WEEE) has become urgent environmental issues around the world. Generally, the e-waste recycling reverse supply chain (RSC) features higher uncertainties and complicated network structures, making the operation more difficult. Since the study on impact of hybrid uncertainty mitigation strategy in RSC is rare, we study the coupling effect of two strategies —— capacity redundancy and process flexibility through the design of two hybrid strategies. A distributionally robust optimization model is proposed to handle both waste returns and resource yields uncertainties, and solved by a proposed Outer Approximation (OA) algorithm after an adaptive robust formulation. With numerical experiments based on real data implemented, our research finds conflict situation of using capacity redundancy and process flexibility strategies together. We also give guidelines for the use of hybrid strategies in RSC. We find that the optimal strategy changes as required service level increases. We also suggest moderate investment in capacity redundancy with long chain flexibility and resource centralization when applying hybrid strategy with optimal flexibility.

Assessing the Potential Climate Impacts and Benefits of Waste Prevention and Management: A Case Study of Sweden

This study employs a life cycle perspective to analyze the carbon footprints of various waste streams, evaluating 52 cases across 26 types of household waste in Sweden, with a focus on waste prevention and management. It demonstrates that while recycling can reduce carbon emissions, prevention could significantly enhance these benefits, with savings ranging from −36.5 to −0.01 kg-CO2-eq per kg of waste. Notably, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), textiles, tires, residual household, and plastic waste are the top five fractions most amenable to prevention on a per mass basis. Further analysis, considering waste volumes, shows that targeted recycling of materials like WEEE, metals, and paper could account for over 80% of potential carbon savings. However, the majority of potential climate impact is attributed to the energy recovery of unsorted (mixed) waste, contributing to more than 90% of total impacts. Redirecting all mixed waste to recycling could triple carbon savings, but focusing on prevention could potentially increase benefits twenty-sevenfold, particularly for waste like WEEE, food, and textiles. This research provides a valuable tool for identifying key areas in waste management to optimize climate benefits and enhance public awareness. However, it advises using local data for precise planning due to inherent uncertainties.

The potential impact of the new ‘Right to Repair’ rules on electrical and electronic equipment waste: A case study of the UK

Every year an estimated two million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are discarded by householders and companies in the United Kingdom (UK). While the UK has left the European Union (EU), its waste-related policies still mirror those of the EU, including the WEEE-related policies. Motivated by the recent introduction the so-called ‘Right to Repair’ policy for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) across the EU and UK, this paper aims to demonstrate that, depending on the commitment and behavioural changes by the consumers and the government, the future of the WEEE management of the UK will vary. To this end, focusing on landfilled WEEE reduction we develop a generic system dynamics model and apply it to eleven WEEE categories. They depict the flow of EEE and WEEE representing the interaction among the stakeholders (e.g., consumers and producers of EEE) and relevant government regulations of the UK. Our four scenario analyses find that longer use of EEE and better WEEE collection seem to be effective in reducing landfilled WEEE, while more reuse and more recycling and recovery have negligible impacts, despite excluding the additional generation of landfilled WEEE as a result of recycling and recovery. Comparing with the business-as-usual scenario, one year longer EEE use and 10% more of WEEE collection could at maximum reduce landfilled WEEE by 14.05% of monitoring and control instruments and 93.93% of display equipment respectively. Backcasting scenario analyses reveal that significant efforts are required to reduce the targeted amounts.

Performance analysis and production of aromatics for ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of engineered WEEE

Ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of engineered waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) was conducted in a two-stage reactor using HZSM-5 catalyst. The effect of the catalysis temperature and the catalyst-to-feedstock (C/F) ratio on products yield, gas and oil composition, and products characterization were investigated in this study. Results indicated that lower reforming temperature and C/F ratio favored organic fractions production. The highest yield of organic fraction was obtained at a catalysis temperature of 450 °C and at a C/F ratio of 0.15, corresponding to 28.5 and 27.4 wt %, respectively. The highest selectivity toward aromatic hydrocarbons and the lowest TAN value of the organic fraction were obtained at a catalysis temperature of 450 °C and a C/F ratio of 0.2, respectively. Most of the alkali and transition metals and 23 % of Br remained in the solid residue after the catalytic pyrolysis of low-grade electronic waste (LGEW).

Repair and Reuse or Recycle: What Is Best for Small WEEE in Australia?

The global and Australian trends indicate a steady increase in the generation of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), constituting 30% of global WEEE in 2019 with an expected 90% increase in Australia over the next 25 years. Given this fact, identifying the most suitable circular economy strategy is vital in managing this waste stream. Hence, followed by a review of the literature, a model was developed to assess the suitability of repair, reuse, and recycling of small electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) by considering the lifespan and products put on the market (PoM) as critical variables. Findings indicate that solely repairing and reusing products, without reducing PoM small EEE, minimally affects short-term waste reduction. A synergistic approach, combining high product reuse with reduced PoM small EEE, is essential to decrease small WEEE generation significantly. Regardless of lifespan changes, the study indicates a proportional relationship between small WEEE generation rates and PoM small EEE changes, emphasising the need for a holistic strategy. Considering this, within stewardship schemes, the primary focus should initially lie on repairing and repurposing small EEE, with the potential for expansion into recycling once sufficient infrastructure and achievable recovery goals are established. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must shoulder substantial accountability, with a firm commitment to extended producer responsibility (EPR) even for historical products. The initial rollout could target four specific categories: toys, food preparation equipment, vacuum cleaners, and household tools, with the scope widening to encompass all categories following successful implementation.

Effect of metals and brominated flame retardants on thermal degradation kinetics of waste printed circuit board

Waste printed circuit board (WPCB) is an indispensable component in any waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). A promising method for recycling WPCB is pyrolysis. To understand the effect of metals and brominated flame retardants (BFR) on WPCB pyrolysis, four samples were prepared, namely (a) raw WPCB (RW), (b) non-metallic WPCB (NM), (c) bromine extracted WPCB (RWBFR_ext) and (d) bromine and metal extracted WPCB (NMBFR_ext). The degradation kinetics study using the isoconversional methods: Friedman, Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Starink showed that the extraction of metals exhibited an increase in final degradation temperature and activation energy (Eα), and altered the reaction mechanism (f(a)) whereas, the reduction of BFR reduced initial degradation temperature. The identified kinetic triplets were verified using the reconstruction profiles. The parameters can be used in designing applications and developing an energy-efficient pyrolysis process.

Analysis of slag chemistry in WEEE smelting using experimental and modelling study of the “CuO0.5”-ZnO-FeO-FeO1.5-CaO-SiO2-AlO1.5 system in equilibrium with Cu metal

The variability of the composition of recycled copper-containing materials requires enhanced control and understanding of slag chemistry in the secondary pyrometallurgical processing, when compared to primary copper smelting. In the black copper route for recycling waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE), slags exhibit high concentrations of alumina and zinc oxide. The simplest system governing phase equilibria at the reducing smelting stage of the black copper process is “CuO0.5”-ZnO-FeO-FeO1.5-CaO-SiO2-AlO1.5. In the present study, slags within this system were equilibrated with liquid copper Cu and solid Fe metallic alloys, quenched and characterized by the Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis (EPMA). The range of compositions was selected based on the information about the process available in literature. The study focused on the liquidus and proportion of solid spinel in the temperature range from 1100 to 1300 °C. Precise control of the proportion of solids can enhance the stability of refractory materials against corrosive slags while maintaining entrained metal droplets at reasonably low level. Additionally, experimental correlations between the solubility of copper in the oxide liquid and the partial pressure of oxygen were developed for the Zn-free slags in equilibrium with metallic copper at 1200 and 1300 °C. All experimental results were compared to thermodynamic predictions using recent models and FactSage® software. Uncertainties were identified to be used in further model improvement.

Generation estimation and critical metals quantity assessment of retired mobile phones in Japan

The sustainable management of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) can contribute to the defense of the ESBs (Earth System Boundaries) and achievement of the UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). This work conducted reasonable generation estimation and critical metals quantity assessment of retired mobile phones in Japan with the sales&new method. The generation estimation is based on the statistical data including sales and quantity of the subscribers. The result shows that there are 31.20 million of mobile phones retired in 2021, comparing 32.83 million in 2008. The calculated lifetime have minimum and maximum value in 2008 and 2019, which is 3.36 and 7.58, comparing 6.42 in 2021. 17 metals are selected as critical metals, with which the quantity and dynamic are also calculated. The replacement from feature phones to smart phones demand less of 11 metals, which shows the critical metals savings leading by the technological innovation.

Strategies for Transitioning to Sustainable E-Waste Management Systems Globally, Regionally and Nationally

The quantity of electronic waste generated globally is rising rapidly as a result of advanced technology, over reliance, and the use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) beyond comprehension. The rapid technological advancements has resulted in a reduced lifespan of EEE resulting in enormous amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). It is well recognized that EEE contains complex metallic and non-metallic components that, if improperly managed, can seriously disrupt the environment and endanger the survival of life. The majority of industrialized nations possess advanced methods for managing e-waste, well-defined system boundaries, technological expertise, strict legislation, appropriate recycling facilities, and trade with emerging and impoverished countries. However, because of a number of issues and a dearth of pertinent policies, the situation in emerging nations is different. WEEE are handled in developing nations by using a variety of low-end methods, including product reuse, traditional landfill disposal, open burning, and rudimentary "backyard" recycling. The bulk of developing and less developed countries lack the necessary legislation, gaps in policy formulation, socioeconomic and cultural hurdles, technology, and treatment facilities. The main issues affecting Guyana's management include absence of legislation, safe options for treatment and disposal, and inadequate inventory of data. The strategic interventions that are essential for sustainable e-waste management include urban mining, embracing the concept of a circular economy, fortifying existing laws and regulations, investing in adequate facilities for handling all waste streams and coordination and cooperation among all of the key stakeholders.

Shared recycling model for waste electrical and electronic equipment based on the targeted responsibility system in the context of China

The formal recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has long faced collection difficulties owing to the inadequate recycling system and insufficient collection capacity under China’s fund-based recycling model. The government has introduced the recycling Target Responsibility System (TRS) to motivate producers to develop and share recycling systems, yet without clear incentive mechanisms. In this study, we provide a “1 + N” shared recycling model referring to the theory of the sharing economy, and we propose a credit mechanism with a deposit system and a penalty mechanism for dishonesty to constrain the opportunistic behavior of sharing. In addition, according to the TRS, we design a “reduction-penalty-subsidy” fund policy to incentivize producers and recyclers to achieve recycling targets. On this basis, we apply evolutionary game theory and system dynamics approach to analyze the collaborative mechanism of shared recycling and the incentive effect of the funding policy. Game analysis yields the evolution of shared recycling from the developing stage to the mature stage. The system simulation results indicate that the government’s “penalty” and “subsidy” strategies provide evident incentives for producers and recyclers, respectively, in the developing stage, whereas endogenous dynamics derived from economies of scale under market mechanisms promote the multi-agent collaborative implementation of shared recycling in the mature stage.

Government mechanism in waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling among prospect theory and evolutionary game theory

Improper disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) poses challenges for resource loss and public environmental pollution. Government policies are required to regulate WEEE recycling. To better explore the governance mechanism in the WEEE recycling network, a tripartite evolutionary game model composed of the government, recyclers, and manufacturers under bounded rationality and uncertainty was established using evolutionary game theory and prospect theory by underscoring the WEEE processing fee (WPF) exemption to adjust the behaviour of the WEEE recycling network participants. The research found that nine equilibrium points and eight possible ESSs exist and that the evolutionary stability strategies of tripartite decisions mainly depend on the trade-off between costs and revenues. Through numerical simulations, it was observed that the psychological perception of risk for recyclers and manufacturers can affect the behaviour and strategies of WEEE recycling stakeholders in uncertain environments. As WEEE recycling stakeholders increase their pursuit of safety risks, both recyclers’ and manufacturers’ willingness to engage in green behaviour is increasing. In addition, under the WPF exemption, the government can achieve the goal of encourage recyclers and manufacturers to choose green behaviour at a relatively low cost. We suggest that the government should strive to establish a stable WEEE recycling environment, establish an appropriate WPF exemption mechanism, and fully consider the cross-impact of recyclers and manufacturers to promote the green behaviour and efficiency of WEEE recycling.

Mechanical properties of mortars with waste plastic as replacement of natural aggregate

The use of waste plastic from waste electrical and electronic equipment as a substitute for natural aggregates in cementitious materials is an increasingly relevant issue. If proved to be suitable, this would allow the recycling of plastics destined for landfill and decrease the use of new natural resources. However, replacing sand with plastic tends to reduce the mechanical properties of mortars due to the different mechanical properties of natural aggregate and waste plastic and the poor interfacial compatibility between plastic and cement paste. Several strategies to improve the mechanical properties of mortars containing waste plastic were investigated in this study. The addition of 1% of superplasticiser coupled with a lower water/cement ratio was found to restore mechanical properties to values equal to a standard mortar prepared with natural aggregate, thus obtaining material that can be used in construction.

Enhancement of recycling system for large WEEE plastics in Korea via material flow analysis (MFA) and hazardous substances assessment

Globally, there is interest in recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) plastics for transition to circular resource society and concern about substances with potential harzard in WEEE. For high-quality recycling of WEEE plastics, it is necessary to find factors that hinder recycling of the entire life of plastics and investigate hazardous substances for recycling safety. In this study, through conducting material flow analysis(MFA), 27 kt of WEEE was collected and only 3.9 % of the production was returned to plastic recycling market. To resolve this gap, further research by related organizations, including updating statistical data on the plastics, is required in addition to consideration for converting unofficial routes into official routes. For the activation of the secondary material recycling market, strict quality control is required, because some samples contained relatively high levels of PBDEs DEHP restricted under law. And it is necessary to monitor of unrestricted substance, TBBPA and Bisphenol A detected at high concentration in WEEE plastic, for the safe recycling of plastic waste.

Selection of a sustainable location for waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling plant using Entropy and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution.

The production and consumption of electronic goods have experienced a significant increase over the years, leading to a substantial surge in the global volume of electronic waste, commonly referred to as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The selection of a sustainable location for WEEE recycling plants plays a crucial role in mitigating environmental concerns, preserving resources and promoting economic development. It signifies a proactive and responsible approach to electronic waste management in the contemporary world. To tackle the challenge of selecting sustainable locations for WEEE recycling plants, this study employed the Entropy and Entropy and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) methodologies, evaluating 10 alternative cities in Turkey based on 13 criteria. The selected criteria include land cost, personnel cost, energy cost, availability of labour, government support degree, tax preferences, road network accessibility, number of electronic equipment producers, existence of recycling plants, suitability of land use, population and availability of renewable resources (wind power and solar energy). The Entropy method was employed to calculate the weights assigned to each criterion, whereas the EDAS method was utilized to evaluate the decision alternatives. The results provide region-specific recommendations, such as Antalya for the Mediterranean region and Samsun for the Black Sea region. The literature lacks sufficient research on the selection of sustainable locations for WEEE recycling plants. Furthermore, the utilization of real data enhances the study's credibility and provides practical insights for decision-making. The selection of a sustainable location for a WEEE recycling plant in Turkey not only demonstrates the country's environmental commitment but also sets a global example for responsible waste management.

Multiphase Equilibrium Relationships between Copper Matte and CaO-Al2O3-Bearing Iron Silicate Slags in Combined Smelting of WEEE and Copper Concentrates

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contains various valuable metals, making it a potential secondary resource for sustainable metal usage. Pyrometallurgical smelting is an efficient technique to recycle WEEE by extracting precious metals into copper matte and removing impurities into slags. The impact of WEEE impurities such as CaO and Al2O3 on the phase compositions of the smelting products attracts great attention for industrial metal recovery. This study clarified the impact of CaO and Al2O3 on the equilibrium phase compositions of copper matte and SiO2-saturated FeOx-SiO2-Al2O3-CaO slags. The high-temperature smelting experiments were taken at a controlled p(SO2) of 0.1 atm and 1300 °C, followed by quenching and electron probe microanalysis. The results showed that the copper and sulfur in the smelting system were highly deported into copper matte, and their distribution in matte was enhanced by increasing CaO and Al2O3 concentrations introduced by WEEE. The chemical copper dissolution in slags increased with increasing matte grade but decreased by adding CaO and Al2O3. The iron was preferentially concentrated in slags, and higher matte grades improved the iron distribution in slags. The current experimental results enrich fundamental thermodynamic data and help optimize WEEE smelting operations for efficient recovery of valuable metals.

Evolutionary game analysis of multi-stakeholders in the WEEE recycling industry under propaganda subsidies and environmental damage taxes

With an increase in the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), the waste of resources and environmental hazards caused by WEEE cannot be ignored. Meanwhile, the lack of environmental awareness among consumers and the existence of informal recyclers pose a great challenge to the government in governing the WEEE recycling industry. This study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model consisting of the government and formal and informal recyclers. Then, the payoff matrix, replicator dynamic equations and all the equilibrium points are obtained, and a stability analysis of the equilibrium points is performed to derive the evolutionary stability strategies (ESSs) and their formation conditions. Finally, the influence of important parameters on the WEEE recycling industry is examined through numerical analysis. The results suggest that the government cannot ignore the existence of informal recyclers but should take governance measures to intervene in informal recycling and guide such recyclers to upgrade their processing technology. Moreover, the willingness of informal recyclers to invest in processing technology increases with the increase in environmental damage taxes. Second, the government should provide formal recyclers with appropriate promotional subsidies. Third, the government should control its own cost of governance and reduce its financial burden. Fourth, with government subsidies, formal recyclers should decide whether to make promotional investments based on the investment cost and the sum of the benefits from the investment and government subsidy. Finally, under government tax pressure and the influence of formal recyclers’ promotional investments, informal recyclers should actively invest in processing technology.

Selection for Reuse in WEEE Reverse Logistics with Text-Based Model Identification

Recupel, the producer responsibility organisation for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Belgium, is actively exploring novel approaches to increase the number of reused EEE by optimising their reverse logistics operations. Today, repair and reuse organisations are allowed to manually select devices eligible for reuse at several distribution centres contracted by Recupel. In this article, first, the challenges and limitations of this selection procedure are discussed based on stakeholder interviews. Then, the SmartRe technology, developed in prior research to automatically identify the product model by capturing a picture of the label and comparing text information with a database is introduced. The benefits of the incorporation of this technology in Recupel’s reverse logistics are discussed. Finally, a quantitative study is presented on two annotated datasets collected at one of Recupel’s contracted distribution and sampling centres. This dataset comprises 571 product label images of six product categories that are often repaired and resold, namely coffee machines, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, irons, refrigerators and washing machines. An overall matching efficiency of 69.5% was achieved by comparison with a database of 75k product models, which shows that the proposed strategy is a promising tool to more systematically perform and to scale up selection for reuse.

Promoting consumer returns in closed-loop supply chains under cap-and-trade regulation: A cooperative recycling advertising perspective

Under carbon cap-and-trade regulation, to control carbon emissions and improve the recycling efficiency of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from the traditional offline recycling channel, more enterprises attempt to simultaneously combine the online recycling platform with the digital transformation of the supply chain. Based on a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) with dual recycling channels and considering recycling advertising invested both in offline and online recycling channels, this paper attempts to explore the optimal recycling advertising mode which can both achieve economic and environmental performance under cap-and-trade regulation. Therefore, game models including a manufacturer and above either recycler are established, which are respectively correspond to four recycling advertising modes: manufacturer cooperates with neither recycler (MO mode), manufacturer only cooperates with the offline retailer (MR mode), manufacturer only cooperates with the online recycling platform (MT mode), and manufacturer cooperates with either recycler (MRT mode). Consequently, this paper solves the optimal decisions of the tripartite and focuses on the analysis of the impact of cooperative (competitive) recycling advertising under cap-and-trade regulation. By comparing the profits and total carbon emissions of the whole CLSC under four recycling advertising modes, the results indicate that: cooperative advertising between the manufacturer and two recyclers can achieve economic and environmental performance for the whole CLSC if the free-riding phenomenon occurs in recycling advertising. Otherwise, influenced by competitive recycling advertising, the above mode turns to the suboptimal one for the profits of two recyclers and the total carbon emissions of the CLSC. Moreover, driven by economic benefits, cooperative advertising will eventually become a consensus, but the total carbon emissions may not always be the least.

Ignition and fire-related incidents caused by lithium-ion batteries in waste treatment facilities in Japan and countermeasures

Ignition and other fire-related incidents have been increasing at municipal waste treatment and small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling facilities in Japan. To understand the current status of lithium-ion battery (LIB)-caused ignition and other incidents and to provide information necessary for countermeasures, we conducted interviews at municipal treatment facilities, did real-time monitoring at a treatment facility, and surveyed LIB mixed in non-combustible waste. Several treatment facilities had more than 0.1 ignition and other incidents per tonne of non-combustible and bulky waste collected in FY2020. These accidents were attributed to LIBs in 80–90 % of the cases, primarily because of physical impact on the LIBs during the crushing/shredding stage, even though LIB-containing small WEEE accounted for only about 0.3 % of the total weight of non-combustible waste. The best way to prevent the occurrence of such LIB-caused ignition and other incidents is to avoid crushing/shredding LIB-containing small WEEE.