In 2015 the number of mobile phones overcame the number of human beings on planet heart. This figure is representative of a way more complex scenario in which thousands of tons of electronic products are daily placed in the market, substituting the old ones. As a consequence, the amount of electronic waste is dramatically increasing. Due to very stringent environmental legislation in Europe, the industrial plants that can treat this kind of waste are limited. As a result, what can’t be treated in Europe is sent outside the borders to be treated in developing countries where the cost of the labor is reduced and environmental legislation is often poor. From an economic, social, environmental as well as thermodynamic point of view this export does not make any sense since, while the content of this waste is given away, new raw materials are imported in order to produce new electronics; nothing farther from the circular economy approach envisaged by the European Commission.
The specific target of the present PCBIS project is the waste printed circuit board (WPCB), that in most of the cases is treated with a pyrometallurgical approach. This approach makes use of high temperature in order to obtain the separation of metals and the volatilization of plastics; it is really effective in this task, but it has two major limitations: i. The investment costs are very highs; ii. The increasing environmental limits of the regulations force to continuous update of the plants.
In contrast to the conventional pyrometallurgical processes, electrochemical technologies here proposed do not require large scale in order to be economically sustainable. This allows for the development of a diffuse network of industrial sites all across the Europe, reducing the environmental cost of WPCBs delivery.
When compared to the pyrometallurgical approach, it is possible to see how an impressive reduction of both the use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases emission depend on the adoption of such a process route.
Furthermore, most of the copper (which is PCBIS project most representative product) in the market is currently produced by mining activities. Nevertheless, this traditional approach is intrinsically affected by the characteristics of the feedstock used. In fact, it has to be considered that the average copper content of copper-oxide ores is only 0.5 % while the average content in WPCBs is 15 % (max.: 25%). Using e-waste as a primary source results in smaller plants, faster processes and increased efficiency.
The PCBIS project aims to increase the competitiveness of the sustainable hydrometallurgical management of WPCBs, making it a profitable business while mitigating illegal trades and the environmental impact of the metal production sector.
