End-of-Life challenges of printed electronics

Wastes from electrical and electronic equipment are the fastest growing waste category. In order to reclaim most of this waste, it is important to consider environmental, safety and health issues of products End-of-Life phase as early as in the design phase. Maximum advantage is gained when these issues are already considered while new technology, such as printed electronics, is under development. The aim of this paper is to identify the risks inherent in the End-of-Life (EoL) phase of printed electronics. Possible risks include leaching of silver if placed in landfill, and toxic emissions formed during incineration. Measurement methods for quantitative risk analysis of example case are described in this paper.

[1]  Helmut Rechberger,et al.  The contemporary European copper cycle: waste management subsystem , 2002 .

[2]  Thomas E. Graedel,et al.  The contemporary European silver cycle , 2006 .

[3]  Paul T. Williams,et al.  Separation and recovery of materials from scrap printed circuit boards , 2007 .

[4]  Guan Jie,et al.  Product characterization of waste printed circuit board by pyrolysis , 2008 .

[5]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  Metals recycling: economic and environmental implications , 1997 .

[6]  Brajesh Dubey,et al.  Leachability of printed wire boards containing leaded and lead-free solder. , 2008, Journal of environmental management.

[7]  Lang Tran,et al.  Safe handling of nanotechnology , 2006, Nature.

[8]  Mary Ann Curran,et al.  An examination of existing data for the industrial manufacture and use of nanocomponents and their role in the life cycle impact of nanoproducts. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[9]  G. Dave,et al.  Leachates from plastic consumer products--screening for toxicity with Daphnia magna. , 2009, Chemosphere.

[10]  A. Flegal,et al.  Spatial and temporal variations in silver contamination and toxicity in San Francisco Bay. , 2007, Environmental research.

[11]  K. Hungerbühler,et al.  Estimation of cumulative aquatic exposure and risk due to silver: contribution of nano-functionalized plastics and textiles. , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[12]  Tero Hakkarainen,et al.  Nanoteknologia ja ympäristönsuojelu , 2008 .

[13]  P. M. Lemieux,et al.  Emissions from the incineration of electronics industry waste , 2003, IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2003..

[14]  Eric Forssberg,et al.  Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment: a review. , 2003, Journal of hazardous materials.

[15]  J A S Tenório,et al.  Utilization of magnetic and electrostatic separation in the recycling of printed circuit boards scrap. , 2005, Waste management.

[16]  William F. Pickard,et al.  Geochemical constraints on sustainable development: Can an advanced global economy achieve long-term stability? , 2008 .

[17]  E. Alonso,et al.  A case study of the availability of platinum group metals for electronics manufacturers , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment.