Recycling of waste printed circuit boards with simultaneous enrichment of special metals by using alkaline melts: A green and strategically advantageous solution

The increasing consumption of electric and electronic equipment has led to a rise in toxic waste. To recover the metal fraction, a separation of the organic components is necessary because harmful substances such as chlorine, fluorine and bromine cause ecological damage, for example in the form of dioxins and furans at temperature above 400°C. Hence, an alternative, environmentally friendly approach was investigated exploiting that a mixture of caustic soda and potassium hydroxide in eutectic composition melts below 200°C, enabling a fast cracking of the long hydrocarbon chains. The trials demonstrate the removal of organic compounds without a loss of copper and precious metals, as well as a suppressed formation of hazardous off-gases. In order to avoid an input of alkaline elements into the furnace and ensuing problems with refractory materials, a washing step generates a sodium and potassium hydroxide solution, in which special metals like indium, gallium and germanium are enriched. Their concentrations facilitate the recovery of these elements, because otherwise they become lost in the typical recycling processes. The aim of this work was to find an environmental solution for the separation of plastics and metals as well as a strategically important answer for the recycling of printed circuit boards and mobile phones.