A review on potential reuse of recovered nonmetallic printed circuit board waste

In recent years there has been increasing concern about the growing volume of end of life electronics and the fact that much of it is consigned to landfill without any attempt being made to recycle the nonmetallic materials it contains. The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is growing rapidly in most developed countries such as in China, Cambodia, India, Thailand and also in Malaysia. Waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is significantly increasing. A large amount of nonmetallic materials in printed circuit board (PCBs) are disposed of by combustion and disposal in landfill as the main method for treating nonmetals in PCBs, but it may cause secondary pollution and resource wasting. This paper presents a review on the reclaimation and reuse of nonmetallic materials recovered from waste PCBs. The recovered nonmetals were used to make models, construction materials and composite boards. The PCB nonmetal products have better mechanical characteristics and durability than traditional materials and fillers. Products derived from PCB waste processing have been brought into industrial production. The study shows that PCB nonmetals can be reused in profitable and environmentally friendly ways.