Electronic Waste Management and Treatment Technology

Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad, Meththika Vithanage

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780128165911
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Environmental Management
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Electronic Waste Management and Treatment Technology applies the latest research for designing waste treatment and disposal strategies. Written for researchers who are exploring this emerging topic, the book begins with a short, but rigorous, discussion of electric waste management that outlines common hazardous materials. such as mercury, lead, silver and flame-retardants. The book also discusses the fate of metals contained in waste electrical and electronic equipment in municipal waste treatment. Materials and methods for the remediation, recycling and treatment of plastic waste collected from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are also covered.

Finally, the book covers the depollution benchmarks for capacitors, batteries and printed circuit boards from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the recovery of waste printed circuit boards through pyrometallurgy.

• Describes depollution benchmarks for capacitors, batteries and printed wiring boards from waste electronics
• Covers metals contained in waste electrical and electronic equipment in municipal waste
• Provides tactics for the recycling of mixed plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment

Chapter 1

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): Flows, Quantities, and Management—A Global Scenario

Florin-Constantin Mihai^⁎; Maria-Grazie Gnoni^†; Christia Meidiana^‡; Chukwunonye Ezeah^§; Valerio Elia^{† ⁎} Department of Research, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania
^† Department of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, Campus Ecotekne, Lecce, Italy
^‡ Department of Regional and Urban Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia
^§ Department of Civil Engineering, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Nigeria

Abstract

This chapter aims to reveal the geographies of E-waste flows at global and national levels based on waste statistics data and thematic cartography. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management practices are examined for each major geographical area respectively: Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Pollution and public health threats associated with improper E-waste management practices is a crucial environmental issue, particularly in emerging economies. Generation, collection, treatment, recycling, and recovery activities of WEEE are analyzed within each geographical area. The formal and informal sectors are further investigated, discussing the gaps and different prospects in development of sustainable E-waste management systems across developing and developed countries.

Keywords

E-waste/WEEE; Waste management; Recycling; Pollution; Sustainability; Informal sector; Spatial analysis; Public health

1 Introduction

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), known also as E-waste, is an emerging waste stream on a global level due to the development of electronic products consumption. It holds great challenges for both industrialized and developing countries. Improper handling of E-waste causes severe pollution and public health issues associated with dismantling activities that are frequently performed in poor conditions. Open burning and open dump practices are the worst options usually adopted by countries without a proper legislation and lack of basic waste management services. The illegal dumping practice of WEEE occurs even in developed countries due to the poor environmental law enforcement of local and regional authorities. At the global level, 8.9 million metric tons (Mt) of E-waste is documented to be collected and recycled, which corresponds to 20% of all the E-waste generated in 2016 (44.7 million Mt) while 1.7 million Mt are thrown into the residual waste in higher-income countries and are likely to be incinerated or landfilled (Baldé et al., 2017). In 2016, the global amount of E-waste generated was double than those generated in 2005 calculated at 20 million Mt by Bastiaan et al. (2010).

Poor municipal waste management systems often involve an improper handling of the E-waste stream (Quibing and Jinhui, 2014). This fraction is collected as residual waste (commingled with other fractions) and disposed of in urban dumpsites or landfills without any prior treatment, leaching pollutants into surroundings. E-waste fraction is a hazardous source for mixed municipal waste fraction containing toxic materials and substances such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) listed by the Stockholm Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international environmental treaty, signed in 2001 and effective from May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs.

Additionally, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, lead, chromium), batteries, and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) complete the panel of toxic leaking sources from E-waste. Obsolete EEE (e.g., refrigerators) made specifically for lower purchasing power communities where the lifespan of electronic products are larger, may contain gases that are ozone-depleting, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). However, the E-waste fraction contains valuable materials for industry (precious metals, Cu) and recycling companies (metals, plastics) that can be used to mitigate the depletion of natural resources. The informal sector (where numerous waste recycle workers are hired at extremely low wages applying crude and pollutive recycling methods for separation of reusable components and quick recovery of contained metals) is a key player in recycling and handlings of E-waste stream in countries without a proper formal E-waste management services supported by an adequate legislation. However, the use of manual labor with poor tools exposes such individuals to severe health issues. Special legislation dedicated to E-waste management is imperative to shift the paradigm from a pollution source towards a valuable resource, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 WEEE management in a transition stage. (Source: Mihai, F.C., Gnoni, M.G., 2016. E-waste management as a global challenge (Introductory chapter). In: Mihai, F.C. (Ed.), E-waste in Transition: From Pollution to Resource. Intech, Rijeka, Croatia, pp. 1–8.)

Source-separated collection schemes and recycling centers need to be further developed in transitional and developing countries as a route from traditional waste management system based on open dumping/landfill practices to a sustainable approach of WEEE management. Currently, the illegal WEEE trades from industrialized countries to emerging economies poses serious challenges in terms of pollution and shipment of hazardous substances despite the official prohibition of such exports via The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. The fate of 76% (34.1 million Mt) of E-waste is unknown; it may be dumped, traded, or recycled under inferior conditions while currently available statistics are not able to track the shipment of this waste stream from richer to poor subregions in the world (Baldé et al., 2017).

WEEE treatments in Japan, Europe, and the United States use technologies with a higher degree of mechanization including expensive equipment and high operating costs (Jinhui et al., 2013). This fact may favor the illegal traffic of the WEEE stream from high-income countries towards developing ones such as Africa or Asia where low-technology recycling practices using intensive manual labor prevail. A regional approach of WEEE management activities with higher level recovery applications may mitigate the export of such wastes from developed countries (Bastiaan et al., 2010). Urban areas generate a large quantity of WEEE based on greater purchasing power, but rural areas should not be ignored on this matter. Rural communities are susceptible to being neglected by waste operators, encouraging improper disposal practices of household waste, including the WEEE fraction. Waste management policies must be successfully implemented at different geographical scales (e.g., Global-EU-28-National-Regional-Local levels). For this purpose, a proper monitoring process of WEEE flows is imperative at global and regional levels.

The waste management area faces several challenges in being able to provide basic waste statistics data from reliable sources which can allow comparison with other regions. The WEEE global monitor, started by United Nations University (UNU), offers for the first time a comprehensive estimation of domestic E-waste generation at the global level for 2014 and an updated report for 2016. The calculation of E-waste generated is based on empirical data, a model, and statistical routines starting from the Comtrade database from which sales are determined and adjusted, then the product lifespan is applied to calculate the E-waste generated per country (Baldé et al., 2015). This chapter provides a critical overview of WEEE management at the global scale combined with spatial analysis and regional insights of each major geographical area.

2 Mapping E-waste Flows: New Geographies

Geography is a manifestation of complex interactions between natural and diverse socioeconomic systems at various spatial scales. The waste management sector has particular features across the globe in terms of technology, economic, social, governance, demographic, and public policy options adopted by each country, region, or local administrative area. Geographical inequalities regarding access to basic waste management services are obvious between high-income and developing countries. A global level, almost 3 billion people lack access to waste collection services and there are huge discrepancies between urban and rural areas (Mihai, 2017). In this context, significant amounts of E-waste, as part of mixed household generated waste, are disposed of via unsound practices such as open burning or illegal dumping on surroundings (public lands, roadsides, water bodies, etc.). Open burning of E-waste fraction may release dioxins into the atmosphere.

E-waste management enables complicated patterns of flows due to the illegal trade of E-waste between countries, the sharing of waste management activities between formal and informal sectors particularly in developing countries or between the official take-back system, civic amenity sites, and waste collection systems (door-to-door or collection points) in other industrialized countries. Disposal of E-waste in mixed residual household waste accounts for 1–2 kg per inhabitant in the EU, representing approximately 8% of E-waste generation (Baldé et al., 2015). E-waste is a special waste stream with complex interactions at national and international levels which must be further guided by a specific legislation. Such regulation at national level constitutes a basic step to developing formal and proper E-waste management activities ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Biography
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction-Opportunities and Challenges in the Electronic Waste Management: Implementation of Innovations to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals
• Chapter 1: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): Flows, Quantities, and Management—A Global Scenario
• Chapter 2: Inventorization of E-waste and Its Disposal Practices With Benchmarks for Depollution: The Global Scenario
• Chapter 3: An Overview of Methods Used for Estimating E-waste Amount
• Chapter 4: Network Design Problems in E-waste Management
• Chapter 5: Environmental Management of E-waste
• Chapter 6: Biorecovery of Precious Metal Nanoparticles From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipments
• Chapter 7: Bioleaching of Electronic Waste Using Extreme Acidophiles
• Chapter 8: Resource Recovery From E-waste for Environmental Sustainability: A Case Study in Brazil
• Chapter 9: Biotechnological Initiatives in E-waste Management: Recycling and Business Opportunities
• Chapter 10: Hydrometallurgical Recovery of Metals From E-waste
• Chapter 11: Recovery of Waste Printed Circuit Boards Through Pyrometallurgy
• Chapter 12: E-waste Management in Australia: Current Status
• Chapter 13: Environmental Management of E-waste in China
• Chapter 14: Chemical Hazards Associated With Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
• Chapter 15: Environmental Contamination and Health Effects Due to E-waste Recycling
• Index